NU: RedX Rising
by 26-Lord-Pain
Summary: AU, Xover, NaruX Find Out . Naruto is betrayed by those closest to him. After stealing the Sacred Scroll he decides to leave the village once and for all and find himself a place to truly belong. An Ancient Jutsu in the Scroll may help Naruto do just that
1. Intro

_Voice: You know, I've heard that things can be categorized into two different places, black, and white, Light and Dark, good and evil, right and wrong... But who decides whats really good and whats really evil? Certainly not an ordinary mortal being like us..._

-- _(X_

A shadowy figure rushes passed a camera, using simple stealth to evade detection, dodging all the detection beams easily with a few quick jumps and flips. The shadow then pulls a strange blade from a holster on his right thigh, quickly picking the lock on the door of a dark roof top and pushing it open. He re-holsters the knife and walks into the darkened hallway his eye's scan the area and he sees the camera's down the hall, bringing a frown to his face. The person then jumps down and places his feet on the sides of the floor, then throws several throwing stars severing the cords connecting the cameras to their power source. The person couldn't help but chuckle lightly to himself as he then tip-toed down the hall, keeping close to the sides to avoid the pressure sensors, thankful he had... "Liberated"... The blueprints for this place a week prior and found most of the floor's "Surprises"...

--_(X_

_**From the mind of 26 Lord Pain and Master XIII...**_

--_(X_

_Voice: Good, Evil... Really... Whats the difference? Is it right to hurt others for the greater good? Is it wrong to help another by stealing from those better off? Or, just maybe, have we all fallen off the true topic, is it Good and Evil anymore? Is it good to betray another, just because their doing the thing they feel is right? No... It's not... But still we think it is..._

-- _(X_

The figure slowly looked around the corner of the hall, thankful that the occupants of the building had left for the night. The person silently looked to the next hallway and frowned seeing a... A droid... Of some kind sitting in the hall looking around for intruders, the person frowned and then looked above him and smirked, _'Perfect...'_ He thought to himself with a smirk and jumped up grabbing hold of the grate and then slowly he placed his feet on the wall next to him and stuck to it, quickly pulling out his knife he began to unscrew the grate and then pushed it inward and entered into the air ducts of the building with ease. _'What kind of idiot makes these things big enough for a human to crawl through?'_ He questioned himself with a shake of his head as he passed the droid's location and made his way into the darkness of the Air vent.

-- _(X_

_**The world was once something he treasured, but now never again...**_

--_(X_

_Voice: The "Line" between what is Good and Evil has not just been blurred, it's expanded. The once simple border has been obscured so much that it has created an almost endless shade of Gray between the two. While one person may believe he is doing the right thing, others won't, but then again others also WILL... and yet that is why people like me exist... I believe in something no one else does..._

-- _(X_

The figure found what he was looking for and silently pushed open the air vents hatch, coming out and once more placing his feet onto the wall he re-secured this vent and then walked on the wall towards the computer in the room. It was encrypted, but it was also something he would enjoy cracking, it was a challenge to his new intellect. Popping his knuckles, the person started to type on the keyboard, bringing up parts of the system, tearing down others with amazing skill and ease. He remembered when his teacher had taught him about such machines and inwardly remembered to thank that man when and IF they ever met again.

-- _(X_

_**Their betrayal left him empty, his heart shattered he became a new man...**_

--_(X_

_Voice: I believe in the edge, the combination of Good and Evil, being neither, but also being both. Why? Because... I've played the hero... And I got hurt... And being a Villain... Not my style. So, I decided, why should I give up everything? Just so some bastards can take it away... Why should "I" lose everything I've ever gained? Just so it can be destroyed in an instant..._

-- _(X_

The person grinned as he put the buildings security systems into a thirty minute shutdown. More than enough time for him to do what he needed and get exactly what he had come for... He walked silently out of the room, still cautious and then walked down the hall, to a pair of sliding double doors. He frowned and then pulled out something. A brush with some green dust, he patted the brush into the dust and started to gently stroke it over the keypad beside the door, smirking as he saw fingerprints. He then punched in one try, frowning as it was incorrect, then tried another combination and frowned once more as it still wasn't right. He bit his lip then took a deep breath before concentrating about what he knew about this place and grinned as he figured it out punching in the code as the door then slid open... The date of this buildings construction...

-- _(X_

_**He would forget her, her betrayal, and become someone great, his power unstoppable...**_

--_(X_

_Voice: So as you can guess, I don't like to play the Hero anymore, I've only got one thing in mind from now on... What I should have done a long time ago, what I WILL do... I'm looking out for only one person now... Me... Number 1... No matter how lonely, it will be better than being betrayed again..._

--_ (X_

The person walked into the room and smirked widely as he looked around at the devices in glass cases and the weapons long forgotten, gathering dust. He walked over to one that was in pieces and scooped them all into a small bag he carried on his waist, then closed the bag tightly and placed it back before shrugging the back pack he wore from his shoulders and grabbing a few, less noticeable items from their own places. He stowed them into his back pack and then made his way over to a large door and smirked. He saw another keypad, and like before, dusted it only to frown, no fingerprints, but the keypad DID have some slight grooves from where it had been used before. The person nodded to himself and looked at the numbers, it was tougher than the last one and he had to concentrate on it fully before attempting to put in the right code...

--_(X_

_**But, sometimes, even the best laid plans of mice and men are all for naught...**_

--_(X_

The person grinned as he punched in a code and the door swung open with a hiss revealing the contents within that made his lips curl, seeing what he came for lying before him. He walked forward and looked the item over with a critical eye, not exactly sure what he should think of it really. _'Could use a few alterations... Maybe make it a little less plain... Lose the damn stupid cape... Some more padding would also be nice... But it's a start...'_ He thought to himself with a nod and then took the item and put it into his back pack also, halting only to look into a pair of reflective white eyes... "So what do ya' say... Ready to show those kids how its really done?" He asked the skull like mask and then placed a hand over the right eye, tracing a red mark and smirking, his strange eye's nearly glowing in the dark as the whisker like marks became clear on his skin... "Red-X?"

The teen briefly looked over the mask and smirked to himself, it reminded him of the days before, back in the days he would play Ninja with a fake AnBu mask for some reason... "Eh, no time to reminisce, nows the time to leave before the kids get home." The teen then said to himself and turned and went back the way he came, leaving the building just as he came... not even a single trace of his presence left behind...

-- _(X_

_Voice: They say it's easy to see the line between Good and Evil... They say it should be perfectly clear... The problem isn't in the line, it's in the person looking at it. How do two people perceive Good and Evil... In the same way? No... They see what they believe... As such, there is no Good, nor Evil in the world... Only an endless shade of gray... Like me... My name is Uzumaki Naruto... Former Ninja of the Hidden Leaf Village... And the New Red-X..._

--_(X_

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

--

TBC...

--


	2. Memories

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

**Chapter 1: My Memories...**

--

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

--

(??)

A sandaled foot sprung from a branch and towards another tree. The person springing from tree to tree had a large scroll strapped securely to his back and a smirk gracing his lips. _'Feels great to be back...' _He thought to himself as he then grabbed a branch into a flip and landed on the ground in a crouch. The person's spiky blond locks were illuminated in the pale moon light of the forest, the rain coming down to soak him yet his cargo, the sacred scroll of sealing, somehow remained dry. _'Probably some kind of seal...' _The blond thought as he then reached behind him and placed a hand on the scroll.

He then forced his Chakra into it, and the scroll began to shrink down until it was the size of a normal scroll. Smirking, the blond then placed that into one of the two Kunai holsters on his right thigh. _'If I had known it could do that five years ago, I don't think Mizuki would have been able to tell I even had it...' _The blond then thought before looking around and nodding to himself. He quickly formed a seal with his hands and focused on the forest around him, a nifty trick his Sensei Yamato taught him was feeling out for the Chakra signatures of others when being followed...

_'Going to have to thank him for those private lessons if we ever meet again...' _The blond thought to himself then frowned; about six signatures were heading his way... Two of whom he really didn't want anything to do with... **"Bakuha Bunshin no Jutsu!!"** The blond then cried with a quick hand seal and four identical blonds appeared around him. "Keep them busy as long as you can, use THAT move if you have too, just DON'T let them find me..." The original told his clones who all nodded as the blond then jumped off, leaving his clones behind.

The clones waited in the shadows for their own opponents, but not for long as they arrived and the clones went to attack. Forming a seal, the one with the most Chakra quickly called out a loud **"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"** and fifty extra blonds appeared, the original clone vanishing with a poof of smoke as the clones charged the team of Chunin-Jounin level ninja. They attacked swiftly, using Kunai to block the kunai and blades of their enemies.

The clones fought while the Bakuha Bunshin stayed behind, waiting for the signal to use their "Special" technique. One clone jumped into the air and used a Rasengan, not as powerful as the originals but he managed to knock a pink haired girl into a tree with the force of the attack, knocking her out as a result. A black haired boy with a long sword, who was then attacked by ten of the clones, then destroyed the first of the clones. Each of the remaining conscious members of this little retrieval squad were beginning to tire, but started to use more dangerous methods of attacking the clones...

The original however couldn't help a light chuckle that escaped his throat when the memories of the Kage Bunshin came to him. _'Lets slow them down a little bit more...' _he thought darkly to himself and uttered a single word... "Boom..." with that a massive explosion sounded from behind him, followed by two more from the area he had left his "Bakuha Bunshin"... "Well, that should have knocked the wind out of them..." The blond said to himself as he increased his speed, heading straight towards the Valley of the End... _'No, the Beginning... Of my new life...' _The blond thought to himself as he continued through the trees at a breakneck pace.

The ninja whom were supposed to retrieve the blond were worse for wear; another of them was now unconscious. Knocked out from the blast of those Bakuha Bunshin, the black haired youth growled and jumped off after the blond, ignoring the calls for him to stay back as he rushed through forest, black eye's flashing red as he did so. He sped up; going faster than what should have been humanly possible, entering a dark cave as he did.

The blond ninja from before soon jumped out of a cave, and landed on the head of a statue. His spiky blond locks shined brightly in the moonlight, as his tan features showed the three "whiskers" he had on each cheek and shining blue eyes. He was wearing a blood red T-shirt that had a black AnBu shirt beneath it, with a black strap over his chest that was attached to a sheathed Ninjatou on his back, a gray utility belt around his waist. A pair of black Shinobi pants with the ankles held down with metal mesh and gray metal shin guards, a pair of black Sandals under those. On his arms he wore metal mesh over his forearms with gray vam-braces over them and black fingerless gloves with metal plates at the backs.

The blond looked to the valley with a smirk, looking down upon what he and Sasuke had fought in so many years ago, the same place that had once decided who he would be… How appropriate that he would start over here… "Bout time you got here..." He then said while turning as the black haired Nin leaped from the cave and landed before him. "Teme..." The blond said to the black haired boy, the rain still pouring down as his blue eye's looked out from behind his spiky black hair to his former friend.

"What the hell has gotten into you dobe?" The dark haired teen demanded and the blond smirked to himself... Wouldn't he like to know?

--

(Earlier that day...)

Uzumaki Naruto was a boy whom had many things happen to him in the past. Torture, Assassination Attempts, and Beatings were commonplace for him. However, for the last few years he had been having more trouble dealing with people outside the village instead of within it. Not the least of which was the attack on Akatsuki just a few days prior which had left him bedridden. The blond boy had managed to infiltrate the base, defeat the remaining members including his former friend Sasuke, and then took on Madara Uchiha. However, during the final battle with the insane Original Uchiha, the teen was badly injured, leaving him hospitalized...

Naruto was in a hospital bed, his face and body bandaged up, eye's moving beneath their lids... _'To lose a loved one at such a tender age is a tragic thing, child. Can you go on knowing you're the reason she is no longer with you? Or will you take the easy way out, will you forget her sacrifice, and allow me to end you as well?'_ A dark male voice questioned in his mind as a red seal appeared on his forehead, the seal was slowly fading; the edges were seemingly burning away. _'Alright Naruto I want you to concentrate, then follow what I do...'_ A woman's voice said as Naruto's teeth were gritted in the bed and he began to shake.

_'Good job Naruto! That's my boy...'_ The same female voice said and Naruto's eye's watered, tears falling down his cheeks. _'C'mon Naruto, if you do good, I'll buy you a treat!'_ The woman's voice came again, with a soft laugh following her voice. Naruto Clenched his fists, as his eyebrows knitted together whole body shaking once more.

--

_(Flashback...)_

_A blond five year old sat down on a chair with a scowl, bruises and scrapes all over him as a woman started using some minor Medical Jutsu. "Naruto, why do you always get in trouble? I know the other kids don't like you but please try and ignore them... For me." The woman pleaded, her golden-yellow eye's looking to the blond haired child pleadingly and he simply crossed his arms and looked to the side._

_"Why should I... Everyone's always mean to me..." The blond mumbled and the woman smiled softly before wrapping her arms around him in a gentle embrace, his eye's softened as she did and he leaned into her. "Why doesn't anyone like me? I try to make friends... But..." The boy said softly and the woman scratched the boy's head lightly._

_"They just don't understand Naruto... Give them time and they'll all come around." The woman told him sagely but the boy didn't know. "I promise you Naruto, someday, this entire village will stop disrespecting you. You'll be acknowledged as the little hero you are." The woman said with a small smile to the blond who gave her the tiniest of Smiles. "Oh c'mon, you can do better than that." She then said and the blond boy smiled widely to his mother. "That's better." She said with a laugh and hugged the boy making him smile once more as he leaned into her shoulder._

_(End Flashback...)_

_--_

The blond gritted his teeth in pain as more flashes passed by his eyes, the seal on his head was now half way gone. The wounds covering the boy's body all began to glow an eerie crimson before then healing over, not even leaving a scar or bruise left on him. Blue eye's opened as he felt a barrage of memories assault his mind, none stronger than the ones of the woman with the golden yellow eye's and blood red hair... The boy felt his eye's widen as a memory hit him harder than any of the other's, his eye's widening as it passed before his eye's.

--

_(Flashback...)_

_An Eight year old Naruto, backed away from a man, his mother, Uzumaki Kushina, was there holding him tightly. The two were in her apartment, one she and he had lived in all his life... The Man before them wore black AnBu armor, with the right half of a tiger mask and a black facemask covering his face, leaving only his left eye and white hair visible. In one hand the man carried a sword, covered in blood from some of his mother's guards. "Naruto." his mother whispered as the fearful Naruto continued to watch as the man walked ever closer towards them. "Always remember... No matter what... I'll always love you..." With that she gave one last hug to the blond and stood up to look towards the man whom used a hand to wipe away the blood on it._

_"So... Do you really believe you can do anything to stop me?" The man questioned with a stiff monotone, Kushina simply smiled sadly towards the man._

_"Possibly not, but if I can give my son, even another minute to live... That would be enough for me." She told the man simply and his single eye looked at her with something similar to respect for only a short few moments._

_"Be that as it may... Your weak now, you've allowed your skills to degrade... The once feared BeniTenshi of Uzu No Kuni, has become a shell of her former self... Your no more than a helpless woman now." The man said darkly and Kushina shook her head._

_"I'm not a helpless woman... I'm a mother, and I have a child to protect." She said as she pulled a Kunai from her black dress and held it up. "And in nature... a Mother is the most fierce of any species when you threaten their children..." She said to him and the man twirled his sword in hand once then leveled it onto his shoulders._

_"Nice speech... But this isn't Nature my dear... This is life." The man said and pressed a hidden button on the staff, a Blade coming out of the end on both side. "And life is often much more cruel than nature..." The man said to the woman darkly as Naruto hid in his mother's shadow._

_"Naruto, run, get out of here now... Never look back..." The woman then stated and Naruto still couldn't seem to move from his spot as the man's cold gray glared into his blue eyes. Kushina didn't bother trying to tell him twice as she rushed towards the man, he moved back away from her attack and swung his sword. Kushina ducked down and stabbed upwards, but the man grabbed her wrist and then kicked her in the face, sending her into beside Naruto._

_"Mom!" Naruto finally cried and went to her side, the woman groaned as Naruto helped her up, the heavy falls of the mans feet alerted them both to his presence as he stalked towards them, his Ninjatou leveled onto his shoulders. Naruto hugged his mother tightly and Kushina glared at the man in defiance._

_"Such a disobedient boy..." The man said with a shake of his head as he loomed over the two. "You should have heeded your mothers words Child... And ran while you still had the chance." The man said darkly to the young blond haired child. Kushina quickly used this distraction to lunge at the man however and brought her Kunai to his throat. The man grabbed her wrist with his left hand, holding her hand back as she used both to try and plunge the Kunai into his throat. There was a splatter of blood, which wasn't that of the man however, as a small trickle of blood went down Kushina's chin, his sword having pierced her stomach and exited through her back._

_"Naruto... Run..." Kushina said as she turned to look at the blond one last time, eye's full of unshed tears, before the man kicked her off himself. Naruto somehow managed to do as told this time as he ran, with wide fearful eye's, from the killer. The man looked at Kushina as she looked at him defiantly one last time._

_"Humph, such a waist my dear... I was only supposed to kill the child... You would have been wise to run yourself." The man said darkly as he then pulled his sword from her body and left her on the ground bleeding as he continued his pursuit of young Naruto. The blond child ducked into an alley and then ran into a wall in his try at escape. He turned around to leave, only to find the masked man standing there, his bloody Ninjatou in one hand. The man looked at Naruto as he backed into a wall, and then fell down, shaking and crying as the masked man stared at him coldly._

_"To lose a loved one at such a tender age is a tragic thing, child. Can you go on knowing you are the reason she is no longer with you? Or will you take the easy way out, will you forget her sacrifice, and allow me to end you as well?" The man spoke darkly and Naruto remembered his mother's face, the tears in her eye's and the blood flowing from her wounds. Naruto didn't remember what happened next... Only Seeing Red and a deep voice speaking into his ears angrily..._

_**"Pathetic Ningen... How dare he attack me!"**_

--

_Naruto woke up later and looked around with wide eyes, he looked at himself and found that nothing seemed wrong. No blood, no wounds, no scars... What had happened? "Hokage-Sama, can't you see now! The boy is a Brat! A FUCKING SELFISH BRAT WHO LET THEM ALL DIE!" Came a shout from outside and Naruto looked to a window in a door to see two shadows._

_"That is not true Kakashi, the boy has had to watch his own MOTHER be murdered... He was angry and frightened; no doubt the Beast merely used his anger to free itself... For a short time at least..." The sound of a familiar voice greeted Naruto; a voice he knew belonged to the Old Man, or the Third Hokage..._

_"I know that! But RIN is Dead Hokage-Sama! She was protecting that brat! It's his fault she had to die! Why didn't he save her if he has this damn power?" The same mans voice came as Naruto listened, he knew a Rin... Auntie Rin... She was always so nice... But now... Tears filled the boy's eyes as he looked to the foot of the bed, his auntie was gone too..._

_"Kakashi! You're acting stubborn and foolish! If Minato could see you now he'd be rolling over in his own grave because of your words!" The Third Roared and Naruto stiffened, he'd never heard the Old Man so pissed off before... "It's not Naruto's fault this man came after him, nor is it Naruto's fault Rin and Kushina are both dead." The man growled and he saw Kakashi's shadow Stiffen._

_"Yes it is Hokage-Sama, he didn't save them! Only HE lived, they both died while HE survived! If he could beat that man why DIDN'T HE SAVE THEM AS WELL?" The man shouted once more and Naruto saw then old man literally punch Kakashi in the face from the way the shadows moved. "H-Hokage-Sama!" The man sounded both confused and slightly afraid as the "Old Man" loomed over him with an angry scowl over his face._

_"Kakashi... How DARE you. That child has nothing left, and you have the audacity to blame HIM for this! You can blame a CHILD for being afraid of someone who's older, bigger, AND stronger than him for running away? I'm sure Minato, Kushina, Rin, AND Obito would be ashamed of you right now, and that's not thinking of your mother AND father!" The Old man growled out at the man now on the ground. There was a tense silence for a few moments before then letting out a sigh. "What do we know about that man Kakashi? I want EVERYTHING your AnBu have found out..." The Sandaime stated angrily and Kakashi was silent for a few moments._

_"No name. No Village of Origin, not even a fucking record in the Bingo Book sir... This man... He was a nameless GHOST... He was nothing, and as such he was also the perfect Assassin." Kakashi replied softly, barely speaking above a whisper as Naruto sat back and listened sadly._

_"... Who hired him?" Sandaime questioned and Kakashi was Silent. "Kakashi. WHO hired that man to murder Naruto?" The Sandaime demanded and Kakashi let out a long sigh._

_"A member of the Council Sir... Miss, Haruno Kasumi, She was apparently Jealous over Kushina having Minato-sama and decided to take her child away from her, just to make her suffer... I can't believe she would do this Hokage-Sama... How could she allow her Crush on Minato-Sensei to take such control of her? I mean she has a husband and daughter for Kami's sake!" Kakashi replied then added while the Sandaime growled angrily._

_"Her Family are known for being fanatically obsessive, I just hope it doesn't spread to her daughter as well..." The old man said and Kakashi nodded from his spot on the floor._

_"We have her in custody now Sandaime-Sama, we are awaiting your order's on what to do with her... The orders for the Assassination where located in the Assassin's Kunai Case... Also... He had a Will; it says he bequeaths all of his possessions... To whomever it is that finally kills him... To whomever allows him to see his family once more..." Kakashi replies and Naruto sees the Sandaime turn to look towards Kakashi._

_"I'm not joking Hokage Sama... That was what it said, word for word, he wants the man who killed him to have all his worldly possessions. I don't know about the other part, but we TRIED to open the scroll with his possessions inside it, sir. But there was some kind of blood seal keeping us out of it. I'm not sure how whoever kills him was supposed to open it I'm afraid..." Kakashi reported and Naruto felt his body shake, the man who murdered his mother... Left him everything he owned? Why?_

_"Have those items brought to me Kakashi, I'm going to seal them away. Whoever this man was is not to be trusted, it's possible that he booby-trapped his possessions as some form of revenge." Sandaime said simply and Kakashi stood back up, and nodded slowly to the old man. "Now then, if you'll excuse me, I have to speak with Naruto..." The Sandaime said and Naruto quickly pretended to be asleep as he opened the door. He heard the man walk over and then felt a hand on his head... "I'm sorry for this Naruto... But I won't let you become bent on revenge or power like that Uchiha boy... _**Memory Seal: Forgotten Darkness!**_" The old man said and Naruto's world turned to darkness..._

_(End Flashback...)_

--

(Present...)

Naruto smirked while shaking his head, the Sandaime; he really shouldn't have tried to take those memories away from him like that. As a result the young man had woken up in the hospital angry as hell when he realized how the Sandaime had took away the last shred of family he had away from him… "You know Sasuke, you shouldn't chase a person who doesn't want to be caught… They normally fight back…" The boy's blue eyes showed the anger as he looked towards Sasuke, then reached back and pulled a Ninjatou from a sheath on his back before pointing it towards Sasuke.

"You stole from the village Naruto. I'm here to drag you back home. And this time the Kyuubi won't be able to help you against me." Sasuke told the blond while unsheathing Chokatou from his side and taking a quick stance. Said blond Teen's eyes narrowed when the boy said he stole from the village, in truth the Village stole from him… "So just shut up, give up, and come with me…" Sasuke said darkly, Naruto frowned at the dark haired young mans words before then flipping his Ninjatou along his shoulders.

"Really? I actually thought you were here to enjoy the view..." He said sarcastically and Sasuke barely even twitched. "Geese, why so serious?" The blond mumbled as Sasuke crouched back, assuming a stance and Naruto simply glanced at him boredly. "Fine... If that's how you want to play it, I'll fight you one last time... Just don't go and cry when I kick the shit out of you..." The blond said simply making the arrogant Uchiha smirk towards him, holding Chokatou at the ready...

--

TBC...

--


	3. Escape

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

**Chapter 2: Escape…**

--

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

--

(Valley of the End...)

"C'mon Sasuke, why so Serious? Learn to live a little man..." Naruto said to the dark haired brooding boy and Sasuke simply twitched. "Geese, talk about stiff, ne?" Naruto said to himself while Sasuke then lunged forward. The blond haired Nin yawned as he then blocked the slash, much to Sasuke's surprise, and then kneed him in the stomach before then kicking him in the face sending him sprawling back. "You know Sasuke, It takes allot to truly piss me off..." Naruto then said and Sasuke growled before rushing towards the blond once more.

Said teen merely moved to the side, grabbed the back of Sasuke's robes and kneed him hard in the face. "One thing is hurting my friends, another is trying to kill me, and yet another is people calling me Kyuubi or monster or something I'm actually not..." Naruto said while shaking his head and Sasuke roared, lunging at the blond and swinging Chokatou down towards him only for the blond to jump backwards and land on his feet perfectly. "But you want to know what pisses the fucking hell out of me most of all?" NOW Naruto finally looked serious as his eyes showed a deep anger causing Sasuke to actually recoil.

"What pisses me off most of all is actually divided into two things... Lying to me, or keeping secrets from me..." Naruto growled out as he then crouched and lunged forward, punching Sasuke in the nose and knocking him off the statue. "And you and Sakura screwing behind my back CLEARLY falls into BOTH fucking categories!" Naruto shouted as he then jumped off the side of the statue and towards Sasuke, grasping the handle of his Ninjatou with both hands.

Coming towards the dark haired boy he rolled in midair to avoid a Kunai and blocked the second one before rearing his sword back and swinging down at Sasuke. The dark haired boy had a mere second to block or be cut in half, it was only with some luck that he managed to hold back Naruto's sword. Pushing upward Sasuke pushed Naruto back and the blond went off balance, Sasuke quickly used this as he attempted to slash Naruto only for the blond to deflect the strike with his own blade.

Naruto then lunged forward, swinging his sword at Sasuke as the boy blocked the blade as best he could, however Naruto was pushing the dark haired Uchiha child back towards the wall, concentrating on that Naruto pushed as much strength into the Ninjatou's swings as he could. The two teens fought one another with fierce intent, anger clear on the blond and frustration on the Uchiha's face. The two swords sang as the two swung them in arcs and sparked as they brought them together, they glared at one another heatedly before then pushing each other back and lunging forward once more.

Both swung their respective blades, the steel edges sparking as they grated together, only for Sasuke's skill to allow him to knock the blade out of Naruto's hand and send it flying. Naruto cursed while quickly rolling under Sasuke as that happened and then unsnapped the buckle of his sheath and spun in place, using the sheath to block Sasuke's Chokatou before then sliding forward to elbow the dark haired boy. He them moved his arm upward to knock Sasuke's Chokatou from his hands and send it to the rocks before grabbing the boy and throwing him into said rocks face first.

"What, is that all you've got? C'mon Sasuke show me some real skill here!" Naruto taunted angrily while tossing his swords Sheath to the side and glaring at the dark haired Uchiha. Rising up Sasuke lunged at the blond with a roar, only for Naruto to duck low and kick his feet out from under him. Hitting the water Sasuke got up once more and lunged at Naruto yet again, throwing punches and kicks at the blond, the other boy simply dodging and evading them easily before then ramming himself into Sasuke with a head butt, knocking the dark haired teen to the ground. Sasuke slowly got back onto his feet once more and glared at the blond with pure rage in his eyes, said blond also getting up to glare at Sasuke.

The Dark haired boy then lunged at Naruto throwing his fist but the blond caught it and used a simple Judo-Toss to throw Sasuke away from himself. Sasuke skidded along the water for a short while before then forming several hand seals and placing his fingers to his lips. **"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"** The boy exclaimed as a fireball escaped his mouth and headed straight for Naruto. The blond teen cursed loudly as he lunged forwards then fell backwards using his momentum to keep him sliding on the water and under the fireball before then flipping up and punching Sasuke right in the jaw.

"I HATE that damn fireball shit!" Naruto exclaimed while letting out a few pants, Sasuke was panting even more heavily than the blond however, and his eyes were wide with anger and frustration. _'What is this… How… How can this dobe be beating me? HOW! I'm an Uchiha! An Elite Dammit! How can someone so inferior to me ever injure me so greatly?'_ Sasuke demanded then had a thought his eye twitching rapidly as he did. _'How long has he had this strength… How long has he been able to end me should he choose it? How long…'_ The dark haired boy wondered then glared at the blond haired Jinchuuriki…

"How Long... Have you been making a complete fool out of me?" Sasuke demanded as the rain moved his bangs to cover his own eye's, his face twisted into a snarl pointed towards the blond who looked at him with a stoich expression on his face. "How Long, Naruto?! How long have you been my better?! How long have you been able to defeat me? HOW LONG HAVE YOU HELD BACK ALL THIS POWER AND MADE A FOOL OF ME!" The Uchiha brat demanded as Naruto looked at him with a flat expression on his face before ansering the other teen.

"I've always wondered what it would be like to kick the living shit out of you… But my promise to Sakura kept me from doing that…" Naruto said mostly to himself as he walked over to Sasuke and picked him up by the front of his outfit, grinning at him darkly. "I got to, say, it feels pretty fucking good to not listen to her for once in my life…" Naruto told the boy who glared at him while trying to register what it was that Naruto was actually saying to him in his own mind.

"What the hell is wrong with you dobe? Since when do you act like this?" Sasuke demanded and Naruto scoffed before throwing the dark haired boy behind himself. Oh… What was wrong with HIM? Sasuke wanted to know what was wrong with HIM? Tch, the Uchiha wasn't really prepared to know what Naruto knew now…

--

(Konoha, Earlier...)

"Man old man, not _only_ did you take my memories away, but you also knew who my father was… What the hell did I ever look up to you for? Or were you manipulating me so I'd remain Loyal to Konoha or something?" Naruto questioned angrily as he sat with his feet propped up on the Hokage's desk while reading his fathers will, a painting was moved open to show a safe at his left side. It stated he was to learn of his heritage at Sixteen, which was four months ago, also he was to gain access to the Namikaze Fortune should ever he need money, also something that never happed, and last he was supposed to get something else, the Sacred Scroll of Sealing…

"Damn village… They just love to keep me down…" Naruto said with gritted teeth while looking over the Will before picking up the second Will he was supposed to read, this one was the one that belonged to his Mother. This one stated that he was to gain the full fortune of the Uzumaki clan IMMEDIATELY, their scrolls, training, and everything else from the Konoha archives, and last he was supposed to get what was left of Uzu No Kuni's fucking fortune's entirely! "Bastards… Not only have they treated me like shit, I just bet they stole my fucking property… and money…" Naruto growled to himself before stowing the two wills of his parents into a seal on the Sacred Scroll and picked up the last one…

It was Jiraiya's, Naruto actually looked sad seeing it and then felt anger as no one had told him about THIS one either! "I'm beginning to wonder why I even bother to put up with these bastards… Oh right, the damn third…" Naruto growled to himself before then opening the Will and looking it over quickly. This one was simple, he got the Toad Contract, which was sealed into the Will, all of Jiraiya's money, which was a sizable amount to say the least, the Title of "Gama-Sennin" and last was he got some Jutsu Jiraiya wanted him to learn which were also sealed into the Will.

"You always looked out for me in your own way Ero-Sennin…" He whispered to himself with a small smile before rolling up the Will and sealing it into the Sacred Scroll. The blond then looked at a final scroll on the desk and considered just rolling it up and tossing it away… But he didn't. Instead he reached out and opened the final Scroll, this one belonged to the man who had murdered his mother all those years ago. He had to at least see what the man had left him… right?

The man's will was simple, Naruto got everything he owned, including a plot of land in Uzu no Kuni, the home on it, the armory under the home, and any equipment he had with him on hand or sealed into a scroll on his person. Naruto looked at the scroll in question and pulled it open only to raise a brow when he saw an almost S shaped symbol emblazoned within. "What the fuck is this?" He wondered before shrugging it off and pushing some of his Chakra into it, only to blink when nothing happened. "Alright…" He said slowly before placing a finger to one of his lips and thinking with his eye's closed…

"The one who finally kills me, gains all my fortunes? When you kill a person you release Killing Intent or KI… However, that alone can't release a seal… Perhaps by adding Chakra to KI it might…" Naruto wondered aloud and focused a burst of both energies into the scroll, smirking when a plume of smoke appeared and then a gray Utility Belt like AnBu wore, a Sheathed Ninjatou, Gray Shin and Forearm Guards, and some Mesh coverings to go under those appeared…

"Wow, he really didn't carry much…" Naruto said with a roll of his eyes before looking over the armor and found several seals had been embedded into them. "It's easier with armor because it's not sharp, thus the seal only needs to clean and mend the armor, while with blades it needs to have extra added to it, if you want it to sharpen the weapon without using a stone or having to take it in…" Naruto said to himself remembering what Jiraiya told him about Seals before he… Passed on… "No time to reminisce about the Ero-Sennin…" Naruto said to himself before then putting the armor on, as a child, Naruto would have considered the man who killed his mother evil, but now…

Now he knew it was only chance the man was hired to kill him, and that his mother got in the way, he truly hated the woman whom hired the man more than the man himself… After all they were ninja, and as ninja being assassins was technically in their job description… Finished pulling on the few meager objects the man had left to him; Naruto then opened the Sacred Scroll before having a thought. The Sacred Scroll was made by his father and was technically apart of his clan, though the Sandaime must have tried to keep it as Konoha's alone, but his mother's scrolls were truly more interesting to him at the moment…

Re-rolling the scroll Naruto pulled a rope from it's tips and tied it around his body before then placing one of his hands onto the handle of the Ninjatou that the Unnamed Assassin left to him. "Whoever you were… No hard feelings… It was just another job…" Naruto muttered before then running to a window and jumping out, quickly using a Shunshin to vanish and reappear on top of a large building, letting out a breath as he did. Taking a thoughtful expression with his eye's closed Naruto thought of the places his mother used to take him all the time and wondered if a clue was in them…

The Hokage Monument, but he figured that was so each of them could be near his father in a way. The park, but that was because she wanted him to make friends, even if it didn't work out to well. The Hokage Tower, to visit the old man though Naruto was beginning to believe the old man was trying to manipulate him into a guardian for Konoha or something. Ichiraku Ramen, of course they were the only ones who ever served Naruto something that wasn't poisoned. Higorashi Weapons, but yet again they were the only ones who never over priced him for weapons and equipment when he was starting at the Shinobi Academy.

Frowning to himself Naruto tried to remember any place of significance that they could have taken the scrolls too… "Hell no…" Naruto growled in his throat while his eye's flashed red. "Fucking ROOT!" He growled out angrily and used a Shunshin to vanish and appear at the Head Council Member of Konoha's home… His name was Danzo, an old War hawk, and it seemed Naruto was going to have to steal his rightful inheritance from… Actually… That sounded like fun…

Scaling a wall Naruto focused Chakra into one of his fingers before then placing it onto the glass of a window and making a large circle. His mother had once said that the Jyuuken wasn't the only style of combat to use Chakra in your hands, another was called "Bloody Claw" a rabid Style which focused Chakra into most of the limbs for increased abilities, though wore you out with continuous use. She tried teaching it to him, but he preferred the "Shadow Claw" which was a big brother to Bloody Claw in which you used stealth, speed, and evasion to defeat an opponent rather than brute strength. One of the abilities in Shadow claw was a Chakra Claw technique, which could be used for cutting, thus he was glad his memories were back.

Keeping his Chakra infused finger glued to the cut glass he then pulled the glass from the rest of its form and caught it in one hand. Smirking the blond then reached inside with one arm and unlocked the window before then pushing it up quietly. Moving into the building silently, Naruto then jumped onto the roof and ran deep into the building, searching everywhere scrolls could be hidden. Frowning when he had finished with the fifth room Naruto then took on a thoughtful look. _'Where would a paranoid old fart like Danzo keep his secrets?'_ The blond wondered before the proverbial light bulb went on in his mind.

Smirking yet again, Naruto then walked into Danzo's bedroom, and while still on the ceiling he walked over to a picture. Checking it for a safe Naruto frowned when he saw nothing, then turned to glare at the sleeping, snoring Danzo with a snarl. "People like you… Are the reason I've always been alone…" The blond thought to himself before then opening a desk drawer and found an old document, reading it Naruto felt his eye's widen before he growled, eyes flashing red once more. "Manipulative old fuck…" He growled and pulled out a Kunai but stopped from throwing it, placing the document back into the desk and his Kunai back into it's case Naruto calmly left the building, relocked the window, before replacing the circle of glass he had cut and fused it back on with Chakra.

Using a Shunshin once more Naruto appeared in front of the Konoha library, his eye's filled with anger and betrayal. "No fucking wonder they never let me in…" He said to himself while pulling the mask up on his AnBu issue shirt and walked to the door, forming a Rasengan in his right hand, as he was sick and tired of subtlety at this point. Hurling the Rasengan into the door the object was sent flying back as two-surprised Chunin turned only for the first to have his arm grabbed by Naruto, broken then have himself tossed into a wall hard. Naruto then hurled four Kunai at the other man, only for them to split showing wire between them that held the Chunin to a wall.

"Hold this." Naruto said as he then placed a scroll in the Chunin's hand and tapped him on the hand. "You let this go, it goes boom, along with you…" Naruto then said to the man darkly and his eye's widened as he looked at the scroll and Naruto walked away from him. Walking to a metal door Naruto formed another Rasengan and plowed threw it with a frown seeing three AnBu beyond the door. "I've come to collect what's rightfully mine…" Naruto said to the three who rushed towards him making the blond wonder what was up with Ninja just rushing up to their opponents... "Boom..." Naruto said and exploded knocking all three men back and into different places, groans and moans of pain clear.

The real Naruto then walked into the room with a smirk as he passed the ninja on the floor and went straight for the place his mother's scrolls had been taken by ROOT. Apparently they were blood/Chakra sealed scrolls, and Danzo had tried numerous times to get Naruto to join him just to open them... Like hell he'd ever give his families power to a nut job like him... Reaching the place the scrolls were held he opened it up and smirked seeing the Spiral on four different scrolls. Picking them up he then opened the Sacred Scroll and sealed them into it also allowing him to carry all of them.

"Halt!" Came a cry and Naruto turned his head to see Tsunade and a platoon of AnBu standing near the exit of the "Off Limits" section to the Konoha Library. Naruto then smirked to himself as he fingered a Kunai, before then tossing it lazily towards them and smirking when it missed them all by a mile.

"That's a waist of a good..." One of the AnBu Started only for the Kunai to explode and knock all of them flying forward.

"I don't waist Kunai..." Naruto said simply then looked down at Tsunade. "Consider this my resignation as a Konoha Shinobi..." Naruto said as he then pulled down his mask and dropped his Hittai-ate to the floor in front of her wide eyes. "… Baa-Chan. Make sure Iruka Sensei gets that back…" He said darkly before then walking towards the exit and using a Shunshin to vanish once more...

--

(Present...)

"You don't really care Sasuke, you're just trying to stall me… and personally, I don't give a shit what you or anyone else thinks of me anymore. All my life no one ever watched my back for me…" As he said this Naruto dodged a Jyuuken strike from Neji and glared at the boy. "So I'll only watch my own back from now on… number 1 always comes first after all…" The blond said darkly while then seeing Hinata, Ino, Sakura, and Kakashi appear.

"Naruto-Baka, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Sakura questioned while moving towards him and the blond caught the fist she threw at him, surprising the pink haired girl who stiffened seeing an absolutely furious look in his eyes.

"Piss off Haruno…" He said with a growl before he then spun his body, kicked the pink haired bitches legs out from under her, and then judo-tossed her into Sasuke, knocking both of them into the cliff wall and surprising the hell out of those who had seen him do it. "Kami-sama that felt good!" Naruto exclaimed with a grin then jumped up over Ino as she tried to take control of him with her Shintenshin no Jutsu. "Nah nah nah…" Naruto said while wagging a finger towards Ino who fell only for Hinata to catch her.

"It's not nice to try to control a persons mind, Ino…" Naruto said then looked at Kakashi and Neji with a smirk on his face. "C'mon." He said while making a simple gesture and the two lunged at him. Naruto blocked a punch from Kakashi and flipped over the man as Neji tried to use the Jyuuken style on him only to hit Kakashi instead. Naruto then took hold of one of Kakashi's arms and tossed him into Neji knocking both of them away.

"What's wrong with all you Konoha Shinobi, besides Lee and Gai the rest of you are pathetic in a simple fucking Fist Fight… What? Are you all truly this useless when your opponent doesn't let you use those flashy ass Jutsu your all so proud of?" Naruto mocked while looking at Kakashi and Neji, the silver haired Jounin then pulled his Hittai-ate up and Naruto smirked. "Yeah, c'mon! Now lets really get this party started!" Naruto exclaimed as Kakashi rushed towards him only to be surprised when the blond went down under water and came back up behind him with a spinning kick.

"The Sharingan is a truly powerful Doujutsu, however, if you cannot see what your opponent is doing, you can't read it either…" Naruto said simply with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face as Neji lunged at him from the side only for Naruto to flip over him and kick him in the back of the head. "C'mon Neji, if you honestly think I'm going to be caught by your Jyuuken you've been drinking way to much with Lee." Naruto boasted then sighed when a Kunai came at him, rather than grab it Naruto moved back and let it hit Neji in the arm, causing the boy to grunt in pain.

"Kakashi… Just stop it right now… Or I'm not going to be playing games with any of you anymore…" Naruto said simply while giving Kakashi a glare before then forming a Rasengan in his right hand. "If that's your decision… lets get one thing straight… You're the ones who attacked me first…" Naruto said while using a Shunshin to appear in front of Kakashi and sent him flying back with the Rasengan. "And now if you'll all excuse me now, I've got to go…" Naruto said with a smirk on his face while looking at the surprised or even angry expressions on the team's faces.

Naruto smirked as he then flipped over Sasuke as he finally got back up to attack him, the blond landed on all fours and then spun into a kick knocking Sakura to the water then flipped over her. The blond rolled in the air and jumped off of Neji only to land in front of Hinata his fist right in front of her face… "N-Naruto-kun…" She said lowly with Naruto's fist less than two inches away from her face. "P-please… Don't go…" She whispered to the boy with slight tears in her eyes, the blonds blue eye's softening.

"Sorry Hinata… This is my choice… I leave no regrets behind…" The blond told the pale-eyed girl before then moving his hand and Shunshining to the top of the Valley Statues… _'Long ago… A pack of wolves captured a small fox… They took the fox and made it hunt and feed them while leaving less than scraps for the fox to eat itself… This fox was clever however, biding his time and making the wolves fat with the food it brought to them…then when those wolves were fat, lazy, and content… The cunning Fox left them, and went to hunt alone … Leaving those wolves to starve as he would feed only himself from now on…'_ Naruto thought to himself as he then looked down at the Konoha Shinobi before turning his back and running off towards his new life…

As he ran, Naruto pulled out the shrunken Sacred Scroll and unrolled it looking for something that could get him as far away as possible. He found it. It was an ancient forgotten Jutsu created by the original Summoners, what it did was take people to the Spirit world to speak with the Boss Summons in order to form a contract with them. Naruto didn't know why the old Ninja had stopped using it, but guessed over time numerous Ninja went to the Summons world only to vanish and never return or something like that. _'They probably met up with manda...'_ The blond thought to himself as he continued reading the Hand-Seals and ironically, a chant in order to use the Jutsu.

The blond haired boy figured that going to the Summons world was better than being in one that hated him or that tried to use him as some kind of tool. So as he ran he continued to read up on the Jutsu before nodding to himself and sprinted farther off, sure that the team had probably been healed by Sakura by know and were heading his way. Naruto frowned at that thought while re-rolling the Sacred Scroll and stowing it into a pocket, and then picked up the pace so he could have some more time for this Jutsu to work.

Stopping at a clearing Naruto went through the fifty some hand seals and then began to mutter a small chant under his breath. Finishing with that he slammed his right hand into the ground and a white seal appeared below his feet. Closing his eyes he pushed more Chakra into the Jutsu and watched as the Seal turned an almost violet color and some kind of reflective portal opened up at his side. "DOBE!" Came a furious shout and Naruto cursed seeing Sasuke was heading his way, looking at the portal then Sasuke Naruto jumped into the portal and felt himself being pulled down.

Behind him Sasuke also jumped into the portal, chasing Naruto with an almost psychotic look on his face. Soon, Kakashi and Neji had also jumped into the portal, following after Sasuke to retreive Naruto. Ino and Sakura soon followed after as well, and Hinata just behind them as the portal closed completely, locking the group into a swirling vortex of glowing light. "NARUTO!" Sasuke yelled as he swung his reclaimed Chokatou at the blond haired boy, only for Naruto to block with his arm guards.

"Back the fuck off Teme!" Naruto shouted back as he punched Sasuke, sending him rolling back into the rest of the team and the color of the vortex changed. Now becoming darker. Naruto seemed to freese when this happened his eye's widened when he finnally hit the seal and then, darkness over took him completely...

--(X

(??)

The soft pitter patter of rain hitting a concrete street was the first thing he heard, the raindrops hitting his body and the cold concrete below him were the first things he felt as one of his fingers twitched. A blond lay in an alley, trashcans and garbage to either of his sides, opening his blue eyes Naruto looked around and then pushed himself onto his back and looked up to the dark stormy skies. "I got away…" He whispered to himself before chuckling lightly, then laughing to himself before laughing loudly… He got away; he had done something no one thought he was able to do! AND he had gotten to make fools out of Sasuke, Kakashi, AND Neji, the three supposed strongest in the entire village! Well…Minus Might Gai and Rock Lee of course…

Naruto soon ceased his laughter and groaned softly as he pushed himself up off the ground, placing a hand to his head he looked around to take in his surroundings. An old alley with a fire escape to his right, with glowing neon lights on the buildings outside of the alley…

"This is definitely not the Summons world…" He muttered to himself and wondered what he had managed to fuck up with that Jutsu, before then shrugging and deciding that he didn't really care. Hell wherever he was he was it had to be better than his own world that was for sure… Naruto moved on towards the exit of the alley, still disoriented and placed a hand on the side of a building as he walked out to see numerous people in strange attire. It wasn't that he didn't figure his own clothes might be strange to them but to him the clothing was quite…

Stopping his mental tirade when he saw a woman who was in something most Konoha woman would consider Scandalous and Jiraiya would have loved to see on any woman… Naruto followed the woman's swaying hips and smirked to himself before then chuckling. "I think I'm going to learn to like it here…" He said to himself then cracked his neck and listened to what the people in this strange place were saying. One thing he noticed was that they didn't speak Japanese, what they DID speak was similar to a language his mother had taught him, which apparently came from a country Uzu no Kuni used to trade with.

Walking over to a random, but young, woman Naruto concentrated on remembering the damn words that were in this language. He was never happier to have a photographic memory than he was now; it had been a long while since his mom taught him that language after all… "Excuse me miss?" Naruto said to the brown haired young woman with a ponytail who looked around his age. The said woman blushed upon turning to see the blond young man and smiled to him widely.

"Yes?" She questioned and Naruto thought on remembering that accursed language once more.

"Where am I exactly? I'm a bit of a wonderer and stumbled into town…" Naruto said then covered and the girl seemed to accept that, so it wasn't out of the ordinary for this town at least.

"Your in Jump City of course!" The girl said cheerfully and Naruto nodded his head slowly, and then had an idea, one that made a sly grin cross over his face. Thinking quickly he remembered a couple more words before then placing an arm around the brunettes shoulders.

"Well, seeing as I'm new in town. I was wondering if you wouldn't mind giving me a tour… What do you say, cutie?" The blond questioned while smirking at the girls blushing features and rapid nod of the head. The two then walked off, with the brown haired girl talking about what there was to see in Jump City, mentioning a group of "Heroes" called the Teen Titans. Though curious, Naruto decided to question the girl about these "Teen Titans" another time… Though for some reason, he had the strangest feeling he'd be meeting them soon enough…

--

TBC...

--


	4. Troika

Disclaimer: We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

**Chapter 3: Troika…**

--

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

--

Two hours later…

Naruto's tour of the city had just ended with him asking his "Guide" where the closest place to eat cheap at was, to which she promptly answered, directing him to a rather small Chinese restaurant. After that he quickly thanked her and left for fear of being asked out when he really didn't need that at the moment… He just got his mind off Sakura after all…

" _It would be really weird if that Teme or any of the others found me on a date with a strange girl when I had just arrived in this world. Though, it would be hilarious just to see the look on their faces at how quickly I managed to pick someone up."_ A few minutes after sitting down and ordering a bowl of shrimp-fried rice, the front door to the restaurant was smashed open by a blast of dark pink energy.

Looking to the door with a slightly annoyed look the blond tteen saw a group of three other teens enter the first of which was a girl around his age. She was a couple inches shorter than him, putting her at the same height as Sakura, with a VERY thin build and looked of the same body type and build as his old teammate Sakura. She had light gray skin, with two pink triangular tattoo's on her face, one under each of her pink cat like eye's, her pink hair done up into a pair of horns with black bands while her bangs hung over her eyebrows covering them from view. Looped around her slender neck was a black ribbon with a blue pendant hanging down from it like a Cat Collar, she wore an off the shoulder black dress with blue ruffles and buttons down the front, black and blue striped stockings down her legs, and black platform boots that had blue soles... Meaning she was even shorter than she appeared...

Following the gray skinned girl into the building was what Naruto thought was a ten year old from his size, maybe even a baby! The person was extremely short, with a green jumpsuit, which has an H in a yellow circle on each of the shoulders while covering his hands and feet with green gloves and boots. Steel plates covering the backs of his fists and thick steel soles on his "Boots", a pair of goggles on his forehead leaving his beady eyes visible, on his back is a circular back pack with controls reaching over his shoulders to hang down in front of his chest...

Last was a MASSIVE teen that made Naruto wonder what his parents or whoever he lived with fed him. He is a very tall, and muscular fellow with collar-length brown hair and a small goatee. He wears a sleeveless black shirt and long black pants, studded gold bands cross his chest and run around his shoulders in an M shape, his feet clad in gold shoes of some sort that look armored like the chest armor and gold studded bands around his wrists.

The three of these teens walk over to a table as if they own the place and sit down as a waiter walks over to Naruto and sets his food down in front of him. " Excuse me, are those these Teen Titans I've heard so much about?" Naruto asks his waiter curiously, only for him to receive a shocked look from from his waiter.

" No. That would be Jinx, gizmo, and mammoth. They're a couple of teenaged super villains from HIVE academy. They come here all the time requesting free food… If they don't get it they smash up the place… I just hope the new guy doesn't bother them to leave." He replies quickly before leaving, the blond shrugs his shoulders then starts to eat his Chinese. Just a few seconds later, another waiter walked out of the kitchen, rolling up his sleeves with a frown on his face, before standing in front of the three criminals and shouts at them.

"Leave this restaurant immediately or I will be forced to call the Police and have all of you arre-" he does not finish telling them off how ever, because the large guy that Naruto can only assume is this "Mammoth" or whatever, lashes out with his left fist sending him straight into and through a wall be fore getting up and started to walk over to him as he says.

"Guess it's time to put the new guy in his place." After saying this, he picks up the injured waiter by his collar and reaches his fist back in order to punch him yet again.

Naruto, watching this display as he continues to eat, curses himself inwardly for his good side as he pushes out the chair to his left with his foot and kicks it into the air and then kicks it once more, sending it flying at the behemoth with one hand as he keeps eating. A loud THWACK is heard as the chair hits Mammoth in the side of his head and breaks on impact. Getting up while rubbing his skull, the large teen begins growling in anger, he turns in the direction the chair came from to see a blonde teenager eating nonchalantly as if nothing at all had happened.

"Who the hell do you think you are that makes it seem like a good idea to throw a chair at someone like me?" When he doesn't receive a reply, merely the boy ignoring him, Mammoth walks right up to Naruto and looks right in to his eyes as he finishes eating. "Hey, I'm talking to you, you blonde idiot! Answer m-oof." he lets out as the table gets kicked right up into his chin by the blonds knee. "Ow!! What the fuck! You just made the single biggest mistake of your life, punk!" Mammoth growled grabbing Naruto by the front of his clothes and lifting him up to face him.

"Is that so? Because, I just have to say, you don't seem like your smart enough to realize when your up against someone, who not only hit you once with a chair while eating, but a second time with the table he was eating at when you got to close for comfort. Oh, and by the way, you definitely need some tic-tacs or some thing because your breath stinks!" Naruto says while waving a hand before his face as he then kicks Mammoth in the stomach and lands on his feet the blond then walks over to him as he charges Chakra into his own fist before jumping and decking Mammoth right in the face, sending him to the ground and wall five feet away unconscious.

Just as Naruto is walking away to return to his food, a man walks into the restaurant that makes Naruto pause and narrow his eyes. The man has a stern face with a prominent chin and gray/white hair thats slicked back, his dark gray eye's look at him first, then at the two still conscious members of the Troika silently. He wears long flowing white robes trimmed with gold, and a black field on his chest has a stylized demonic skull on the front...

"Headmaster Blood, is there something the matter?" The pink haired girl, Naruto assumes she's Jinx, asks as she stands up from her seat only to bow to the old man.

"Oh no. Nothing's wrong at all Miss Jinx. I was simply coming to retrieve you and your delinquent friends for deciding to ditch class yet again… When I saw this rather interesting young man beat Mr. Mammoth, right after telling him he would have lost in the first place no less." Turning to Naruto, the man starts to speak to him with a crisp tone. " Hello young man, my name is Bother Blood, headmaster of the HIVE academy. I was wondering if you wouldn't give me your name?" The man questioned with a slight smirk on her face.

"Uzumaki Naruto, what of it?" The blond said then questioned with a raised brow as Blood rubbed his chin.

"Interesting name… Japanese if I'm not mistaken?" The man questioned and Naruto nodded his head slowly to the man. "Well anyway Mister Uzumaki, to get straight to the point, I would like to offer you a place at my school if you're interested in becoming a villain… Or perhaps just a simple thief." as he says this, Brother Blood's dark grey eyes glow red for split second as Naruto feels something nudging him in his mind to accept this old mans offer.

' _This feels strangely similar to one of Ino's techniques… Though it feels slightly more refined… Maybe I'll go with him for now to see what this academy is all about. Who knows, maybe I'll be able to collect some information on these Teen Titans I've heard so much about… Or at least I might be able to find something to do.'_ Naruto thought then reached out a hand to shake Brother Blood's with a fake Smile.

"Sure, I'll go. As long as I get free food and a good bed." Naruto replies smoothly and Blood give him the tiniest of grins before then looking over to Jinx and Gizmo.

"As for you two, I would suggest you try to keep a low profile, unless of course you actually WANT to be caught by the Teen Titans… Be thankful that your idiocy has led me to such a fine prospective Student, or else I'd have you all in solitary for the next Month!" The man growls at the two who nod their heads to him quickly.

"Very well then, Now Mr. Uzumaki if you would please help Mr. Gizmo carry Mr. Mammoth, I'll take you to the academy where you can start first thing in the morning." Naruto nods as he walks over to the large boy and lifts one of his arms up with some strain while the small kid releases a pair of metal spider legs from his pack then walks over with them and releases several Metal Tentacles which he uses them to get the other arm. The boy mutters something illegible under his breath that sounds like a curse as he helps Naruto lift the teen behemoth and follows Jinx and Brother Blood out the door of the restaurant.

'_So, to the hive academy then... This is going to be fun. Ha ha ha ha ha!'_ Naruto thought to himself with a smirk as he and the rest of the HIVE group walked out of the restaurant with Mammoth…

--

TBC…

--


	5. Wager

Disclaimer: We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

Chapter 4: Wager…By: Master XIII

--

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

--

Six months later and Naruto had managed to become a respected member of the HIVE academy known as Tempest, primarily due to his Wind Jutsu. Like all students there he was required to wear a uniform of their own design. That was when he decided to use a little more of the equipment he had inherited from the man who murdered his mother. He now wore a pair of baggy black Shinobi pants with pockets on the sides, his Kunai case at his right thigh, and a studded belt looped around his waist with two equipment pouches at the small of his back, a pair of steel-soled combat boots like Robins that made a clinking sound as he walked.

He still had his AnBu issue sleeveless shirt with the mask pulled up over his lower face, his Red T-shit remained the same only with a black spiral put onto the left shoulder, a black headband with a red swirl over his forehead and his Shin / Forearm guards and gloves. He also had a black AnBu Armored vest that was of an odd design, having the shoulder and neck armor of a Chunin Vest, was made of thick black leather with mesh weaved into the inside, while the bottom was rolled up at the bottom with thick buckles over it that held it onto his body tightly.

Over all this he had a new Ninjatou which he had got out of that ninja's Will, it was completely black with no guard, thick leather over the handle, with a string at the end which was for going around his wrist so he would lose it, and last he had a new sheath that was simply a sheath with one strap going over each shoulder and a final strap under his left arm to hold it on. Another difference between this sword and the other one was that a seal on the blade converted his Chakra into Wind allowing him to use Wind blades and the like without Hand seals.

During the past six months he had risen to the top in a few of his classes, most notable being infiltration, deception, stealth, hand-to-hand and armed combat, and "The Theory of Assassination". He even had a small group of fan girls from some of these classes, which his newfound friend, Jinx, kept chasing off before anything drastic could happen like what happened to Sasuke. Of course his entrance exam hadn't exactly been a piece of cake, as he had to fight a girl named Cheshire… It had been interesting fighting this world's version of Shinobi that was without a doubt…

--

(Flashback…)

Naruto was sitting in a seat with an annoyed look in his eyes while watching several of what were supposed to be the best of the HIVE's students. What he had seen thus far were a batch of losers who used their powers to solve their problems, Well two or three weren't so bad. Jinx, the ninja girl Cheshire, and Private HIVE were all decent hand-to-hand fighters. "So Mr. Tempest, what do you think of the other students?" Blood asked while entering the room and Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Are these REALLY your best students?" Naruto questioned and Brother Blood nodded his head with a slight smirk to his lips. "C'mon… The only ones with any real talent beyond some stupid flashy power is Jinx with her acrobatic moves, Private HIVE with his shield and strength, and that Cheshire chick IS a decent Ninja to be able to vanish like she does and has some decent Taijutsu moves. But the rest… Ugh!" Naruto said then groaned and Brother Blood chuckled in his throat.

"Really, then I suppose you fancy you could take any of them on and still when then? Eh, Mr. Tempest?" Blood questioned and Naruto snorted before nodding his head to the older man. "Very well then, since you're so confident in your abilities. Your Entrance Exam for coming to the HIVE academy shall be taking on out finest Hand-to-Hand combatant, Ms. Cheshire." Blood stated and Naruto grinned slightly, Ninja Vs. Ninja? Now that sounded like it would be fun!

"Sure. I'll take on your Ninja Chick." Naruto said with a grin under his mask and Brother Blood nodded his head before heading out of the room with a smirk on his face, he'd show the new recruit his students weren't so weak…

--

(The Next Day…)

"Man you REALLY don't know what your doing do you?" Mammoth asked Naruto who rolled his eyes. Mammoth didn't even mind being beaten by Naruto, apparently, he often needed some sense knocked into him and more often than not it was Jinx who did the knocking… Ironically she was his best friend…

"What's there to know, she's a Kunoichi, I fought them all the time back home…" Naruto said with a shrug while he and the rest of the Troika headed to his Exam in the main gym. He had given them all a fake back-story to his life; he basically said that he was from a hidden Ninja Village in Japan that had some technology but nothing like Guns. He also said he had left because of corruption in the village as they strayed from the true Ninja's path, Well… it technically wasn't a total lie…

"She's not just a Kun… Wait… What the Hell is a Kunoichi?" Gizmo started then questioned and ironically it was Jinx who answered.

"A female Ninja most of them are better at infiltration and less physical dealings of the male Ninja, AKA Shinobi, and usually Seduce Targets before killing them. Steal from guys in brothels, and have a better range of flexibility…" Jinx replied and the boy's all looked at her with raised brows. "What? Me and Cheshire are two of the Top Girls in school, we hang out with Bumble Bee all the time…" Jinx told them with a frown and Naruto shrugged his shoulders.

"Whatever, she's still not so weak man! She can take anyone of us down with her hands tied behind her back and a blindfold on!" Gizmo shouted and Naruto scoffed.

"She's an average Ninja, I never said she wasn't weak, just that I've dealt with Kunoichi like her before…" Naruto said simply and Gizmo growled at the blond before muttering about idiotic blond fools under his breath. "Whatever, see you guys after this test." Naruto said walking into the gym while the Troika headed to the stands.

The gym was odd at the HIVE, which was all Naruto could really say about it as he had only seen it in use from the outside thus far. It was large with Yellow honeycomb shaped tiles on the floor and walls, with stands for the other students to watch them. A reinforced glass room was near the upper center of the room and had controls for something in the gym. Walking into the room, Naruto saw his opponent sitting in the center of the room her legs crossed into a lotus position.

Cheshire had tanned skin like Naruto himself, with long black hair pulled into two long "Tails" somewhat like Tsunade, only with green cloth holding them apart and a large Cat mask on her face that had Green eyes and a fanged grin, black and pink whiskers painted on the sides to the eyes with two more black and pink stripes above them. She wore a green Kimono top that was long enough to act as a short skirt with light green trim and long sleeves to cover her hands, a light green sash was wrapped tightly around her waist. She also had on a pair of high-heeled black boots with green socks coming down from the top of them.

Looking at the girls choices in foot wear made Naruto wonder just how the hell she could ever be stealthy. The rest however somewhat made him think of an AnBu or Hunter Nin in terms of Style so he decided not to take her too lightly. "Students, I would like to introduce you all to our newest prospective Student, Mr. Tempest." Brother Blood said and several people either booed or shouted something at the blond who grumbled under his breath about evil brats.

"And as his Entrance exam, he will be fighting Ms. Cheshire…" Brother Blood said and Cheshire looked up at him and the blond could almost swear she was checking him out. Though it wasn't that bad Naruto had to admit girls checking HIM out were still kind of odd, though he figured that since he was the ONLY other Ninja in the school she might just be checking what he could do physically. "Now then, let the exam… Begin!" Blood then exclaimed and Cheshire literally vanished making Naruto blink in surprise.

'_Okay… That's not normal for any Ninja…'_ Naruto thought to himself while crouching slightly and looking around for the girl. He then ducked when he saw the girl's claws appeared in midair heading straight for him. Naruto then narrowed his eyes and flipped back and looked at the direction the claws had been. Naruto blinked when he saw a pair of green eyes and a fanged grin hanging in midair… _'Cheshire… Duh…'_ Naruto thought to himself and lunged towards the disembodied face only to miss as the girl dodged him.

Naruto growled angrily as he then spun into a kick only to hit nothing but air once more as the girl seemed to dodge then lunge at him. Her claws appeared once more and Naruto cursed, rolling to the side in order to avoid the girl's attack. Frowning, Naruto reached into one of his Equipment pouches and tossed a smoke bomb to the ground, raising smoke to cover the area. Cheshire was surprised by the smoke bomb; even though she herself had a couple she wasn't expecting another person to actually use them.

Looking around Cheshire saw a shadow and tossed several Shuriken from her sleeves towards the shadow only to see them pass through nothing. Cheshire then heard a whirling sound and flipped over several more Shuriken while looking around the purple fog surrounding her. She then saw another shadow come at her and swiped her claws, she connected with a figure only for it to vanish in a plume of smoke…

"_Inu, Akuma, Usagi, Hebi, Ookami, Tori, Tanuki, Haku, Taka, Itachi, Mangu-su, Kitsune, Yama, Tori, Inu, Taka, Neko..."_ Came Naruto's voice from all around the room spooking out both the students in the stands and Cheshire herself, last time someone did this was when she was still in training with her masters… At that moment a shadow appeared and swiped it's hands at her, Cheshire moved back on reflex but her eyes widened seeing actual claws had sprouted from the blond's hands.

The teen came at her once more, swiping his claws at her as she dodged and tried to swipe at him with her own. The two met one another toe to toe, at least until Naruto caught one of the girls arms, and then kicked her in the stomach, sending her flying out of the smoke and into the wall of the arena. Naruto then jumped out of the smoke into a flip and pulled his Ninjatou free when halfway to the floor, holding it out to his side as he crouched down on his feet and one hand, head bowed. Looking towards the now visible Cheshire Naruto lunged forward, swinging his Ninjatou and carving a long gash out of the steel walls when Cheshire managed to dodge.

"Quite impressive…" Blood muttered to himself while watching the fight from the control panel and leaned down to one of the Technicians. "Bring it up to level two…" He said with a grin as his technician nodded his head before twisting a few knobs and pulling a lever down. Down below the arena began to change, Naruto had to balance himself as several of the honeycomb tiles on the floor rose up like large pillars, some making rows or stands.

'_Okay, this is really starting to get interesting…'_ Naruto thought to himself as he then flipped from his spot and charged some Chakra into his Ninjatou before then swinging the blade, a burst of wind coming off his sword and heading straight for Cheshire. The cat-masked girl rolled out of the way however and swung one of her arms, several shuriken flying from her sleeves towards Naruto. The blond simply spun his sword to block the attack then crouched and lunged forward.

Naruto swung his Ninjatou and swung at Cheshire, the girl used her claws to block then swipe at the blond. Naruto quickly moved to the side in order to avoid the attack then backhanded the girl in the face, sending her stumbling back. Naruto then flipped his sword so he was holding it backwards and lunged at Cheshire, sending another blade of wind singing towards her.

Cheshire managed to avoid the blade, however her right leg was sliced by the attack and she landed in a heap. Naruto let out a sigh of relief, hoping he wouldn't have to hurt the girl too badly when she tossed several more Shuriken at him. The blond cursed and flipped up into the air and over the attack as they hit a pillar behind him. "Go to Level Five…" Blood suddenly said from his spot in the control room and his technician nodded his head to the old headmaster.

Meanwhile, landing on the pillar Naruto held onto it with Chakra in his feet, only for the arena to change again. This time tendrils came out of the walls with guns of some sort and Naruto couldn't help but gawk. _'Shit… They don't play here do they…'_ He thought to himself before cursing and dodging a laser beam. Cheshire saw the blond in the air and took the opportunity, quickly getting onto one knee the girl threw several Shuriken towards the blond haired Nin.

Naruto cursed seeing the projectiles heading for him and grumbled under his breath about this being a bad time before he quickly sheathed his sword. Naruto then focused his Chakra into his hands and then into the air around him before spinning in midair. **"Fuuton! Makyou Kaiten!(Wind Release! Demonic Rotation)"** Naruto exclaimed as what looked like a miniature Tornado formed around his body, the Shuriken spinning into the attack spun with it before then flying back towards a vastly Surprised Cheshire.

The dark haired girl grunted as she flipped herself back and away from the Shuriken and looked up to see several of the Tendrils on the wall be ripped off by the blonds attack. Up above Blood grinned seeing the ability. _'I suppose that's why he calls himself Tempest… He controls the wind itself!'_ The man thought to himself with a chuckle as the wind around Naruto slowly calmed and the blond landed on the ground panting slightly.

'_Dammit… I still haven't really perfected that one… I need to make it a priority if I take on people with guns in the future…'_ Naruto thought to himself then rolled out of the way as Cheshire lunged at him, swinging her claws down on the blond. Naruto then reached back and unsheathed his sword to block Cheshire's next swipe. The blond then grunted and lifted the blade up, cutting through the steel claws and then kneeing Cheshire in the chin. The girl was sent into a backwards flip and rolled to a halt against one of the pillars while Naruto sheathed his sword once more.

Cheshire quickly pushed herself back up only for Naruto to lunge forward and push her out of the way of a laser blast. The girl then got to her feet and blinked when she saw Naruto chuckle. "You might want to cover up there… Neko-Chan" He said and held out her sash and Cheshire blushed so many shades of red she was sure she shouldn't have blood flowing to her brain or heart. Quickly getting back down the girl pushed her robe closed and held it like that, cursing the blond Nin in her mind.

The two then heard a clapping and turned towards where Brother Blood now stood, floating down on a pedestal with a smirk on his face. "Excellent work Mr. Tempest. I must say I wasn't expecting you to actually defeat Ms. Cheshire in such an… Interesting way… But none the less you have passed your Entrance exam, follow me to your new room so we can get you situated." Blood said to the boy as his platform landed and he walked off.

Naruto looked at the sash in his hand then over to Cheshire and let out a soft sigh before tossing it to the girl. "You might want to wear a belt under that if you don't want someone else pulling it off you…" Naruto said to the girl before walking off after Brother Blood while Cheshire reached out and took her sash back with a lowered head…

(End Flashback…)

--

That night he officially moved into the HIVE, he was given a room with two roommates, one of which was a kid whose outfit made him think of that Batman guy. He wore a grey / black outfit that looked like he had black underwear on the outside, black boots and gloves, a pale yellow belt, with a long cape that had a pale yellow circle at his chest to hold it to his shirt with a strange mask that had mock bat ears. Last his skin was light gray like Jinx, with a thin build, and his eyes were blood red with dark rings around them.

This was his first roommate, known to those in the school as Kid Wykkyd. Kid himself somewhat reminded Naruto so much of his old friend, Shino because he hardly ever talked and when he did it was with logic and reasoning, though he had only heard this from Angel, Kid never spoke to anyone but her for some reason. Later, Naruto found out that by moving into his cape Kid could actually teleport to anywhere he could envision in his mind. Then there was the new guy in school; his other roommate was a strange teen who went by the name Stone.

Stone had only been there for about a week and seemed to struggle with some of the same classes Naruto did. He was a tall, muscular, African-American teen who wore a black muscle shirt and a pair of blue jeans with a pair of combat boots and a studded belt around his waist. He also wore a pair of steel bracelets, a pair of rings that when smashed together, turned his entire body to living rock, similar to the guy that he heard about called Cinderblock. On his head he wore a steel circlet that matched his bracelets. Naruto didn't know much about him however, but he could tell he was hiding something. Whatever it was, it was really none of his business what the guy did after all.

Currently, Naruto was walking with Jinx and Gizmo to the cafeteria for lunch after the one damn class that Naruto found to be as boring as one of Iruka-sensei's lectures on history, Theory of Mayhem. Honestly, he didn't see how anyone actually got what the hell Brother Blood was talking about when he came up with this shit…

"I mean, honestly, when am I actually going to use total war tactics that some dead old guy came up with when he was bored. I'm a damn ninja for crying out loud! I should be killing people from the shadows, stealing top-secret plans, and spying on the damn enemy! I'm not supposed to go plowing through an entire army like some huge Behemoth." The blond complained as he walked down the halls, his right eye twitching.

Jinx simply shrugged her shoulders, she thought Naruto's way of thinking was better than blowing everything straight to Hell. This could possibly be due to the fact that if they did destroy everything they'd have nothing left to steal. Not to mention she didn't fancy the idea of being the last girl on earth and plainly the last person on Earth, the loneliness might kill her if that happened…

"Give it a God Damned rest already, Tempest we hear this every time we have this damn class. 'Stealth this' and 'Stealth that'. Hell I'd even bet that your tests were rigged." The little midget tells the boy with his arms crossed and Naruto merely gives the bald midget a quick yet fierce glare.

"You want me to prove that I can sneak past anyone and anything, huh half pint. If so, then just name your challenge and I'll meet it." Gizmo simply smiles at Tempest's haughty response as they sit down at their normal table. Jinx slaps her face seeing the look on the green clad Midgets face, that look always meant trouble for someone… And it looked like it was going to be Naruto today…

"Alright then, Snot-for-brains listen up and listen good. There's this suit in the Titans-Tower that was made by Robin himself a while ago for some reason. But from what I've heard he stuffed it full of gadgets to take on the other Titans. I don't know exactly where he put it but if you can manage to steal it, I'll not only believe that you can sneak past anyone but I'll also do anything else you want." Gizmo said to the blond confidently and Naruto took a thoughtful expression.

'_If I can get a suit that was supposedly powerful enough to beat the Titans, it will be almost impossible for anyone to stop me when I finally decide to leave here.'_ The blond thought then smirked before holding a hand out to the pint-sized terror." Gizmo, you've got yourself a bet." With that the two shook the others hand.

"So then… What do I get if you fail to get the suit?" Gizmo then asked with a grin while Jinx just huffed and started eating without the two annoying boys.

"I won't. All I need to do is get the blueprints for the place from the Jump City Archives and I'm set." The blond replied and Gizmo seems to remember something before then pulling something out of his backpack. Naruto sees that it appears to be a simple CD but has a feeling it's so much more.

"I managed to download that when we took over the tower a few months ago. It's the floor plan, blueprints, and air vent map for the entire Titans-Tower." Gizmo Tells Naruto with a grin-making Jinx look up and glare at the pint-sized terror.

"You do know we could have used that to sneak into the tower ourselves right?" She asks of her teammate and Gizmo blinks and lets out a small sigh.

"Unfortunately we can't, that scrum-buffing loser of a Tin-Can only had the Blue Prints, any access Codes or sentry drones aren't shown on that map so we'd still be going in half blind." Gizmo grumbled angrily and Jinx blinked before shrugging her shoulders. Gizmo DID manage to make some sense when he wasn't trying at least, and Naruto quickly snatched the disk from the half pint.

"Thanks Baldy, I'll get it done over the weekend." Naruto says while pocketing the disk and wondering what he might need for this little venture into Titans-Tower…

--

(HAYEP academy, four in the morning three days later…)

Naruto walks down the halls of the HIVE with a smirk on his lips and a duffle bag slung over one shoulder. Within it is the X-Suit, and the broken remains of the "Thermal Blaster" Robin once used. He had grabbed the extra items to prove it was all real, maybe use the Thermal Blaster in the suit and he wouldn't have to hear any lip from Gizmo about none of it being real or something.

"Hey Gizmo, I got it." Naruto Says as he walks into the room that the bald dwarf has all to himself only to find the floor littered with mechanical parts. And there in the center of the room was the little boy asleep with a teddy bear that has goggles like his own in his arms in the bed. Unable to let this opportunity pass, Naruto takes out a small spy camera and snaps a few quick shots before putting it back into his pocket and leaning over Gizmo with a sadistic smirk on his face

"Oh hey Angel how you doing?" Naruto questioned of no one while smirking; it was a wide known fact Gizmo had a crush on Angel after all… "What, Gizmo? No I haven't seen him. You wanted to know if he could help you with something…" At these words, the kid immediately jumps up out of bed and literally flies to his door to open it only to close it with a fire red blush on his face as he turns to glare at Naruto.

"What the hell was that for, Tempest?" Gizmo demanded angrily of the laughing blond haired Ninja. Naruto managed to calm down before getting up and wiped a tear from his eye.

"I got the suit for ya. Oh and some weird parts that were lying around with the words "Thermal Blaster" under them…" Gizmo's jaw literally drops at this and he takes the duffle bag it's in from his hands. "All I want you to do is fix the thing up, figure out how it works for me, and maybe do a couple redesigns." Naruto said then pulled a picture of what he wanted out of his Kunai case, hey he was bored on his way back and decided to design what he wanted before hand.

Looking at the plans Gizmo had a calculating look on his face for a few moments before then opening the bag and looking at the Suits belt. "Shit, that crazy Gack-Muncher used THAT for a power source! What is he a damn nut?" Gizmo wondered allowed making Naruto raise a brow to the Pint sized Terror who then put the belt back in the large bag. "Your going to have to give me a couple days to study it before I get to work on your version. I'll use your design if you let me use that Chakra thing of yours to power it." Gizmo said with a simple tone and no cursing for once, Naruto took a thoughtful look before then looking at Gizmo skeptically.

"Is that all you want? To study my Chakra?" Naruto questioned of the annoying little midget who glared at him before nodding his head. The blond teen couldn't help a small chuckle before he then gave a thumbs up to the pint-sized terror. "Deal."

--

TBC…

--


	6. Whose Side?

Disclaimer: We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

Chapter 5: Whose Side?

--

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

--

(The Troika's room…)

This room was an odd piece of work. Unlike the others it had been made a bit larger due to the Troika being the "Shinning Stars" Of the HIVE before their defeat at the Titans hands. Each of them had a door inside with a nameplate, which led to their individual bedrooms, while on the outside they had more entertainment type things. A small workshop for Gizmo, a large comfy couch and TV for Mammoth, and last an Art easel for Jinx who amazingly enough had an artistic side.

However at the moment, our favorite blond ninja Naruto, was laughing loudly while Gizmo was growling and Mammoth was just plain confused? "What's got Temp in stitches?" The lumbering brute questioned with a confused expression and Gizmo pouted childishly with Naruto roaring with laughter.

"My ribs!" The blond exclaimed holding said aching sides while trying to stop his hysterical laughter from becoming worse… And failing miserably… Soon however the blond by some small miracle of nature managed to stop his laughter and looked to Mammoth while wiping a tear from his eye. "Gizmo asked Angel to that dance tomorrow, got shot down and started to cry when she walked off with Kid…" He said then fell backwards, roaring with laughter once more and Mammoth snickered.

"IT'S NOT FUCKING FUNNY ASS-WIPES!" The bald midget roared towards the blond and his oversized burly friend angrily.

"Giz… Angel and Kid have been friends since they were FIVE, of course they'd be going to the dance together…" Mammoth said and Naruto blinked while slowly stopping his laughter, both Gizmo and he looking to the big guy.

"How do you know that?" They both questioned with confused looks and Mammoth stopped his chuckling and grinned nervously.

"Me and my sister Shimmer knew them back then…" He admitted and Gizmo started cursing loudly while Naruto just laughed once more. "Say, who are you asking Temp? I hear Cheshire kind of likes you, well… In the weird "I want to kill him painfully yet respect him at the same time" kind of way but…" The large teen said and Naruto cringed at that, he'd heard about the girls rather strange affection / vengeful anger towards him and kind of wanted to steer clear of her for a good long while…

"Nah, you can't trust a Ninja not to stab you in the back first chance…" Naruto said while standing up and leaning against the door, only to flinch remembering a certain pink haired girl who would forevermore have CHEATING WHORE boldly written over her massive forehead in his mind… "Eh, might not even bother going…" Naruto then said with a shrug before leaning back and Mammoth gawked.

"Are you nuts! This is like the only fun we get to have around here! Well… Besides pranks… But that's another story! And even Jinx is going with that Stone guy for Christ's sake!" The large man exclaimed and Naruto waved him off with a frown. "If you want I could help set you up with someone or something…" Mammoth offered and Naruto raised a brow towards the big guy.

"Who are you taking then?" He questioned and Mammoth blushed…

"Leviathan…" He admitted and Gizmo fell out of his seat and shivered.

"The freaky sea serpent chick?" He demanded loudly with wide eyes and Mammoth glared.

"Hey! She's really not so bad when you look passed the fact she has Gills, Claws, Fins, Scales, and a Tail!" The large teen argued and Naruto blinked then sighed, Leviathan was a girl who reminded him of Isarabi in her "Sea-Beast" form now that he thought about it … Man why did that have to happen now of all times…

"Geese, would you two just calm down and relax… I wanted to know how you're doing on my suit anyways Giz… Before I saw that lovely moment between you and Angel at least…" The blond said then snickered and Gizmo muttered something under his breath angrily before rubbing his face.

"Upgrading the suit to adapt to that Chakra shit is impossible… The thing has a fail-safe Birdbrain installed so no one could alter it… Unfortunately for him, I WAS able to copy the weapons and other supplementary systems in order to make a new more advanced suit instead." The tiny terror explained and then snorted. "Good thing too, that bird-brained moron used Xenothium of all things to power it!" The bald midget exclaimed and Naruto raised a brow in confusion.

"What the hell is? Xeno… Xina… That shit you were talking about?" Naruto questioned and Gizmo slapped his face.

"Xenothium ore, it's a rare mineral that produces enough power to keep a decent sized home going for a month with a small amount. However it's highly unstable and usually ends up exploding and atomizing everything around it based on how much of it there is…" Gizmo explained while sounding like a dictionary making Naruto blink.

"Alright, so these rocks are bad news?" He questioned and Gizmo snorted.

"Depends on what your using it for. If you want a useful power supply, your fucked, if you want it for some kind of mega-blaster-cannon or something you've got your new best friend in Xenothium." Gizmo said and Naruto raised a brow.

"Wait… How is it unsuitable as a power source?" The blond questioned while scratching his head and Gizmo let out a sigh.

"Because if you're not careful, it goes boom and atomizes you…" Gizmo said with a frown and Naruto grimaced, that didn't sound too appealing. "Not to mention the stuff is rarer than hell, if you had a scanner sure you could find some but the only one of those in town are housed over at the Lexcorp Warehouse downtown." Gizmo said and Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Okay… So what about you scanning my Chakra to see if you can make it into a power source then? When's that happening Giz?" The teen questioned and Gizmo grumbled under his breath and looked over at the blond.

"Seeing as no one will notice, why not during the dance… Jinx has been gah-gah over Stone for the passed few weeks so she wouldn't notice if a fucking truck hit her… Let alone me and you being missing tonight." Gizmo said and Naruto frowned slightly, while true she did seem a tad bit too affectionate, Naruto had reason to believe it might be that Brother Blood guy who was doing it…

"Alright, Mammoth, cover for us or something." Naruto said with a nod then to the large man who nodded his head with a "Yeah yeah I know" towards the blond and the midget who both then nodded. Gizmo looked like he was about to start something when he swore loudly and pointed to a nearby clock.

"We've got a History of Crime class in five minutes!" He called out before jumping from his chair with Mammoth while Naruto rolled his eye's, made a Kage Bunshin which he sent after his book and calmly walked out of the room as Giz and Mammoth tried to find their books or whatever…

The blond was thinking to himself silently, at least until he bumped into someone, well, more like walked into him then fell on his ass. Growling slightly Naruto looked up with an annoyed frown, only to see his roommate Stone standing over him… "Er… Sorry Tempest, I thought you'd move out of the way…" The big guy offered a hand to Naruto, and the blond took it and got back to his feet.

"Yeah… Well I kind of space out every now and again…" Naruto admitted while brushing himself off and walking back towards class when his Kage Bunshin dispelled itself at the next corner, leaving his book there. Walking to the corner he kneeled down and picked up said item only to get a start.

"I didn't see that there before…" Stone said mostly to himself while scratching his head and Naruto chuckled nervously.

"Ancient Ninja secret…" The blond said and Stone shrugged. "So I here your taking Jinx on a date of sorts…" Naruto mentioned and Stone grinned nervously, the last guy who had broken Jinx's heart had ended up with broken legs and arms, courtesy of an irate Tempest… Apparently he had a VERY bad temper when you messed with his friends like that…

"Er… yeah… I mean well… She and I have been seeing a lot of each other lately so I just kind of thought it would be fun too…" Stone tried to explain FAR too quickly and Naruto chuckled before patting the large teen on the back.

"Chill Tin-head, I don't have a problem with you… Yet… We'll see what the future brings however…" Tempest said with an amused smirk beneath his mask while walking away and leaving Stone to gulp. The blond then chuckled to himself and headed towards class, nearly laughing his head off when he heard Gizmo and Mammoth rush passed him and into the room the blond ninja lazily following after them…

--

(The Night of the Dance…)

Naruto was annoyed as hell while looking at a simple almost box like device… "Do you honestly expect me to fit in that?" The blond questioned and Gizmo muttered under his breath.

"No, just do whatever you do with your Chakra and put a hand into the box…" He said and Naruto frowned, before forming a small Rasengan and then placing it into the box, he was surprised when it didn't move and merely hovered.

"Okay that's unusual…" He said mostly to himself then rubbed his face when he heard the music from the dance booming in his ears due to the volume they had it up to. "Could they have that damn music any louder?" The blond grumbled angrily and Gizmo ignored him, preferring to listen to his headphones while lightly bobbing his head from side to side and analyzing the Rasengan in the box.

"Holy Shit… It's similar to Jinx's power…" Gizmo said to himself, remembering the time he made some "Anti-Jinx" gadgets because on Friday the 13th her powers went crazy and she nearly blew herself straight to hell. As he checked over the strange energy called Chakra that the blond used. Checking over a few more theories he then moved on to a spectral analysis and found it was less similar to the pinkettes own power on this scale before then moving on to attempting to siphon it and use it as energy…

"Well?" Naruto questioned and Gizmo held up a finger making Naruto grunt in annoyance. Gizmo was working for a couple minutes longer, and Naruto felt his eye twitch as he continued to hear the dance music, only they were now playing a slightly less annoying song that sounded strange to him.

"Aha!" Gizmo suddenly exclaimed and nearly gave the blond a heart attack.

"Figure it out or what?" The blond questioned and Gizmo nodded his head with a grin still on his face.

"Yeah, it's really not as bad as I thought. It's not magic so I didn't have to worry about any of those or Seals shit, and Jinx uses something slightly similar, in that it's a natural energy of the body at least. What I'll probably do is…" Before the techno whiz could continue his rant Naruto made a sharp whistle and the boy blinked towards him.

"Yo, I don't need to know the details… Just tell me when it'll be finished is all…" Naruto said and Gizmo grumbled to himself before taking a thoughtful expression on his face and nodding.

"I'll have to get your measurements if you want it to actually fit you." The midget said and the blond shrugged before walking over and Gizmo pulled out a scanner, which he then used to get the blonds exact measurements down to his hair length… "Aright, that'll be all I need… Just don't bug me for the next week or so and I'll have the suit all nice and pretty for you…" Gizmo said while getting out a few of the designs for the suit Naruto had whipped up and his own which featured circuitry and other such things, Naruto shrugged his shoulders before walking out of the room and placed his hands behind his neck and head.

--

(That Night…)

Naruto was crawling through the air vents of the HIVE Academy, several C4 explosives in a bag he was carrying with him. "Take an Arson class…" He muttered remembering when Jinx said he should take said class so he could blow bank vaults. "To hell with the class, I'll take the damn explosives…" He then muttered to himself and opened a vent, dropping himself into a seldom used room, looking around he walked over to a support beam at the far end of the room and placed the C4 onto it, before then setting the frequency on the bomb to the same as the others.

"Who needs a class for this…" He muttered before taking hold of two wires on the bombs and placed them into the clay like C4. Naruto then looked around before walking over and jumped back into the vents, quickly returning the grate of the vent back to its proper place he crawled off. "Glad Giz managed to finish the new suit and all, but he didn't have to take so long with it…" The blond muttered under his breath and then blinked before pulling out a map he had in his belt and looked it over.

"That way…" He said turning and went off towards another section, then removed the grate and dropped down. Looking around he walked over to the next support beam and dead the same as he did with the last. Nodding he then turned and jumped back into the vents. "Seriously, doesn't anyone know your not supposed to have Vents big enough for people to crawl through?" He wondered aloud then found his next spot and slowly opened the grate, looking down he inwardly cursed finding Brother Blood's office. "The one day I don't get detention for skipping class…" He muttered then dropped down and crawled over to a dark corner and placed the C4 down.

However, before leaving Naruto looked around, then walked over to a curtained area and moved it slightly… "The Girls bathroom…" He said thoughtfully then put the curtain back before then snickering to himself. "Never would've pegged him as a perv…" The blond said to himself and started to walk off and jumped back into the vents above him.

"Why do I always have to do the dirty work?" He then whispered to himself while crawling through the vents and came to his next destination. Really, he was wondering why none of the other students had tried this yet, after all, who wouldn't love blowing up their school at some point? "Honestly, they should've expected this… You can always trust a dishonest person to be dishonest after all… It's the honest ones you have to watch out for, as you never know when they'll do something incredibly… Stupid." Naruto said to himself before then jumping down to his next stop…

--

(Two days later…)

The school was mostly empty, with a few stragglers remaining, the rest had all been sent on assignment to parts of the world. Brother Blood said it was for the Final Exams, but Naruto had a much different feeling seeing as he, Mammoth, Gizmo, Jinx, Stone, a kid with one eye called Seemore, Kid Wykkyd, a burly teen called Private HIVE, and Angel. They had all been asked to stay behind for something that Blood wanted them all to do. So now Naruto was sitting with some of those who had remained behind, beside him was Jinx and Stone, to his other side was Mammoth and Gizmo, while the others were patrolling the rest of the school for the Titans…

_'Thankfully no one is looking for my explosives…'_ The blond thought to himself while looking bored out of his mind. He was glad he had a Kage Bunshin gather his stuff while he was here, he only had his clothes and the Hidden older Red-X costume on his person at the moment, the suit hidden under his clothes. "What are we waiting for again?" The blond questioned with a dull tone and Stone slammed his hands together, his form then became covered with stone, making Naruto raise a brow.

"Well… That doesn't really answer my question…" Naruto mutters to himself while the others seem to be getting ready for a fight… Before them is a smirking Brother blood, making Naruto narrow his eyes, wondering what the psychotic telepath has up his sleeve. "Ah. They've finally arrived." The man then says and Naruto looks towards where Blood is looking and sees none other than the "Teen Titans" he's heard so much about since coming to the HIVE.

Behind the group was Cyborg, with Beast Boy in front and to his left with Raven to the far left, Robin to his right and Starfire to his far right. Looking at the group Naruto listed what he knew of each of them…

Starfire was first: She was cute in a little sister kind of way, and looked somewhat like a young version of his mom. She was ferociously loyal to her friends and those who earned her trust, and deeply despised anyone who harmed or "Saddened" her friends. The girl has light orange skin, with deep emerald green eyes with a light green sclera, long blood red hair, and toned body while being on the tall side. She wore a purple tank top, purple miniskirt, and purple thigh high boots with a silver metallic sole, a silver metallic belt, collar around her neck, and wrist protectors on her arms.

Next was Robin: He was overly serious, had some issues with right and wrong, and was somewhat like Sasuke, only could cut loose and wasn't an arrogant ass. He had spiky black hair, with a black and white Domino mask over his eyes; he had average skin, with an athletic build to his own body while being shorter than Naruto. He wore green tights, green gloves, and a green under shirt, with black steel plated boots, a yellow Utility belt, red armored vest over his upper torso with an R over his heart, and a black cape with a yellow interior.

Then, Cyborg: From what he had heard he was smart, fun to be around, had a good sense of humor, and seemed like the muscle of the group. But the metal man was also quite able to handle delicate situations and was one of the pillars that held the Titans together. Cyborg was African-American and stood very tall, had a dark gray right eye with a red robotic eye on the left with blue cybernetic parts on his head and neck, gray parts on his face. His shoulders, Forearms, and thighs all had this same blue parts, with his biceps, waist, calves, and upper thighs being pitch black, his upper chest and collar were gray with a square plate on the center of his chest, both the backs of his hands and his fingers were gray, as well as his feet, hips, abs, and lower extremities, the rest all being white.

Then came Beast Boy: He was a silly goof at first glance, but after paying some attention to him, Naruto noticed that not only was he not an annoying brat, but he in actuality seemed to be almost scarily similar to the blond Ninja. However, he wouldn't get into that as he wouldn't get onto to the others... BB has grass green furry skin, with dark green hair, and jade green eyes, his ears are pointed, with a fang hanging over his lower lip, and a skinny form compaired to the other Titans. He wore a black and purple Jumpsuit, with a silver belt around his waist, gray gloves with an armored patch at the back of his fist, and a pair od black and purple sneakers with paw prints on the bottoms.

Last but curtainly not least, Naruto saw the dark Titan herself, otherwise simply known as Raven: She was a strong girl, not physically, but she was far from helpless, she focused more on spiritual and mental strength, being the wit of the team and having a massive supply of magical skills to aide her friends. Raven was shorter than Robin, being a couple inches below Naruto's own height, with a curvy body to make up for it, violet eye's, with gray skin, and violet hair.

Though most of this was obscured by the girls hooded cloak, he had seen her enough on TV to know this, a gold broach was holding it together, a red ruby in it. She also wore a black leotard, with black gloves on her hands that had blue cuffs at the wrists and a broach at the back of each hand like her cloak had, a belt around her waist made of similar "Broache's" with two tassles haging down her left leg, and a pair of simple blue boots to cover her feet.

"Not good…" One of them, the green kid says and Naruto looks to Blood.

"The Teen Titans. So nice to make your acquaintance. I'd introduce you to my students…" Blood says while motioning to Naruto and the other's, Naruto rolls his eyes however and then plants his chin into his palm. "…But I'm fairly certain you've already met most of them." Blood finished with a smirk and Naruto rolled his eyes, however he was then pulled to his feet by Stone and glared at the teen with an annoyed frown.

"Attack Pattern ALPHA!" Stone then exclaimed lunging forward with the Troika while Naruto smirked, beneath his mask and slipped off to the side. As the Titans and the HIVE kids start their little brawl, Naruto walks over to the side to wait for an opening, after all, he couldn't just blow the place to pieces without having a little fun before hand…

He sees his moment when Mammoth and BB come by and Naruto appears between them and grabs BB's arms. "Ha, now you're going to…" Before the hairy teen can continue his short Rant Naruto uses BB's gorilla arms as leverage and flips around to plant both his feet into Mammoth's face, sending him flying away. After he is finished with that Naruto moves his feet to the ground and tosses BB straight into Robin, knocking the dark haired teen to the ground.

"What the hell!" Gizmo exclaimed loudly seeing this action and then dodged Starfire. "Whose side are you on?" He demanded and Naruto narrowed his eyes before throwing a Kunai at the Tiny Terrors jet pack. Said tiny terror went flying erratically as Naruto then jumped up and kicked Starfire in the back knocking her away as he then smirked beneath his mask.

"Mine!" He said to the midget simply then rolled out of the way as Robin lunged at him and swung his staff. Naruto rolled into a crouch and quickly unsheathed his Ninjatou before then lunging at Robin. The two came together with Naruto smirking behind his mask.

"What the hell… What are you a Thief or a villain?" Robin questioned of the blond with a confused tone to his voice, only for Naruto to toss the dark haired boy away and chuckle lightly to himself while sheathing his sword.

"Why bother to put labels on everything, kid? I'm just one of a kind…" Naruto said simply then turned to see Jinx rush towards him and flipped over and grabbed her around her waist.

"So… You were planning this from the start huh?" Jinx asked with a scowl and Naruto frowned under his mask.

"No… But in my defense, I did say that a Ninja would stab you in the back at the first chance…" Naruto said to her then jumped back when Starfire threw several of her Starbolts at them. "Really now, is that all she can do?" Naruto questioned and Jinx lifted one leg and kicked him in the shin, making him release the girl.

"Maybe, but throwing Hex-bolts isn't all I've got!" Jinx shouted and lunged at Naruto with a flying roundhouse kick. Meanwhile Beast Boy was getting up when he saw this and then scratched his head with a confused expression.

"Dude… Is it me or is there like a break among their ranks?" He questioned and Raven landed next to him with an annoyed expression.

"Focus on fighting and less on that…" She said while Cyborg had run off, ramming into Stone and knocking him through a wall. She then looked for herself and saw the blond fighting with Jinx, something about him seemed… Off… But she decided to worry about that later as she then blocked a blow from Mammoth then pushed him back with BB as a Gorilla.

"C'mon now Jinx, I really didn't want us to leave on bad terms… But I can't just stay here…" Naruto said then grabbed one of her legs when she tried to kick him. "Really now, I'm beginning to think you don't like me much…" Naruto then said and was surprised when Jinx snarled and flipped, kicking him in the side of the face.

"No, I liked you, but I don't like traitors!" She growled and Naruto blinked before shrugging his shoulders.

"That's something we share in common then … But I never wanted to betray your friendship… Just Blood, don't like him much after all." Naruto said while dodging kicks from the pink haired girl and finding it ironic he didn't want to hurt her while he was pretty sure he'd murder Sakura if given the chance… _'What's with me and Pink haired girls?'_ He then wondered before then flipping back and away from Jinx once more. "Really now Listen to me for one damn minute so I can explain!" Naruto shouted while dodging the girl's attacks, only to then be kicked in the chest by the girl.

The blond went rolling backwards into one of the many pillars around the room and shook his head. Naruto groaned to himself before looking around and grimaced seeing the Titans behind a force field nearby… "A lot of help you were…" He mutters then finds the Troika glaring at him. "I'm in trouble now…" Naruto then said before looking around and saw Stone throwing Cyborg out of a wall and into one of the beams in the room. The Titans and Troika all turned to watch, save Jinx. She was just glaring at Naruto before walking over to him and crossing her arms.

"You've got one minute…" She said in a monotone and Naruto blinked before nodding.

"Well you see now, I'm a dishonest person as are you yourself…" he said and Jinx nodded her head, hell that was true. "And as a dishonest person you can expect me to do something dishonest." Naruto then said and Jinx nodded her head to him once more. "Honestly, my reasoning for wanting to leave your lovely little academy is quite simple…" Naruto then said and Jinx leaned down to look at him.

"And that is?" She questioned and Naruto smirked beneath his mask.

"Well… Beyond the fact that I don't like Blood trying to control my mind?" Naruto questioned and Jinx looked in the older mans way with a frown. "You're not affected either…" Naruto then stated with narrowed eyes and Jinx frowned.

"In case you've forgotten, I'm Bad Luck. He gets Psychic backlash if he tries too hard, he can only leave little suggestions in my head, as far as I can tell from what Psimon said." Jinx then says and Naruto shrugs before then looking towards Blood then Stone. Said man was punching into Cyborg, only for Naruto to blink when "Stone" turned into Cyborg himself.

"Well that just figures… I'm not the only traitor in the school after all…" Naruto said and Jinx looked only to blink and gawk towards Cyborg.

"I knew it!" Gizmo then shouts angrily while Jinx stares at Cyborg. "The stinking gack-bag is one of them!" The tiny terror exclaims loudly while Blood floats down from his place above the gymnasium floor and looks towards Naruto first with a frown before turning over to look at Cyborg.

"No. He's one of us now." The man states while holding up some gold and black device Naruto's never seen before.

"And I'm ready to prove it." Cyborg says while Blood places the device onto his right arm, the metal mans Sonic Cannon as wires attach to it. As Naruto sees that everyone is distracted he reaches behind his back and takes out a remote detonator with a smirk. _'Never show off everything the first try Blood…'_ He thinks to himself while then slowly getting up, Jinx turning towards him as Cyborg points his cannon at the Titans.

"You said you had one more reason right?" She asked and Naruto nodded his head. "What?" She questioned of the blond who looked towards the pleading Titans then Jinx and chuckled.

"I'll admit I'm probably a Teme for this… But I don't do things out of the goodness of my heart… The only reason I came to this school was so I could learn how different this world was from my own… Take what you can, give nothing back and all…" Naruto said and Jinx frowned darkly. "However, I have to admit, I did like you, and Gizmo, and Mammoth… To an extent of course…" At that moment, Cyborg yelled a loud Psych, before then turning to fire towards them all.

Naruto quickly grabbed Jinx and rolled away from the blast while keeping her safe he then finished what he was saying. "And I always did want to get out of here with a Bang…" With that he held up the detonator and pushed down on the button, massive explosions rocking the school as it then began to collapse around them. Naruto then quickly tossed Jinx over to Mammoth and stood up. "And anyways, it would have been fun to play the villain a little longer to hang out with you guys… But I'm just a thief… And I stole what I wanted already…" The blond ninja said then backed away from the HIVE members slowly.

He then turned and began running up the side of the wall as Blood and the rest of the HIVE vanished, the Titans Escaping with Raven's powers. The blond half way up the side of the wall then smirked and moved his flack jackets zipper down before pulling up his red shirt slightly to show the black X-suit beneath with it's gray belt around his waist. Pressing a button on the belt Naruto shimmered before then appearing in an alley somewhere and had to duck as a massive explosion sounded behind him and sent rubble flying everywhere.

"Next time, less explosives…" He muttered under his breath while pushing his shirt back down and then walking over to a homeless man lying on the street. Naruto looked at the person before rolling his eyes and kicked the man and watched as he poofed out of existence to reveal a duffle bag. Picking it up Naruto looked inside to find all his stuff, including some money he had managed to horde for the passed few months. Also was his new X-suit, a picture of him with the Troika and some of their friends, and last was the Sacred Scroll.

Nodding to himself, Naruto then turned and started to walk away from the now collapsing HIVE Academy and couldn't help but chuckle lightly to himself. He then turned around and put away his armor and sword into the Duffle bag, making sure that he wouldn't be recognized as Tempest without noticing his Hair. Pulling down his mask, Naruto then walked out of the alley and down the street, whistling to himself as he did and blended into the rest of the crowd.

"Lets see what can I do now…" Naruto wondered to himself while walking through the crowd of people. Then he had a thought, since he had both the new and old X-suits, why not use the old one to bug that Robin kid. Grinning Naruto then thought back and remembered Gizmo saying that a Warehouse for "Lexcorp" downtown had a scanner to find that Xenothium shit. Smirking the blond began to make a quite amusing plan in his head to mess with the Titans just a little…

--

(Elsewhere…)

"It's been nearly a year now… Why are we still waiting to go look for that damn dobe?!" A familiar voice demands while slamming his fists into a table and a tired sounding man answers him.

"Because Sasuke, we don't know anything about this world… If it wasn't for Ino's Shintenshin no Jutsu, we wouldn't even be able to speak their language… We need money, a place to stay, and a plausible reason to these people if we want to find and bring in Naruto." Kakashi said as he sat at a table wearing civilian clothing and an eye patch. He was currently rubbing his face, while also wondering what god or goddess he pissed off to have to deal with Sasuke for a whole year…

Said boy was also the only one who refused to change from his Shinobi clothing due to some stupid pride and it was starting to annoy Kakashi greatly. Neji sat nearby, also wearing simple civilian clothing, he unlike Sasuke, had managed to get a job like Kakashi. Neji worked at the Teashop, which the Titan Girl Raven frequented, sometimes accompanied by her Tameranian friend Starfire. Kakashi he worked at a Book store in town which Raven also visited, which allowed both to listen in on her incase they saw a blond that fell under Naruto's description…

Ino, Sakura, and Hinata were at High School at the moment, preferring to gather Info from the younger generation and learned quite a bit actually. One, their was a group called the "HIVE" which took in super powered evil teens so it was possible Naruto went to this place. Two, There were numerous people in town with blond hair of all shades so asking for a blond wouldn't be helpful anymore. And Three, Ninja were practically non-existent in this world…

"We have Money and a place to stay Kakashi! Why aren't we looking for Naruto NOW?" Sasuke demanded angrily, wishing he could find the Dobe and teach him a lesson for bringing him to this backwater excuse for a world.

"Because. If we were to search for Naruto-San, not only would it attract unwanted attention to ourselves, but there is no guarantee that we could find him anyways…" Neji said calmly making Sasuke snarl in his direction. "We are fortunate to have not been killed by the portal that brought us here Uchiha… Do not test fate again." Neji said flatly and Sasuke stormed off leaving Neji and Kakashi alone…

"My god he's even more unbearable than before…" Kakashi said with a groan and Neji nodded his head to the man.

"It seems he did not take the truth very well…" Neji said and Kakashi raised a brow towards the Hyuuga. "During his fight with Naruto-san, not only did he lose, but he learned that Naruto-san had been holding back for many years so he would not arm him. I believe he sees this as mocking him or making a fool out of him and is becoming more and more hostile as a result…" Neji explained calmly and flatly as though not surprised and Kakashi grimaced to himself.

'_If Naruto was holding back… If he can beat the shit out of me, Neji, AND Sasuke back to back without tiring he could have been Hokage for sure…'_ The silver haired man thought to himself before then pulling out one of the books he had bought from work and giggled perversely…

--

TBC…

--

By:

26 Lord Pain…

And

Master XIII…


	7. X Pt 1

Disclaimer: We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

Chapter 6: X Pt. 1

--

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

--

(Jump City, California…)

A silent figure jumps from roof to roof, heading towards the docks at the south end of Town. The figure soon jumps off of the closest roof and lands before a single Warehouse with a large L on the front and mentally rolls his eyes. Holding out a single hand a red X shaped object flies forward and attaches to the front of door. The X begins to spark before vanishing and the tumblers on the door slowly line into place. Quickly lunging forward the figure places his hands into the crack between the doors and pulls them open, only to quickly rush in when he saw someone coming towards him, looks like the silent alarm went off…

--

_It's simple, there's good and there's evil. There are those who commit crimes, and those who stop them._

_--_

The teen titans had just arrived to investigating a silent alarm at the Lexcorp. Warehouse at the docks of Jump City. They got there just in time to see a black clad figure slip in through a partially opened door. The group quickly exited the T- car in order to give chase. Entering the building the Cyborg on the team activates his flashlight so they could see, only to view a black object turn down a corner, the night watchman left unconscious at his desk…

--

_There are those who commit crimes… and those who stop them._

--

As they chased the strangely familiar figure they noticed he made not a single sound. Even the green Titan in dog form could hear neither a footstep nor a breath; they do hear a strange noise, as they get closer to the elevator however. Once they arrive at the elevator they see an open grate on the ground and look just in time to see the figure fly up the shaft of the elevator by holding onto a grappling line.

--

_The two sides are opposite… as different as night and day._

--

The Teen Titans quickly fly up the shaft, one being carried by a teammate, another using a grapple of his own, the next floating up quickly, the last forming into a bird to rise up as well. The Thief has made it far however, and crouches down to place one last mirror down, deflecting a net of them back into the wall. The thief quickly rushes past the lasers, and he smirks hearing the Titans following him, yet continues forward, and turns down another damn hall…

--

_The line between them is perfectly clear. Or at least… it's supposed to be._

--

Exiting the last hall the figure tosses another "Static-X" at a control panel beside a door and it opens, allowing him to run into a large room with numerous boxes. However the figures stops when he hears a shocked gasp from behind him and turns around to view the now shocked Teen Titans. Now what was revealed to them was someone they had thought they would never see again…

He wore a black skintight suit with a black ragged cape flaring behind him, a jagged red X over his chest, over his hands he wears a pair of grey gloves with a red x on each palm, around his waist is an Ash Gray belt with the compartments on the sides completely smoothed down, steel soles on the bottoms of his black boots, while covering his face is a full face mask that also covers his entire head. A white gothic metal skull that had no lower jaw covers the front of his mask, while over the right eye a jagged red x came over it, while the rest of his mask is black.

"Red-X? I thought Robin was Red-X!" the green skinned shape shifter known as Beast Boy to friend and foe alike says out loud, only for the one in front of them to aim the palms of his gloves towards them before speaking.

"Think again." He says, firing x-shurikens from his gloves.

"Titans, Go!" Robin shouts as the X's hit the ground and stick to the ground like Shuriken, causing everyone but Raven to scatter. The Dark Titan floats forward a bit before erecting a shield around her to stop the exploding devices from hitting her. As the shield lowers, she looks to her right only to see X charging right at her. She brings up another black shield in front of her, only for him to jump up and teleport behind her and knocks her to the ground with a sweeping kick. Once she is on the ground, he pulls out another x-shuriken and unfolds it, only for it to be blown out of his hand by Starfire as she starts to throw her Starbolts at him.

He jumps to avoid the bolts and ends up against a wall, sticking there with Chakra for a single second, he then jumps off and uses her back as a stepping stone on his way to the steel girders that are only a few feet from the ceiling with her now hot on his trail. The girl then begins firing at him rapidly only to miss as he jumps from one girder to another. Suddenly, he turns in mid-air to fire red beams of energy from his hands that hit the side of two vertical girders. While she is flying in between the two only for them to ricochet in an x pattern hitting her and shocking her to the ground as he lands in the junction between a vertical and horizontal girder.

Just as he catches his breath, a green pterodactyl that he assumes is Beast Boy, flies up behind him and charges at him before turning into an equally green orangutan that roars at the thief, only to get a red-x shoved into his open jaws, forcing them to stay open. Struggling for a few seconds with the x BB soon solves the problem, as he turns into a hippo and the x falls out of his mouth. Only for the shape shifter to look down and realize that he turned into an incredibly heavy animal on top of a very thin piece of metal he looks down wide-eyed just as the girder he is on, splits underneath his weight.

Red X, having jumped off of the girder after placing the trap in Beast Boys mouth, lands on the ground with a smirk underneath his mask as he watches the Green hippo fall into a pile of boxes behind him. Hearing heavy footstep in front of him, he looks up to see Cyborg running at him. He holds out his left hand and launches another x at the metal teem, wanting to use a Static-X, however this one stops right in front of the cybernetic teen and expands, the ends reach out to stick to four boxes before pulling back like elastic, crashing the boxes into him.

X manages to blink in surprise seeing this, and then inwardly wonders what the hell he did wrong before smirking. _'One left.' _He thinks to himself then corrects himself as he sees Starfire, Beast Boy, Raven AND Cyborg all get out of the predicaments that he put them in and surround him to attack. _'Someone sure has a chip on their shoulder…'_ The thief thinks as Cyborg literally pushes a chip of wood off his shoulder making the thief chuckle in his throat… He then quickly crouches down as they start to close in and the thief points to the x on his chest as he tells them all.

"Come on, kids. X marks the spot." Just before jumping up to avoid a blast from Cyborg's sonic blaster, landing on a crate that Raven was preparing to throw at him and jumped up again, avoiding another few star bolts from Starfire, only to land with his back to beast boy in a different gorilla form. He hit's the teleporter built into the belt just as he is about to get crushed by a pair of large hairy fists. Puzzled at his sudden disappearance, beast boy shrugs his huge shoulders at Starfire and Raven who are floating behind him.  
Red x reappears behind them all on a large pile of crates, only to be tackled by the "Traffic Light" otherwise known as Robin.

They tumble together for a minute before rolling onto their feet, from where Robin throws a birdarang at X, only for the thief to teleport out of the way of the odd shaped shuriken. The birdarang quickly returns to Robin, while X suddenly appears behind him and attempts a right hook only for the younger boy to dodge and drop to the floor. Robin then quickly brings his legs up to kick, only for X to stop the kick with one hand then fling himself back off of the Steel plated boots and behind the boy.

Robin then snarls before quickly running towards X, with a punch aimed at the taller teens head. X dodges the attack with lightning fast reflexes before then catching the next punch and flips into the air. Bringing a foot down onto the Titan X is surprised by his strength when Robin manages to catch the attack. The black clothed thief is then thrown across the room and lands against a wall, groaning slightly in pain. Before he can even think to get up however Robin has descended on him and holds his head down with one arm, while X glares at him through his masked eyes.

"Who are you?" Robin demands of the criminal before him, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.

"If I wanted you to know that, would I be wearing a mask?" X says before grabbing robins arm and using a shocker built into the gloves palms. Robin shouts in pain as electricity courses through his body before then punching him hard enough to knock him back a few good feet into some boxes. Raven and Cyborg dash out from behind said boxes and charge at him only for the cunning thief to launch another x at them as Raven begins to chant at the same time that Cyborg readies his sonic cannon to fire. Before either can attack however, X sends another Static-X forward towards the two. The weapon sends out an electrical charge, which is sent through both Titans, causing them to hit one another with their attacks instead of the thief.

"Looks like you got your wires crossed." He says jokingly before jumping back to avoid a bolt from Starfire and then jumping to avoid the starbolt. He can't help but idly wonder if all she could do was fling those stupid balls of energy… That is before he put his hands together and launched a large x that hits the girl, sending her flying to a wall where it captures her. He then teleports over to her and puts his fingers on her chin to left her face up before Saying. "You know, cutie, the only crime here is that you and I haven't gone out on a…" Before he can finish however she hits him with more powerful bolts from her eyes. _'Alright… She does have something better than lame ass Starbolts…'_ He thinks to himself as he ends up landing against a few boxes only to see beast boy coming at him while changing into a large bear.

'_I don't have time for this shit…' _The thief thinks to himself as he narrows his eyes on the charging bear. Responding quickly, the thief flips up and slams his open palm on the ground creating a large X-shaped hole in the floor, which the Green bear falls into with very wide eyes. "Watch your step." The thief says humorously as he jumps over the hole. Walking over to the still downed Robin he pushes the boy-blunder out of the way with his foot and picks up something that looks a lot like a gun. _'So this is the Xenothium scanner, finally found it at least.' _he says to himself as he picks it up.

As he jumps over Robin, the boy wonder manages to get up and starts to chase him again. "I won't let you get away with…" Robin starts before being tripped by a stretchy x that wraps around his ankles, tripping him and making him hit his chin on the ground. X smirks to himself as he then turns around and looks at robin while smirking under his mask.

"Better luck next time kid…" He says as he spins the gun-like scanner around his finger before attaching it to his belt and then gives the boy-blunder a mock salute. "… And thanks for the suit." He pushes on the middle of the gray belt buckle, preparing to teleport, when it starts to work and then just stops. Looking down X blinks behind his mask then begins to press the button over and over again. "Come on, Come on." He says urgently while pressing the button again as Robin starts to get up and breaks the bonds on his legs at long last.

"Great, it's running low on juice..." He mutters lowly before turning around and running away from the pursuing Robin. Jumping up through an open roof window, he keeps running, and the boy in traffic-light tights remains in hot pursuit. This time, X begins punching the belt buckle and jumps, dodging another tackle attempt from Robin. He turns around in mid air and gives yet another mock salute before speaking to the way too serious teen yet again.

"Catch you later." With that the thief shimmers out of existence, leaving a glaring Robin in his wake. When the blond thief reappears however, his is on the roof of a building a few mere blocks away, well out of sight of the titans yet close enough that he didn't waist any of his remaining power.

"Damn, now that's what I call fun." The thief says with a little chuckle and grins to himself as he reaches up and removes the skull mask to reveal the bright blue eyes, whiskered cheek, and spiked blonde hair of one Uzumaki Naruto. "Now, if I could just figure out how this thing works." He then sys to himself as he unhooks the sensor from his belt and glares at the gun shaped device…

--

TBC…

--

By:

26 Lord Pain…

And

Master XIII…


	8. X Pt 2

Disclaimer: We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

Chapter 7: X Pt. 2

--

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

--

(Titans Tower, Jump City, California…)

Robin looks out from the rooftop of Titans Tower and out to the city, a frown marring his face as he thinks back to the recent conflict with their new foe… Or rather, his old mistake…

--

_I'm supposed to be one of the Good Guys. To always do the right thing._

--

Robin calmly breathes in the cool night air, and then looks up to the hanging moon in the sky. Eye's narrowing Robin briefly sees a flash of red in his sight, but it's simply a trick of his mind as that red forms an X over the moon…

--

The Line is supposed to be Clear… But for me… Back then… It wasn't… A Madman was threatening the city, and I had to stop him.

--

Robin closes his eye's, seeing the face of their old enemy… Slade, as his soldiers all stand before him and at the ready. Robin's fists tighten, his muscles tense, but he somehow manages to calm himself. Even the mere thoughts of the madman brought a foul taste to the Boy-Wonder's mouth, and made him strain like a tightly coiled spring ready to snap under pressure… Shaking his head and smoothing back his spiky hair Robin quickly turns, his cape swishing behind him as he enters Titans Tower, heading for his room…

--

So I became Red-X. A ruthless thief who could get closer to the madman than Robin ever could…

--

The boy wonder wanders through the halls, soon coming to the darkened hallway that led to his room. Raven lived on the other side of the Tower, Starfire was a hall down from her, Robin had the tower built like this so the guy's wouldn't bother them. He was in the middle, away from yet close to all his friends in case any emergency was to occur and he was needed. The caped crusader soon reaches his room, and presses in the code for his room, the door sliding to one side to reveal the dark room beyond, newspaper clippings on the wall of various villains… Robin slowly closes then open's his eye's, now before him is a shadowed form, it's himself, donning the X-suit for the first time, developing the weapons, and finalizing the technology employed into the Suits other features…

--

But I didn't tell my teammates… And my plan… Didn't work… I almost lost my life… And my friends…

--

Robin grimaces, he sees himself fighting the Titans, beating them one by one, not a wasted movement, not a wasted effort, and he beat all of them easily… But that was why he was the leader, even without power's he was still able to beat the Teen Titans… Robin shook his head of those thoughts; they were what Slade would want him to think after all. Walking forward Robin picked up the object that alerted Starfire to his plan nearly a year earlier… He soon dropped the object to the ground and crushed it under his boot; it was a mistake he was not going to repeat… And it was one he'd thought he had already cleaned up…

--

It was the closest I've ever come to crossing the line. And I thought it was in the past… But Now…

--

Robin walked out of his room and back down the halls and corridors of Titans Tower with practiced ease. He knew every room, every hall, and every entrance or exit in the building, no one knew more about this building, not even Cyborg who helped build it only knew what Robin let him know. Stopping suddenly Robin grimaced, he was thinking like Slade again, Starfire was right about one thing it seemed… he and Slade were unfortunately very similar.

Shaking his head, Robin quickly made his way down into the towers depths, soon reaching his destination Robin punched in the code for the door. Entering he looked around the evidence room, admiring the numerous trinkets and objects that he and the Titans had collected over the years. Quickly moving that to the back of his mind, Robin walked over to another door and pressed in the code, narrowing his eye's he watched as it swung open and walked in also… He frowned seeing the door to the X-Suit's resting place open… The Suit Gone… His mistake was truly back to haunt him…

--

Someone else has crossed that line… And it's my job to stop him.

--

"But who is he?" Cyborg demands as he and the Titans, minus Robin, all look at numerous screen shots of the renegade Thief known as Red-X. "I mean, if Robin's the ex-Red X, who's the new guy?" Cyborg reiterates but is then knocked to the side as Beast Boy pushes a dry-erase board up in front of the massive screen. On the board are numerous pictures of alternate Robin's, either known or unknown, some Beast Boy has even made up from the looks of things…

"Okay. If he's not Robin's evil twin, then he's obviously a bionic monkey infused with Robin's DNA." Beast Boy says and gets a look that suddenly makes him feel like a moron from the two female Titans. In fact they look to one another soon after, as if silently saying, "he's an idiot" to one another. And as soon as Cyborg manages to see the theory, he has the same reaction as the girls and stares at BB. Raven then raises a hand and makes the board start spinning, Knocking BB into the air and then landing into the kitchen as several items of food go flying, as well as a larvae like creature while Starfire clasps her hands over her mouth.

"Face it. Red X could be anyone. Anyone smart enough to find the suit and dumb enough to take it for a joyride." Raven says in her usual monotone, X sneezing somewhere in the city while trying to figure out how to work the scanner, as Beast Boy manages to put his head up woozily and look around.

"And when Robin returns, he will help us to discover who." Starfire says confidently just as the Boy Wonder walks into the room and over to the screen Cyborg had the numerous X shots posted on.

"It doesn't matter. I created Red X. Every system, every weapon." Narrowing his eyes on the Skull masked thief Robin finishes. "Whoever's inside that suit, he's my responsibility." Robin says simply, while clenching his fists on the control panel of the screen.

"Well, if we're gonna catch him, we at least need to figure out what he's after." Cyborg mentions and Robin twitches, he looks down at the keys for the screen with narrowed eyes before sighing lightly.

"I already know." The Boy Wonder types on the keys as he informs the Titans this, soon bringing up a picture of an X shaped molecule. "Xenothium. The fuel that powers the suit." He tells the group, collecting gasps from those around… Save Beast Boy…

"Aw, man, I never understand **anything**!" The Green Bean exclaims while stomping away from the "To-smart-for-their-own-good" Titans and sits down to merely listen to what is being said.

"**Xenothium!** You powered that suit with **xenothium!** Are you crazy, man? That shit is dangerous-and unstable! Tell me you were not stupid enough to go messing with it!" Cyborg exclaims while waving his arms around and yelling at Robin, the boy wonder looking slightly comical as he hunches down with a scowl on his face, Cyborgs voice loud enough to push his spiky hair back. Robin grits his Teeth under Cyborgs Tirade, his cape wrapped tightly around himself.

"Like I said, it was a mistake." Robin snaps while clicking a few more buttons on the screens control panel, bringing up a few shots of the gun like scanner X stole earlier. "The scanner Red X stole will locate any xenothium within a ten-mile radius." Robin explains and Raven frowns, that only works if X actually knows how to work the device, and that was slightly unlikely…

"So we must locate it first." Starfire says cutting Raven from her thoughts and Cyborg pulls a cord from his chest pannel and plugs it into the console.

"X isn't the only one with a scanner. I'm downloading the molecular signature and transmitting to your communicators." He tells them while typing on the control panel of the console and downloading the information.

"Thanks…" Robin says, yet walks passed the other Titans and towards the door. "But I wont need it…" He says cryptically while walking passed the double doors of the room, making Cyborg blink and look towards him with a confused expression.

"How are you gonna find the xenothium without a scanner?" Cyborg questions of his leader, while still confused, and the spiky haired boy merely scowls as he the doors slowly close behind him…

"The same way I found it the first time."

--

(Rooftops, Jump City…)

X had long given up on trying to work that damn scanner, instead he decided he'd find Robin and let the kid lead him to some Xenothium. Unfortunately the kid had gone to a freak named Doctor Chang or something, the guy was obvious bad news yet the kid had "Mentioned" someone would be stealing some Xenothium… Really, how stupid was Robin to tell a criminal something like that? X was currently watching as Robin stared at a building across from their location, he was currently using the invisibility function of his suit in order to stay out of the birdbrain's sight.

Then a green bird flew towards the building, changing into Beast-Boy as he nears the ground and tosses a green feather over his shoulder. "So, you're pretty much kicking yourself for not getting rid of that Red X suit when you had the chance, huh?" The green jester says, making silently slap his forehead, even he had more tact than to say something so stupid to the kid Dammit! Robin's reaction to the question is his body tensing and silence, which makes the green bean uneasy. "Uh, forget I said anything." He says while rubbing the back of his head and Robin's shoulders relax slightly.

"I couldn't destroy it. The xenothium power core is too dangerous to dispose of." Robin tells the green teen while X himself rolls his eye's, wondering why the kid is so damn serious all the time and why BB is so goofy… "It was supposed to stay locked away." Robin adds and X inwardly chuckles to himself. _'To bad you didn't do a better job of hiding or locking it Chuckles… It's mine now…'_ The thief thinks as Raven immerges from the shadows nearby.

"No sign of Red X." She says while Starfire touches down with a worried look on her face.

"Nor of Cyborg." She says and X raises a brow, what the hell happened to Cyborg now? As he is wondering about this Robin pulls out his communicator and opens it, quickly pushing the button to call Cyborg.

"Cyborg! Report!" He demands while speaking into the device, his hands clenching tighter as his worry grows. "Cyborg!" He exclaims then takes a breath and lowers the device to his side. "X must have attacked him. If Cyborg's hurt, it's my fault." The kid says while stalking passed the Cutie and X twitches, why the fucking hell would he attack the tin head? He's just trying to steal some damn Xenothium not destroy them!

"Robin…"Starfire says softly to her friend while X continues to inwardly seethe at Robins words about him attacking Cyborg. Had he looked, he might've noticed Raven was looking in his direction with a raised brow.

"I'm responsible, Starfire, for everything that's happened." The kid suddenly said breaking both X and Raven from their musings to turn towards him and wonder what just happened as neither had been paying much attention.

"No, Robin. The error you made, it is in the past. You are no longer the one inside that suit." The red haired girl says while walking over to Robin and X grins after all, that sounds like his Queue if he's ever heard one!

"And personally…" X says while turning his cloaking device off, Raven frowning as she sees just who she was sensing only a short while ago. "…I think it looks much cooler on me." X boasts while forming several X shaped shuriken into his hand and throwing them towards the Titans.

"Move!" Robin orders and X smirks behind his mask, it looked like it was time to play with the kids again. Leaping from the roof X lands and turns to see Raven and Beast Boy heading straight for him, X smirks seeing BB become a Rhino and it reminded of how this kid is not really the sharpest Kunai in the pack. X smirks as he whips out an X, sending it flying towards both as it wraps around Beast Boy, knocking him back into Raven and allowing it to wrap around and Trap her as well, sending both towards Starfire and ending three problems in one fell swing!

X then hears a loud roar, and grins as the kid comes rushing towards him, creating an X on his palm to block an attack from the kid and send him skidding to the side. Robin rushes towards him once more, making X wonder why he was trying something that didn't work last time. Forming another shield-X, X knocks Robin to the ground with a smirk and watches as he's getting up. _'This'll be too good to pass up man!'_ He then thinks to himself as he reaches forward and grasp's Robin's mask, trying to pull it off only to raise a brow as it stretches.

_'What the fuck?'_ The thief wonders before releasing the seemingly elastic mask to snap back onto Robin's face, eliciting a painful snap as Robin lets out a pained yelp then grasps his face. X takes advantage of the momentary distraction to jump from the side of the building and towards the company building below, smirking as he then uses his Teleportation device to land on the glass roof safely then rush towards an open door. Getting inside X rushes down the many halls before stopping and narrowing his eyes… "I don't know where the fuck I'm going…" He mutters bitterly before sighing, and then has an idea. "Duh, the security room has to have cameras!" He exclaims and heads rushing in that direction…

--

(Later…)

X had found the security room, he had also figured out how to get to the Xenotium ore held several floors bellow his current location. "Just have to get passed a few traps, a few blocks and I'll be set." X says to himself while walking down a hall, wondering why no one was on guard duty. _'The kid probably called them and told them that he and the other kids would handle guard duty or something stupid like that…'_ X thought with a frown as he then walked and saw Robin at the door he needed.

Inwardly cursing, X turned on his cloaking device to sneak passed Robin, seeing the look on the kids face, X smirks. _'I bet he's wondering what he'd do if He were me…'_ The thief thinks to himself then hears a shirll scream just as he reaches the door. _'Hey… Wasn't that the cutie?'_ He wonders to himself as Robin quickly turns around.

"Starfire?" He wonders then rushes off, X's cloak turning off to show the thief was now standing right in front of the damn door. As Robin is rushing off, X gets an idea in his head that makes him grin beneath his mask.

"What's the matter, kid?" He calls out causing Robin to stop and turn to look at him with surprise on his face. "Don't you want to play? After all, they're your toys." X says while several X's appear in his hands once more before the thief then tosses them towards Robin, the young Titan ducking out of the way as the X's hit a control panel that had been behind Robin and explode. The door behind X then unlocks, making the thief smirk as he flips backwards into an array of laser beams. Robin following the thief as they jump and flip through the numerous lasers, without missing a beat.

The two soon come out of the hall and into a large downward shaft. X grins as he and Robin fall down the shaft, only the thief increases his rate of acceleration and lets another X fly. The object hurls downward, hitting a shimmering force field that lies below and making an X shaped opening which X falls through while it closes behind him, making Robin smash face first into the field. X looks at this and can't help snicker before rushing off, leaving the overly serious Sasuke Look-alike to try and get passed the force field. Rushing down a long hall X suddenly stops at a room with numerous black tiles on the floor, making the Thief frown.

_'Okay… Either this is a trap… Or the decorator got tired of all the boring white tiles…'_ X thought to himself with a small chuckle then decided to wait for Robin, switching on his cloaking device and hiding behind the door of the room. He didn't have to wait long, and as soon as Robin entered the lights flashed on, X shook his head at this and then moved behind Robin. "After you." X says humerously while pushing Robin onto the Tiles, which then form a large Red-X under him.

Robin's looks up and his eyes go wide as he then noticed a large cannon like device heading towards him from the ceiling. Ducking out of the way as the beam fires Robin finds another Red-X appearing bellow him and quickly runs off of it, heading towards the door on the other side of the room. X smirked behind his mask at this and simply jumped over the tiles, soon landing on the other side and walking passed the Door. "Thanks for the hand, kid." X says simply as he closes the door, his last sight of the boy wonder being his wide disbelieving eyes as he was trapped with the cannon.

Ignoring that X pushed the door completely closed then locked it; the thief looks around and slightly frowns. The vault is circular with a platform in the middle that has a tube of Xenothium floating over it while a light is shining down, resting before the platform is a control panel with a screen, which X walks over to. "Xenothium ore." He says to himself and enters a command into the control console. Grips rise from the floor and reach up, grasping the vial of Xenotium and bring it down before handing it to X. "Enough to power the suit for a good long time." He says while looking at the object then walks over to one of the circular hatches around the room and opens it.

Pulling out a yellow containment device X places it on the floor then kneels down to open it up. "I love it when the good guy wins." The thief says about to put the tube into the device then gets a start when a loud rumbling comes from the area outside. X quickly places the tube into his belt and turns to the door in time to watch as a familiar laser begins to burn through the wall around the circular door, then finishes to allow the door to drop, revealing Robin, who has the cannon from before in his arms, still glowing from where he has used it.

"You're not going to win." Robin snarls before dropping the cannon and lunging forward at the surprised Red-X with both a roar and flying Roundhouse kick. The attack sends the thief and his container flying, both hitting the fall wall. Slowly getting back to his feet, X can't help but nearly laugh at Robin, something about this kid is just so amusing…

"Kid, you are taking life **way** too seriously." X tells Robin with a grin on his face before charging forward, the kid doing likewise. Robin jumps with another kick directed towards the thief only for him to flip under him then away from him. Robin grabs several small explosive pellets from his belt and tosses them towards X, the thief manages to evade just in time as they explode. The thief lands while seamlessly pushing himself into a flip and tossing several X-Shuriken towards Robin who dodges just in time for the some Shuriken to miss his head while using his extendable-staff to block the rest. The two stare down at one another for a few moments, X smirking as he holds up a hand, the X on the back of his glove suddenly grows to become an X shaped blade.

X then lunges at Robin, as he lets the same happen to his other glove, an X-blade forming out of the back, then slashes down towards Robin. The Titan moves out of the way quickly then dodges a second slash before quickly trying to sweep the thief's feet from under him. Dodging a jab from the sharp punches Robin Catches X's blades on his staff then shoves X back a ways. X has to quickly duck as Robin comes at him with a flying swing of his staff, as the staff flies over his head X lunges at Robin swinging his X-Blade's towards the younger teen. The two continue in a dance as X's blade's and Robin's staff both arch and swing, until Robin finally manages to hit X, knocking the thief to the side.

_'Okay, no more mister nice guy…'_ X thinks with a frown and gets up; activating his X-Blades they quickly begin spinning like rotary-saws. Lunging forward X swings his arm at Robin's head, the teen only just managing to get down as the thief's weapon sparks along the metal of the walls. Robin quickly dodges as X swings the saw like weapon at his head, then down towards him again, Robin managing to evade then brandishes his staff, which extends and nearly hits X in the head. However the thief dodges then knocks the weapon to the side and lunges at Robin with a few quickly swings of his arms only to be kicked back with a grunt of pain.

The two then come forward once more, Robin and X's weapons locking together as X glares at the teen and Robin does likewise. "Why did you steal the suit? What are you planning to do?" Robin demands with a slight strain to his voice and X smirks once more as he answers.

"Whatever I want." With that X quickly flips both himself and Robin backwards, quickly tossing the Titan away from himself. "Not everybody likes to play the big villain, kid. I'm a thief." X states simply as the blades on his gloves retract. "I'm not threatening your precious city, just looking out for number one." X informs simply and Robin narrows his masked eye's, brandishing his staff.

"So you're not psychotic. You're just selfish." Robin retorts and X cant help a slight laugh that escapes his throat.

"Lighten up, Chuckles." He says humorously and raises both of his palms towards the other teen. "I'm not such a bad guy, once you get to know me." With that X quickly fires a pair of X's towards Robin, the kid managing to deflect one with his staff only to be knocked off his feet by the other. X quickly lunges at Robin, jumping up and brining his foot down in a stomp just as Robin rolls out of the way. Robin then kicks X in the back, knocking him into a wall with a grunt only to fall to the floor and see the container with the Xenothium across from him. "Playtime's over, kid." X says while quickly grabbing the Container, Robin pulling out a Birdarang.

"Back off-or I trip the power core." X says darkly, his finger a mere few inches from the buckle of his belt, the front of it opening to glow an ominous red. "And the core triggers the rocks." X says and Robin frowns while slowly lowers the Birdarang. "I don't think you want that on your conscience." X tries and Robin narrows his eye's quickly raising the Birdarang once more.

"And I don't think you want to be disintegrated." Robin says simply and X inwardly growls, NOW the kid doesn't think he's crazy? Really, what god did he piss off out there for this? However as he thinks this he notices a confused look cross Robin's features and turns his head to the door behind him, only to see men in strange suits like that Chang guy wore, one raising a weapon which glows red and fires at him, hitting him in the chest as electricity courses through his body. X lands with a grunt, only half conscious as he hears the kid, and figures he's been hit too. Looking on as the "Moon-men" continue to enter the vault he groans softly and blacks out with only one thought in his head… _'Why did the kid just __**have**__ to mention someone breaking into this place to a known villain?'_

--

TBC…

--

By:

26 Lord Pain…

And

Master XIII…


	9. X Pt 3

Disclaimer: We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

Chapter 8: X Pt. 3

--

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

--

(Later…)

"Ugh…" X grunted as he slowly got up, rubbing his head and groaning once more while rubbing his head some more. "Alright, who were the moon men?" He questioned and then heard something hum, quickly looking up, X saw a circle of light, looking down he saw another circle. "Huh?" He questioned intelligently before then watching as familiar red beams rise from the floor to form bars around him.

"Criminals." Comes Robin's voice and X turns to see the Kid standing in front of the main control panel. "Just like you." He says while walking to stand in front of the thief who chuckles lightly and grasps the bars of the cell.

"C'mon Kid. You don't really think this little playpen can hold me." X says while gripping the bars of the cell, only for Robin to press a nearby switch and shock the thief.

"You don't even care, do you? A lowlife maniac just got his hands on enough Xenothium to disintegrate the entire city, and it's **your** fault!" Robin tells X with a snarl, the blond quirks an eyebrow beneath his mask at the younger teen's words.

"Don't you mean **our** fault?" He quips with a smirk on under his mask; after all, Robin **WAS** the one who mentioned to a highly dangerous criminal that someone would be breaking into this place, not him, while Robin himself simply narrowed his masked eyes onto the taller teen.

"At least I'm going to do something about it. And if you cared about anything other than yourself, you'd be helping!" Robin nearly shouted at the thief, who suppressed a growl at his words. Where the hell did this fucking **kid** get off telling him how to live his damn life!

"Sorry, kid. Some guys don't like to play the hero." X said with gritted teeth, though his vocal synthesizer masked the anger in his voice perfectly. Robin frowned at the thief and pointed towards him with a single finger.

"I'll be back to take you to jail." Robin says then turns his back on X and walks away, disgust is clear in his tone which anger's X even further. The blond haired thief then narrows his eyes on the computer terminal wondering how to get out for a few mere moments before acting…

"Sorry kid, I won't be here for **that** appointment…" X mutters while then holding his hands outside of the bars without touching them and forming a familiar T shaped hand seal. **"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"** He exclaims and in a plume of smoke a second Red-X now stands outside of the bars. The new X looks around the room before walking over to the console and pressing a few of the buttons. The bars around the original X dim and fade before then vanishing completely. "Nice one." X says to his clone, which then walks over to him, and promptly slams his fist into X's jaw.

The thief is sent flying back only to slowly get back up with a groan. "What the hell was that for?" X demands of the clone, which crosses its arms over its chest and glares down at the original.

"Your not Naruto Uzumaki… So who are you?" The clone said with a shake of its head, X blinking behind his mask at the copies words. The clone then circled around X, the thief quickly flipping to his feet to stare at the clone with a frown on his face.

"And just what the hell makes you say that?" He questions and the clone stretches his shoulders before then sighing out.

"You have betrayed those who were your friends in the HIVE, Your no longer using Jutsu so you can hide your skills from the Titans then use them when they least expect it, you have attempted to kill Robin five times today alone, you have discarded your training for the power of this suit… Need I go on?" The Clone listed then questioned and X's eye's widened, had he really done all of that? "So I ask once more… Who are you?" The copy questions cryptically and X shakes his head quickly.

"I **AM** Naruto Uzumaki! Who else could I be?" X demands and the copy crosses it's arms and laughs lightly.

"You are not Naruto… At the moment you are Red-X… Every thought… Every move…" The clone says darkly and X twitches, what is this thing talking about? "You only put on this suit to learn the controls for your new one… Why are you going after the Xenothium? Because it is something Red-X would do…" The clone states darkly and X's eye's widen, that's right, he remembers Gizmo saying the layout for the suits weapons are the same in either one… He wanted to learn how to work it by using the older model but then… Why was he after the Xenothium?

"Because… Its a… A Challenge to take on the kids…" X says weakly and the clone merely looks at him, his masked-eyes turning a burning red much to X's shock.

"Really? And is that _**something that Naruto or Red-X would do?"**_ The clone questions, his voice distorting from Naruto's, becoming Raspy and Metallic sounding. X could only stand in silence, the clone was starting to make sense, he had been trying to master the X-suit, he had gone out of his way too no less, constantly watching the few clips that he had managed to get from the HIVE computer's on Robin's fight with the Titans as Red-X… Had he also slowly started to act like Red-X instead of Naruto as well?

"_**Yes… Now you see it don't you… Then allow me… To remind you how to be Naruto Uzumaki once more…"**_ The Red eyed clone said darkly while slowly forming into a combat stance, one X was sure he should know, but for the life of him he couldn't remember where it was from. X did likewise, and also decided to call the copy Red for it's burning eye's…

"Who… What are you?" X questions and Red merely assuming a strange stance, one X feels he knows but can't remember for some reason.

"_**Neither enemy nor friend. I am like you, a Shadow from the past. A shadow of that which Naruto Uzumaki once was… And as a Shadow I have no name."**_ As he says this, the clone lunges forward at X with a roundhouse punch which X blocked leaving him open. The clone then quickly jabbed X in the face before reeling a hand back and slamming it into his gut, bending X downward where he then used a roundhouse kick to knock him to the side. X grunts hitting a wall and looks up to Red with narrowed eye's before lunging at Red himself.

However, Red quickly forms an X in one palm and knocks X to the side effortlessly; turning on his heel the copy then takes a new stance. X doesn't bother to read it however and blindly rushes forward, throwing punches and kicks towards the copy. However, the masked copy of the master thief blocks all these pathetic strikes, and soon X's arm is grasped and he is judo tossed by Red once more.

"_**If I was facing Naruto Uzumaki… I'd be nothing but smoke by now…"**_ Red says darkly as his form shimmers to a more demonic version but then returns to normal as he takes on a new stance. X then narrows his eye's on Red, a new stance for the Shadow claw making itself know in his mind and X suddenly finds his body moving on it's own, moving into an intricate stance unlike the one's he had been using. _**"That's good X… Your starting to remember who you are at last…"**_ Red praises and lunges forward, X finding himself to do the same as they punched towards one another at the same time, fist meeting fist and a small shock wave comes from their fists.

The two slide back from the force of the shock wave and X quickly moves his right leg forward while his left leg was backward and bent at the knee, he **was** remembering, he remembered this version of the Shadow Claw… He had made it after all… He had made it with his Mother… _**"Yes… Yes… Remember…"**_ Red said darkly then reached up and ripped the cape from his body, throwing it off to the side as he then formed a more intricate stance… The X-Blades unfurling from his gloves making X's eye's go wide as the clone lunged forward.

X dodged the blade as it nearly cut his head off then, blocked Red's arm next, before Judo-tossing the copy over his shoulder and to a wall. The clone merely landed in a crouch against the wall before lunging off of it and at X, swinging his leg into a roundhouse kick. X dodged to the side however and fired an X towards the copy, Red jumped high into the hair however and then landed near X, swinging his X-blade's towards the Thief. X dodged and then threw a quick kick towards Red's head, only for him to vanish then reappear a few feet away, as he slowly stood up to his full height.

X didn't give the copy time to do anything however, he was starting to remember himself. Not the Dobe, Not Red-X, and not the Bitter and Spiteful Naruto who had left Konoha… The Naruto who would rather beat the hell out of you rather than take some one else's shit, the Naruto Uzumaki who had promised his mother that he would make friends… Naruto suddenly opened his eye's behind his mask and waved an arm toward Red, blade's of wind forming on his hands and launching towards the Copy which flips up and over the attack before vanishing and reappearing a short ways away.

"_**More… MORE!"**_ Red suddenly exclaimed as he then began to slip into a new stance much faster than before, while his X-blades folded back into the backs of his gloves. X knew this stance however and formed a stance of his own to counter it as Red came forward with a backhand, blocked by Naruto who threw a punch at the copy, only for him to lean back.

The fist missed as Red then kicked out and knocked X back, the thief flipped to his feet quickly however. And assumed another Stance while trying to think of a Jutsu to use, only to frown and take an offensive stance, even if he used a Jutsu, Red would be able to counter it… _**"That's good X. Now we can fight as true warriors…"**_ Red then said as he reached down and threw his belt to the side, then moved his arms before himself as an after image followed them.

"_**Hand to Hand, is the basis of all combat. Only a fool trusts his life to a weapon… or Jutsu…"**_ Red said darkly while forming another stance and lunging forward, punching X in the face… X grunted but instead of falling he arched his body and moved into a backward roll, soon coming out of it to glare at Red heatedly. X roared loudly eyes wide as he then quickly rushed towards Red with a fist drawn back. The copy crouched however, and then flipped over the thief landing behind him and then kicking X in the back and to the ground.

"_**Yes… You remember it now… The clashing of Bone and Sinew…"**_ Red told the thief cryptically as he then formed into a new stance and X did likewise, feeling the old thrill of battle as visions of the fights he had before his memories were sealed danced through his mind… Red lunged forward in a sideways flip, kicking out at X who blocked then knocked Red's other foot out from under him, knocking him to the ground, only for him to flip away before X could finish him off. _**"Yes… Yes… That's good X! Remember that feeling, remember how to be yourself again!"**_ The copy cried as X did start to remember; he remembered working on the variation of the Shadow claw tirelessly when he learned the original version, much to his mother's dismay… Even as she helped him…

"I do…" Naruto suddenly whispered to himself and then formed his body into a new stance. The two lunged forward once more, X kicking out as Red blocked then punched towards X who caught the fist and twisted, throwing the copy to the side only for it to place a hand on the floor and flip to his feet.

"_**Yes X… Remember who you are!"**_ Red exclaimed while then lunging forward quickly, kicking out at X who rolled to the side. Red then lunged forward once more, punching out at the thief with deadly precision; X dodged the attack then struck out himself, only for Red to dodge like he had. Red roared, lunging forward with a roundhouse, which X dodged by rolling to the side, then tried to sweep the copy off it's feet. Red flipped over this however then came straight down from above, X rolling to the side to avoid as he stomped on the ground, making a crater where he hit.

X suddenly had a flash of memories, remembering names, places, and things from the past he had forgotten even without the seal… All his memories had been about bad things while he had blocked the good… And some of his training had been blocked… "I remember… I remember you now!" X exclaimed while flipping back to his feet and glaring at Red. "You're my Shadow… Opposite and equal to me in every way… Mom made you… She made you to help me train…" X said softly and Red nodded his head slowly with a light chuckle, the clone slowly falling into a kneeling position.

"_**Yes… You remember at long last …"**_ The clone said while slowly standing up fully, before once more falling to one knee. _**"I have done what was necessary for your… no… For OUR survival… Should you have continued down the path you were… We surely would have fallen into darkness like Sasuke…"**_ Red said as he slowly began to fade, X turned his back to the clone and walked towards the exit as this was happening, but listened to it nonetheless… _**"Go now… Brother… And remember… We are the wind… We follow our own course, going where we please and following no one's directions but our own…"**_ Red finished while he and his discarded equipment vanished into a simple plume of smoke while X turned to narrow his eyes on the spot.

"I will…" With that the thief ran out of the room, inwardly cursing he couldn't use his Teleportation device to travel through walls. He'd have to ask some gear-head why later, probably Gizmo, at least if the little guy ever forgave him for the stunt at the HIVE. "I guess I'll have to find them as soon as I can and apologize… I don't like bad blood between my friends and me… After all… Their all I've got in this lonely world…" X whispered before smirking… yes… He was finally himself again…

--

(Chang's Hideout…)

X made it to the observatory like building and ran up the side to find any kind of entrance, the best one being the front Door unfortunately. So the thief ran in and knocked out the few guards out there before making his way up a flight of stairs and found himself in time to see Robin hanging from a broken railing while below the other Titan's are frozen, save for Starfire's head. "Okay, good boy. Who should I destroy first? You… or your pretty friend?" Chang questions darkly while moving his cannon towards the red haired girl and X narrows his eyes on the estranged man with a frown.

"Starfire!" Robin exclaims with wide eyes and X forms a Shuriken into his hand and poises it as the cannon now sits at point-blank range with the cutie. X let's the object fly, cutting the lever and button to fire the weapon away much to Chang's surprise. X let's more of the objects fly at that moment, sending them all hurling towards the device which sparks with electricity that knocks Chang back, covering his face. Hearing a gasp from Starfire X looks back down at them and sees her staring at Robin, who seems like he's losing his grip on the railing.

X curses under his breath as he then lunges onto the railings and launches himself across, catching Robin and then grabbing onto another railing before throwing him onto the balcony around the room and taking a second to catch his breath… That fight with Red must have took more out of him than he thought… "I thought you didn't like to play the hero." Robin says bringing X out of his thoughts to look at the kid and smirk behind his mask.

"Doesn't mean I don't know how." X quips before then flipping up and onto the balcony himself to stand next to Robin. The two duck as red lasers come flying at them, the two look to one another before nodding to the other and running forward and jumped into a pair flying kicks, a dove flying passed them as they do. The two come down on an unlucky henchmen's face, knocking him back as they lunge forward once more, Robin smirking as he kicked a mans feet out from under him and X delivered a Roundhouse kick to knock him away.

The two then find themselves surrounded by the henchmen on both sides and X can't help a light chuckle. "How many can you handle, Kid?" He questions and Robin thinks mock seriously before smirking.

"It might be trouble if one more shows up." He says and X nods his head slowly.

"Then that'll be the one I take care of." He adds and Robin grins widely.

"Wait… You're fighting?" He quips in mock amazement and X grins. _'Your learning…'_ He thinks with a slight chuckle and lunges forward; raising a fist to knock back a henchman as Robin lunges at another with a flying roundhouse kick, knocking the henchmen to the ground below. The two then flip back and X fires an X-beam into one's chest while Robin tosses an explosive Disk at another. The two then grip their unlikely allies forearm and jump up to kick a man in the face on either side, then swing their bodies to the side, releasing the other's arm to punch a Henchmen in X's case or kick one in Robins.

The two then flip backwards to stand back-to-back, fists at the ready and X notices a smirk on Robin's face from the corner of his eye. The two then both spin into a roundhouse kick to knock the last of the guards back to the ground and out cold. _'Heh, I can still lay them out better than the kid…'_ X thought as him having the longer leg meant his foot had been the one to primarily connect with the thug's head. The two look at and nod to one another before rushing over to the railing to see Chang pounding on his control panel. _'Is he really that stupid?'_ X wonder's to himself as an electrical spark from the control panel answers his question and the cannon suddenly firing as Starfire lets out a yelp and ducks down, her hair being burned as the beam of the cannon then heads right in Robin and Red-X's direction.

"Look out!" Robin calls while pulling X with him and the two run from the destructive beam of energy, X wondering what he did to deserve this in his mind. The two ran from the beam as it began to cut through the building like a hot knife through butter, X and Robin both soon slowing down as the beam fizzles out. An entire section of the building then groans before falling away and X looks over to Chang and nudges Robin who narrows his eye's and heads for the villain. X meanwhile grins and heads for the newly opened port at the back of the device.

"Time to get what I came for." He says to himself only to slide to a stop in a crouch as the Titans suddenly form a wall in front of him, Cyborg with his cannon at the ready. _'How did those guys thaw out so quickly?'_ X wonder's then sees a tube of Xenothium on the floor out of the corner of his eye and slowly picks it up.

"Time's up…" Raven quips and X merely stands up to face them, his cape covering him from view.

"Thanks for the help, X." Robin says and X is amused to see a smirk on the usually serious Titans face. "But don't think that means you can help yourself." He says while pulling out an Explosive disk and X chuckles in his throat.

"No problem, kid." He says while holding a palm towards the Titans and then reveals the full tube of Xenothium he picked up. "**This** should keep me going for a good long while." X says and Robin's lips twitch, the boy wonder then grins as he puts his disk away and looks to X.

"**That** won't do you much good without **this**." Robin says holding the thief's belt up and X quickly looks down only to find it missing and chuckles in his throat at the irony of it… _'Touché, kid… Touché…'_ He thinks to himself while backing away from the Titans and looking over his shoulder to the water below. "Better luck next time." He hears Robin say and his own lips twitch, this was all planned, not in his head but X knew the irony of it all. He had lost himself to this persona, and then found himself just in time for the kid to steal what he needed to be the old X… What Irony…

_'Looks like I'm going to be needing Giz's suit after all… This was fun and all, but I got to admit… A chakra based Power source is allot less of a hassle… Besides I think it might be fun to show these kid's I have more tricks up my sleeve than a super suit…'_ X then thought to himself and finger's the tube in his hand… He could have had a Clone go and get more, he could have had a clone Henge into the belt and stole the real one back… But he was the Wind, and as such he wouldn't do something they would expect… He followed only his course after all…

"Not bad, kid." The Titans advance and X simply laughs in his throat. "Not bad at all…" He says and throws the Xenothium tube to the ground before then falling backwards out of the building, he quickly turns to face the water however and forms a few hand seals, vanishing into a plume of smoke, which is blown away by the wind… Leaving the Titans to wonder where he disappeared…

--

There is Good… And there is Evil…But the line between them can be almost impossible to find…

--

Beast Boy hovers over the cove where X fell, Starfire flies nearby, helping her friend look for the masked thief. The two soon land and look around, yet not even the smallest clue can be seen as to the whereabouts of the master thief. Beast Boy changes back to normal and takes a thoughtful expression, wondering where X ran off to…

--

Does one good deed make him a Hero? Am I to blame for all of it, because of a single mistake?

--

Robin walks into the room where the X-suit had hung, now he places the belt for the suit into a small safe, closing and locking the door with a random code… So no one could ever retrieve the object ever again… Meanwhile, in a sewer a figure drops down into the water and runs down the darkened tunnel, it is revealed to be X when moonlight filters down to hit him, illuminating the thief as he makes his newest escape…

--

In the end… All I really know is that the answers don't come easy…

--

Robin stands on top of Titans tower, his masked eyes watching the horizon, looking off into the distance as the sun slowly rises once more. He sees a shadow hover over the city however, not Slade, or Brother Blood's, this shadow belongs to Red-X… Robin narrows his eyes as the shadow vanishes with the morning sun. Turning the hero walks back into Titans tower, leaving Red-X behind him once more…

--

It's supposed to be simple… But it's not…

--

A black limo rolls to a halt before the entrance to a cave on the outskirts of Jump City. "We've arrived Madam a rich cultured voice informs as a girl looks out of the window for a short time before opening her door and walking towards the cave. The girl has startling white hair, which reaches her shoulder blades, with gray eye's, pale alabaster skin, a slender body with a decent bust, long legs and an athletic build. She wears a green shirt with a cartoon cat's face on the front, a pair of tight blue jeans, and a pair of black boots.

"I'll only be a minute." The girl told the driver who nodded stiffly and the girl walked fully into the cave. Reaching into a pocket, the girl pulled out a small flashlight and turned it on to light her way. Walking deeper into the cave, the girl looked at a statue and snarled for a moment before glaring. "You've paid… But your friends haven't… Not yet at least…" She whispers and walks passed the statue, sliding down an incline she finds what she was looking for, half melted and sticking out of the rock.

"I know we didn't always get along… I know I probably didn't turn out how you wanted… But I'm going to change all that… I'll make them pay for your death… Father…" She whispers while placing a bouquet of roses onto the ground and smiles. "Roses from Rose…" She whispers and stands up straight, turning away from the half melted object… A copper and black facial mask with one eyehole…

Walking out of the cave the girl turns her flashlight off and places it back into her pocket, closing her eyes deep in thought. "Miss Wilson… We should return home, you're going to need your rest after all." Her butler says as he stands out of the limo and holds a door open for her; he is a thin man, with balding black hair spilling down his shoulders. Wearing a white suit with black dress shirt and white tie. Holding a gloved hand towards the door the man gives a polite bow, but the girl walks passed him.

She now stands on a cliff, looking towards Jump City with cold gray eye's, eyes unseen in any normal person, female or not… "Wintergreen…" The girl says coldly and the butler looks to her with a questioning expression, yet not voicing his inquiry. "Have you monitored the ones who did this to my father?" She questioned and Wintergreen was silent for a few moments before nodding from behind her.

"I have Miss Wilson, I have recorded every fight, every win or loss since your father's untimely demise." The man tells her curtly and the girl smiles, a look of hatred on her face as she narrows her eyes on a T shaped building in the bay…

"You may have defeated my father Titans… But now…" The girl's eyes narrow further, the smile slips from her face into a scowl, dark intent lacing her gray orbs. "You must face with the Ravager…" She says darkly as the wind blows her hair, covering the left side of her face from view, her voice a monotone, cold and cruel… Just like her father…

--

TBC…

--

AN: Seeing as everyone wants to know: Pairings thus far are definitely Naruto (Red-X) X Raven and Robin X Starfire. Also, I hope this chapter helps explain Naruto's odd behavior lately… And lack of using any Jutsu… From now on this story will diverge greatly from the TT series, going so far as to either create new parts or include X in their many adventures though he won't be a Titan…

By:

26 Lord Pain…

And

Master XIII…


	10. Past & Present Pt 1

Disclaimer: We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

Chapter 9: Past and Present: Pt. 1…

--

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

--

(Jump City, California…)

X was walking down the street in his civilian clothes, a smirk on his face. His Civvies consisted of a pair of loose blue jeans with a simple red T-shirt, a pair of black fingerless gloves with metal plates on the backs, a pair of black combat boots, and a black bucket hat to cover his hair and shadow his eye's, leaving only his whiskers which were ever covered by some of his blond hair.

_'Ninja lesson one. Never let anyone notice your unusual features if you can help it, makes it easier for those hunting you to track you.'_ Naruto thought to himself then turned on his heel and walked down a corner while a pair of girls looked at him before blushing and giggling making the thief smirk. _'I love this universe, I don't have to worry about spite from Teme's, I can steal whatever I need so long as no one sees my face, and I can even make some __**DECENT**__ friends for a change!'_ Naruto thought to himself as he then found the place he was looking for, a lonely little shop in the city that sold old and rare books… As well as a few more common ones but if you wanted to find an unusual book in the city, this was the place to look.

Kakashi was bored out of his mind; everyone in the store was sitting down and reading, not even buying anything-just reading… Not to mention that cloak wearing girl was back again today he was still bored… Even if she did have almost ghostly tendencies to disappear or reappear out of the shadows… Most Ninja had those tendencies as well anyways so it wasn't that unusual for him…

"Hey Scarecrow!" One of his co-worker's called out making Kakashi twitch at the nickname, which he got for his normal name of Kakashi. "It's time for your break man, I'll take over the counter." The guy, Jeff if Kakashi remembers correctly, says and Kakashi shrugs before walking into the back and grabbing one of the "Erotica" books for his own personal amusement. Thus the gray haired Konoha Nin missed the blond walking into the building to look around for something to read.

While not known to most of those who lived in Konoha, Naruto actually enjoyed reading more than he liked to talk about. His "Dobe" self didn't because the real him had liked to read with his mom, thus gained a slight love for literature as it reminded him of her to read. Walking around Naruto placed a finger on the spines of the books and noted some he might like to read before pulling one out that he hadn't seen before. Opening it and reading a little he walked over to the seats, which lay to one side of the store and sat down in a chair, not even noticing the blue-cloaked girl next to him that had gray skin…

Naruto sat reading quietly, then felt someone staring at him and turned, only to find that none other than Raven of the Teen Titans was sitting next to him… _'What are the fucking odds?'_ He couldn't help but wonder then frowned towards her. "Any reason your staring?" He questioned and the girl looked at him strangely.

"People don't normally sit near me." She said simply and Naruto glanced around without moving his head, and saw they were giving her a wide berth. Looking back at the girl he could only wonder why, she wasn't hideous, and she certainly didn't look like she'd bite someone's head off for being near her… Maybe they were afraid of her, after all, if you were a normal person and saw someone tossing men made of solid stone with nothing but a wave of the hand, you'd probably be scared stiff too… He wasn't normal however so that wasn't much of a problem, hell Kyuubi gave him a similar ability…

"I'm… Used to hanging around odd girls." Naruto said with a shrug, mostly meaning Hinata, but also Temari, Ino, Tenten, and even Sakura now that he thought of it, they **were** pretty odd compared to the girls of this world, even Raven… The said girl raised a brow before returning to her book as Naruto did the same, however, the girl would constantly glance at him with a strange expression every now and then. Naruto choose to ignore it and let her try and figure out what he said on her own while reading his book. Time passed at a sedate pace it seemed, Naruto just sitting back and getting into the book, until her heard a familiar voice at least…

"Hey Jeff, time for your break now…" Came the droll voice of Naruto's **EX-**Sensei making the blond twitch before moving his eyes to the man, which then widened seeing said masked man walking out of the back and to the counter while the other guy headed into the back. _'Oh shit… It's that lazy, no good, and pretty much worthless, ass Kakashi-Baka… Wait… How the hell did he get here? Oh yeah he and the others all followed after me… Ah shit! Does that mean Sasuke-Teme and that bitch Sakura are here too?'_ He wondered to himself however, Naruto didn't notice as Raven narrowed her eyes, his stray thoughts bringing more questions to her mind about the suspicious blond.

Standing up slowly, and as casually as he could Naruto walked over to where he found the book in his hands and put it up. "Hey?" Kakashi's voice came and Naruto would have cursed had he not known it would be too troublesome and he'd end up caught.

"Eh… Yeah?" Naruto questioned, making his voice slightly deeper to make sure Kakashi didn't recognize him.

"Don't I know you?" He questioned and Naruto twitched slightly before clearing his throat.

"No, I don't think so, I haven't ever been in this particular store before today." Naruto answered while turning around and Kakashi took a thoughtful look before then shrugging his shoulders.

"Oh I see… Sorry, but from behind I almost thought you were a former student of mine." Kakashi said and Raven walked to stand beside of Naruto with a raised brow.

"When were you a teacher?" She questioned while glaring at the book in his hands and Kakashi chuckled nervously.

"Eh… Never mind, Sorry to keep you waiting sir." Kakashi said and Raven rolled her eyes as Naruto then walked out of the building, sighing at the door and Raven placed her book back where she found it. "Not buying anything today Raven?" The man questioned with an Eye-smile and Raven frowned towards him before walking out of the building and after Naruto. "What's eating her?" Kakashi wondered before shrugging and getting back to his stupid little book.

Raven walked passed numerous people on the street quickly, so she wouldn't loose track of the blond she had seen in the store. Something about him was bugging her, and it wasn't the odd thoughts that had prodded her senses earlier, it was some kind of strange feeling she got when he sat next to her, like… It was kinship, like she understood him and he her somehow… Why was that? Finally spotting him Raven sank into the ground as a shadow only to appear in front of the blond who blinked before scratching the bridge of his nose.

"Can I help you?" He asked casually and Raven frowned once more, she still felt that weird feeling of kinship… It was starting to creep her out feeling like you could trust a complete stranger, when normally she trusted no one at all.

"Yes… I was wondering… Have we met before?" She asked, if she knew him from before then that might explain the feeling, if not she wasn't sure why she felt she could trust him.

"Sorry, can't say we have, and no offense, but you'd probably be pretty hard to forget." Naruto said to the girl smoothly and Raven frowned, he was lying, she didn't know how she knew, her senses told her he wasn't lying but… She decided it didn't matter, she lied even to her friends a great deal, calling someone else out on one would make her a hypocrite.

"Then do you have a name?" Raven asked and Naruto raised a brow.

"Uh… Naruto…" He said and the girl blinked.

"That's an unusual name." She said flatly and Naruto chuckled lightly.

"It actually means Maelstrom and is Japanese in decent." He explained and the girl made an O with her mouth before closing it.

"I'm Raven." Raven offered and Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Everyone knows that." He said with a smirk and Raven nodded her head to the blond. That was her least favorite part of being a Super-Hero besides the strain on her alone time… The damn Paparazzi… "So… If we're done here I best be on my way." Naruto said and started to walk off only for Raven to make a black field in front of him.

"I never said we were done…" She deadpanned and Naruto blinked before turning around to face the girl with his arms crossed.

"Then would it be too much to ask that we talk somewhere a little more private?" Naruto asked while motioning around seeing as some people had stopped to try and listen in onto the exchange, making Raven twitch in annoyance.

"Fine… When?" She asked and Naruto looked thoughtful.

"I'm free Saturday…" He offered, he was actually free any day, but most normal people his age worked or went to school on weekdays so he was trying not to draw any unwanted attention to himself.

"Fine. Saturday." Raven said and then discreetly nudged over to what looked like a dark little café. Naruto nodded his head slowly and then Raven suddenly faded into the ground and vanished, making Naruto blink before shrugging and calmly walked away. He groaned when numerous people began to try and discreetly wonder what the exchange had been about… _'Today is just not my day man…'_ He thought to himself as he heard at least five people wonder if they were dating, and some wondering if he was one of the Titans out of costume… He really didn't like Mondays anymore…

--

(??)

Sasuke Uchiha could be called many things, Handsome (By his fangirls only oddly enough), Ambitious (By his sensei only), Hard working (By the Ass kissing Council members), and he is strong, possible the strongest Ninja of Konoha (In his own warped mind and that of his fangirls at least). However, one thing he isn't (Among **MANY** others…) is patient, Sasuke Uchiha is **NOT** a patient person… Just as poor Neji Hyuuga was about to find out…

"What the hell are we sitting around for?" Sasuke demanded of Neji as the Hyuuga boy sat down, attempting to meditate just so he wouldn't be tempted to finish off the Uchiha line once and for all himself…

"Because… Kakashi and myself are currently the highest ranking nin on this mission… As such we make the rules, and it would not be a good idea to alert the city to people with our abilities, nor would it be prudent to make enemies of it's protectors." Neji explained for the millionth time today, why did anyone ever say the Uchiha was **EVER** a fucking genius… All he was good for was blowing things up half the time and rushed headlong into almost any fight without thought of the consequences…

Sasuke gritted his teeth and sneered at Neji, they were supposed to be capturing that damn dobe! Not sitting the fuck around and meditating all fucking day! Sasuke began to sporadically clench his right hand, itching to draw his Chokatou and slice into Neji, then go cutting up this fucking city till the Dobe came out… Shaking his head Sasuke frowned, even he wasn't **THAT** rash; the Dobe would run if they came, just like the coward he obviously was…

Sasuke then had a thought, in Konoha; they kept a list of everyone in the village and checked often for hideaways… Surely a city this advanced would have better records with their law enforcement agents… Narrowing his eye's Sasuke turned his back on Neji and started walking to the door, only for the Hyuuga to stand in his way. "Where do you think your going?" Neji demanded and Sasuke sneered, how dare this Hyuuga trash make demands of him! The last of the Uchiha!

"I'm going to find the Dobe." He said through gritted teeth and Neji frowned.

"As I said earlier, we are **WAITING**, we are not to arouse any suspicion to us as we attempt to gather information." Neji stated and Sasuke sneered before quickly unsheathing Chokatou and pointing it at the other boy.

"Out of my way… I won't say it again!" Sasuke said darkly and Neji narrowed his eyes on the prick before rolling his eyes and stepping aside. "That's what I thought." Sasuke said smugly and sheathed Chokatou, Neji inwardly shook his head at the younger boy's arrogance, if it wasn't for the fact he would be beheaded by the council he'd personally knock some sense into the brat…

As Sasuke left the warehouse Neji shook his head and walked over to the center of the room to meditate and focus his Chakra. _'I somewhat hope he gets himself killed out there tonight…At least then we wouldn't have such an arrogant teme to deal with and could focus on finding Naruto-san…'_ Neji thought to himself while thinking of the Hokage's "Personal" order's to him concerning Sasuke and smirked slightly.

_'If the Uchiha shows even the slightest intents of killing Naruto, you are to execute him immediately. Naruto is more valuable to the village than he is, understood Neji?'_ The woman had ordered and Neji's reply had been simple… _'Understood, Hokage-sama…'_

--

(Later…)

Naruto was bored; he'd gone around town for a while just to clear his head, and making sure that no one was following him home. So it wasn't surprising when he didn't get home till it was well passed sunset. Shaking his head, the blond reached up and pulled his white and green striped Bucket hat from his head and stuck it into his pocket. "I can't believe Kakashi-Baka didn't recognize me…" Naruto said with a laugh at Kakashi's expense while approaching his door.

As soon as Naruto walked into his apartment however, none other than Gizmo tackled him straight to the ground. "Do you have **ANY** idea how long we've been looking for you Tempest?" Gizmo demanded and Naruto sighed, then pushed the Tiny-Terror off of him and then stood up to wave at Mammoth.

"Hey guys… What's up?" Naruto questioned and Gizmo growled.

"Jinx is fucking missing that's what's up Dick-Head!" Gizmo shouted and Naruto blinked then looked to Mammoth.

"Is it me or is he cursing even more than normal?" He questioned and Mammoth nodded his head. "Okay, thanks for the confirmation now what is this about Jinx going missing?" Naruto said to Mammoth then questioned only to be dragged into his apartment by Gizmo as Mammoth then closed his door so no one would hear.

"Okay, a couple days ago the Headmaster sent Jinx out on a job in town. Well at first we didn't think much of it, it was a routine job you know. Anyways it's been three days and I'm starting to get worried, Mammoth here was worried two days ago but I figured she was just running late and…" Before Gizmo could continue his ramblings his mouth was covered by Naruto's hand, the blond's eyes narrowed.

"What was this mission she went on?" He questioned monotonously and Mammoth answered.

"She went to deliver a message to some of our people on the west side. She was also supposed to bring back some of this months haul but…" Mammoth left off and Naruto frowned angrily.

"Where are these guys?" He questioned angrily and Gizmo pulled his hand off of his mouth.

"What do ya need to know that for?" He asked and Naruto glared at him.

"First things first, I'm going to check these guys out, they might know what happened to Jinx…" Naruto said flatly and Gizmo made an O with his mouth.

"On the west side in an abandoned hotel, I think the guy she went to see was in room 312 or something." He then said and Naruto walked passed Gizmo and to his room. "How the hell are you going to get these guys to talk, half of them aren't even afraid of Mammoth? Do you honestly think their gonna be intimidated by you!?" The Tiny-Terror then questioned and Naruto turned to him and the former Nin smirked.

"I'm a ninja remember… I have my ways…" He said simply before walking into his room to get his Chakra powered X-suit… He was going to find Jinx, and he was going to beat the shit out of anyone who got in his way… Cause no one fucked with his friends as long as **HE** had anything to say about it…

--

(Jump City, West Side…)

Naruto landed on a building across from the one Jinx had been last. He dressed in his new suit, though the clouds covering the moon prevent him from being seen, according to Gizmo his suit looked somewhat like a "Cyborg-Ninja". The suit also had many new features added to it, but at the moment, Naruto was using his helmets Night Vision mode and Scope mode to allow him to watch the building. Watching Naruto narrowed his eyes, two men were on top of the building, walking around and holding simple handguns.

Tilting his head downward the blond looked to see another guard at the door, tilting to both sides Naruto saw the only other guard was at the left side, leaving only the right free. _'Left has a fire escape… But the right is barren, foolish to leave a side unprotected… Even if it has no strategic value to you, someone else will find a use for it…'_ Naruto thought to himself and reached over his right shoulder, touching the Handle of his Ninjatou and smirking beneath his mask, a Cyborg-Ninja indeed…

The blond then deactivated his helmets vision functions and pressed the button on the buckle of his belt, reappearing on top of the building, his "stealth-camouflage" online. Looking at the two guards Naruto rolled his eye's before holding his palms towards them both, a brief flash of bright red light was the only warning before static-X's came from his palms and attached to the two men, knocking both unconscious.

Naruto then flipped to the roof and walked over the two unconscious guards and too the door, slowly pulling it open as he then walked down into the building. Finding the client Gizmo had mentioned wouldn't be easy; of course nothing he liked to do was easy for most people, so why should this be any different. Walking down the numerous halls Naruto saw another guard, making him frown as he then silently stalked to the man before grabbing him and putting pressure around his neck to keep him silent. He then punched the man in the skull, laying him out like the others as he then dragged the man down the hall and dumped him into a bathroom stall.

Walking out Naruto looked to one of the doors and frowned seeing the number 512, meaning he was a good two floors above the guy he was supposed to be capturing. Growling in his throat Naruto stalked to the stairs only to halt seeing someone wearing a black ski mask with a J between the eyes walking up the stairs, before stopping to sneeze. "Dammit… I caught a cold again…" The man whined and Naruto stepped aside allowing the man to walk passed him, only for him to suddenly stop… "Uh oh… Not again!" The man said before he stiffened then shifted and run down the hall towards the bathroom with his hands on his ass…

_'Who the hell was he?'_ Naruto wondered to himself then walked downstairs, shaking his head after seeing the odd man. Soon coming down to the next floor Naruto leaned back into a wall and looked down the hall to see no one around, the stairs to the next floor laying somewhere on this floor. Naruto silently walked down the hall only to stop as a door opened, a man walking out and yawning slightly, Naruto rolled his eye's and then lunged forward, quickly placing a Static-X onto the man to knock him out. Grabbing the man he then dragged him back to the room he had come from and closed the door.

Walking back down the hall quietly Naruto came to a simple turn, but he leaned against the wall and then tilted himself over to look in any case, only to grimace seeing five guards. Grumbling Naruto looked around and then walked over to a door and opened it, walking out he headed to a window and then opened it. Jumping out Naruto placed his hands and feet along the wall and began "Wall-Crawling" along it and noted idly it was harder to focus Chakra to single fingers than it was to his palm. Ignoring that thought he slowly crawled down the wall to the third floor and looked for an open window, only to scowl seeing there was none.

Crawling to one Naruto focused Chakra to his fingers and then cut through one, only to reach inside and open the window. _'Man, I really must have been going crazy to use the suits functions over Chakra and Jutsu… Though this Stealth-Camo is fucking handy…'_ Naruto thought remembering almost two hundred times in the past he would have loved to vanish without a trace like he could now. Stopping these thoughts, Naruto silently walked out of the room and checked the number.

_'320… Eight doors down…'_ Naruto thought to himself and slowly crept down the hall, then saw a guard in front of the door he was heading towards. Narrowing his eye's Naruto watched the man, then looked down a second hall to his right and cursed seeing another guard heading his way. Growling in his throat Naruto held a Hand towards each of the men and fired a Static-X from each, the two weapons sailing through the air to hit both men and knock them out like the ones before.

Leaving these guys to lie out Naruto walked towards the door where the guy was supposed to be. However he raised a brow, there wasn't a door… In fact the numbers seemed to skip 312… Narrowing his eye's Naruto then placed his ear onto the door, though his helmet covered his ears it had very sensitive microphones in it. He heard someone walking around and thus stood up and deactivated his camo before reaching back and unsheathing his Ninjatou.

The blond haired thief then sliced into the wall and literally carved out a new door, causing the man beyond to look towards the door in shock and fear. Naruto then tossed an X-Shuriken at the light of the room, turning it off and activated his thermal vision, thus making the eyes of his helmet glow a fearsome red color… Naruto saw the man and watched as he screamed and ran to an adjacent room, making the thief narrow his eyes and sheath his sword. Walking towards the room Naruto used his chakra to form numerous blades of wind around him, which began to spin rapidly.

This was an advanced Wind Jutsu he made to replace his "Makyou Kaiten", though he had only finished it recently. It was basically hundreds of Wind Scythes spinning around his body and tearing anything that came towards him into pieces. And seeing the numerous bullets heading his way, he was glad he had. Hearing the click of an empty gun Naruto lunged forward and lifted the man up by the throat, glaring at him with glowing red eye's.

"Where is my friend?" Naruto demanded of the man angrily, his vocal synthesizer sounding different than his Old X-Suits, giving him a raspy metallic voice like Red had. The man in his hand just shouted that he wouldn't get away with this, nor would he talk and X grinned behind his mask… "Oh really now?" He questioned darkly then walked over to a window and kicked it out while his thermal vision deactivated to allow him to see normally. "Lets see if we can't loosen up that tongue of yours!" Naruto then declared as he jumped out of the building and teleported to a much taller building a short ways from the first building.

"W-what are you going to do?" The man in his grasp stuttered and Naruto walked over to the side of the building and looked down, the man seemed to go wide eyed at this and gulped. "Are you one of the Batman's students or something?" He questioned and Naruto shook his head no, making the man sigh in relief… At least until Naruto held him out over the edge of the building… "What the hell do you want!?" The man demanded and Naruto narrowed his eyes behind his mask.

"My friend Jinx… Where is she?" Naruto demanded and the man shook his head from side to side rapidly.

"I don't know!" The man shouted and Naruto let out a sigh.

"Too bad…" he then stated and dropped the man down the building before then pressing his teleport button to appear on the side of the building and grab the man by his leg.

"Alright! A a couple days ago that pink haired chick came by, b-but we didn't have what we were supposed to give her! S-so we called a cop who owed us and had him come and arrest her!" The man admitted and Naruto wanted to drop the guy for doing that to his friend… Fortunately for the prick he wasn't a killer…

"You are so lucky I'm not an assassin…" Naruto growled before then dodging as a red and yellow birdarang came at him from nowhere and cut into the mans pants, before then holding them to the wall… "Great… The kids are here…" Naruto mutters under his breath as he sees Robin on a nearby streetlight, the thief growls before then releasing the man in his grasp and watched as Raven came out of the shadows to catch him. Naruto narrowed his eyes at this as then he heard a screech of tires and turned to see the infamous T-Car slide to a stop nearby and Starfire flying down… How the hell do these kids always manage to get in the way?

Flipping off the side off the building Naruto landed on the ground and then turned to glare at Robin as he and the other Titans came together. "I don't know who you think you are pal, but I don't like your style…" Robin said angrily to the thief who simply looked at the Titans with a frown.

"I don't rightly care kid… I've got more important matter's to attend to other than being your babysitter for the night…" Naruto said and stood up to his full height only to unsheathe his sword. "So stay out of my way… Or else I'll have to beat you into the ground…" Naruto growled as he finally stepped into the light to reveal himself, ironically getting a gasp from Starfire once more and gaping jaws from the others…

The figure standing before them was Red-X, however, he had changed, his mask was different, the skull was still white with a Red-X over the right eye, but the two "teeth" on the outside looked like fangs while the two inner ones were normal, and it's eye's were a dark gray, making the sockets look almost empty while the rest of it was black with an almost metallic look to it. A pitch black, single edged short sword rested in his right hand, the light from the T-car's lights glinting along its length.

The suit he wore was black as midnight, with a large jagged Red-X over the chest, a ash gray belt synched around his waist identical to his old one save the circular buckle with the red X on it, a Kunai Case was strapped to his right thigh, gray material forming the band around his leg. Gray gloves covered his hands, but had black fingers and a red X on the palm, black Vambrace's covered his forearms and the backs of his hands, a red X placed on the back of the fist. Over his feet were black boots, with thin gray soles and gray around the toes and heels, black greaves covering his shins, knees, and the tops of his feet. On his shoulder was a pair of black shoulder pads, with smaller pads coming down from them over his biceps, with several straps crossing over his back making an X, allowing the shoulder gear to hold on tightly and also allowing him to synch his Swords sheath to his back.

Looking at the shocked looks of the Titans, Naruto grinned beneath his mask, only to frown when he remembered why he was even out. Swinging his sword he rested the blunt side of the blade against his shoulders and clenched his left fist, small spikes coming from the knuckles of his left vambrace to spark with electricity… "What's the matter kid?" X questioned of Robin darkly then lowered his voice, making his synthesizer do the same… "You look like you've just seen a ghost…"

--

TBC…

--

By:

26 Lord Pain…

And

Master XIII…


	11. Past & Present Pt 2

Disclaimer: We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

Chapter 10: Past and Present: Pt. 2…

--

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

--

(Jump City Police Station…)

"How many times are you gonna get brought here before you finally stop all the petty theft?" A police officer grumbled towards Jinx while handing her an apple.

"Same time you stop playing around with these idiotic JPD Cops, you're a better cop than half these guys…" She countered and the man grumbled under his breath angrily. Unlike the other police officers, this man didn't wear a helmet, instead he had on a pair of sunglasses with his short brown hair and a slight bit of unshaven whiskers on his face, making him look scruffy.

"Bah, what's a kid like you know about being a police officer?" The man countered and Jinx gave a shrug, she couldn't technically argue with that point. Sitting back in the seat of the Interrogation room, Jinx wondered why Officer Connors, the man sitting in front of her and an old friend, had gotten a transfer to Jump City. Sure he had been stationed in Detroit, a town most heroes steered clear of, because of all the crime there, but the old guy had always kept up the good fight.

"So why'd you transfer… I doubt anyone in town wanted that…" Jinx said, and the old guy grunted under his breath, then pulled out a cigarette and lit it. "I thought the cops here didn't allow you to smoke." She said with a smirk and the man looked at her with a frown, before lifting one hand and flipping her off. "Oh yeah, won't those also kill you from lung cancer or something?" The girl then asked with another grin as Connors eye's turned to her, then placed his Cigarette fully in his mouth before lifting his other hand to giver her two birds…

"Same old Officer Connors!" The girl said with a grin and a mock salute to the man who grunted and then took a long drag from his cig before then leaning back in his own seat and resting his boots onto the table before them.

"I decided I needed a change of scenery… That's why I left…" The brown haired man told the girl simply while looking to the ceiling and she gave him a look before shrugging and biting into the apple.

"You remembered I like the Sour ones?" She asked with a raised brow making the older man grunt.

"You don't practically raise a crazy psycho chick with control over Bad Luck without remembering a couple things…" He grunted making Jinx snicker into her hands as he took another drag on his cigarette.

"You never change do you old guy. And unless I'm mistaken Officer Connors, you didn't raise me. I was an orphan, who didn't like the orphanage, you just happened to keep trying to take me back… And keep me from blowing things up." The girl said with a grin and Connors grunted once more before giving her an annoyed look.

"I might as well have raised you… I was probably the only adult you even partly respected…" Connors stated and Jinx grinned at him.

"True!" She said happily making Connors groan then looked at her again.

"Now I hear your having some kind of a feud with those Titan Kids… What's that all about?" Connors asked and Jinx scoffed, crossing her arms as she took a quick bite of her apple and swallowed.

"It was our first job as graduates for this Slade guy…" She started to explain while Officer Connors just sat back and nodded his head to the girl while listening and smoking his cigarette…

Meanwhile outside, a familiar dark haired young man walked towards the building, a sword Sheathed at his lower back and face formed into a scowl. He wore a black sleeveless Kimono top, bandages wrapped around his waist, with a Konoha Hittai-ate secured around his forehead, a pair of loose black pants, with a dark blue clothe wrapped around his waist, a purple rope tied to his waist to hold it and his swords sheath on. Over his forearms is a pair of black gloves, which leave his fingers and palms bare, a pair of sandals cover his feet with black leg warmers over his shins and calves.

Walking passed some policemen he went inside the men giving him odd looks as they walked passed him, though he didn't see it when they did. The boy walked into the police station brushing passed many of the men who grumbled about stupid brats. Sasuke walked to the desk of this place and stared at the man behind it, seeming to be doing paperwork before then looking at him and raising a brow.

"What the hell are you supposed to be kid?" He questioned and Sasuke twitched angrily, didn't this fucking moron know who he was?

"I need the records of incoming individuals for the passed year…" Sasuke said simply and the man behind the desk raised a brow.

"We don't have no records of incoming people kid, there's too fucking many for that kind of shit." The man said rudely and Sasuke twitched, were these people fucking with him? What kind of fool doesn't make sure that their enemies aren't trying to enter into their city! Glaring at the man he narrowed his eye's, perhaps he was lying, perhaps he was trying to keep him from what he wanted… Narrowing his eye's Sasuke decided he didn't like that idea and slowly reached for his sheathed Chokatou…

--

(Elsewhere…)

"Dude… Red-X got an upgrade… He looks like something out of Cyborg Shinobi Chronicles!" Beast Boy exclaimed then grinned while everyone else gawked at the new Red-X's form. "Awesome!" BB then exclaimed only to get glares from his friends, making the green teen feel like an idiot yet again… However Naruto wasn't so amused, seeing as he was kind of busy at the moment, normally he wouldn't mind playing around with the "Kids" some, but right now Jinx needed him.

"Sorry kid's, but I can't hang out with you all night… I've got more important matters to attend…" X said darkly as he flipped his Ninjatou, now holding it backhanded he lunged at the Titans before they even knew he had moved. He immediately slammed the pommel of his sword into Robin's gut, knocking the wind from him as the thief then used a Roundhouse kick to send the younger teen flying away. Naruto then flipped out of the way as a Sonic beam headed straight for him and sheathed his Ninjatou. The teen then held out his right hand and disappeared, only to then reappear in from of Cyborg a swirling sphere of Chakra in his right hand.

**"RASENGAN!"** He exclaimed slamming his attack into Cyborg's gut, sending the titanium teen flying back and through a building. At that moment Raven lifted a pair of cars and tossed them at the thief, only for him to wink out of existence and reappear in the air spinning. The thief threw an X at the girl, which quickly wrapped around her face, covering her mouth and making the girls eye twitch as she then tried to rip it off. At that moment BB lunged at Naruto as a large gorilla, swinging his arms down to slam into the thief, however this was thwarted when the thief vanished from his sights.

The masked thief then appeared behind Beast Boy, the green ape turned only for Naruto to lash out with an electrically enhanced punch to the rib cage. BB's fur stood on end from the quick shock only for Naruto to then appear in front of him and punch him straight in the gut, knocking the wind from him then lift both fists into an uppercut that sent the large ape falling back.

Naruto then had to flip backwards as Starfire came flying forward, flinging her Star-bolts towards the masked thief. Naruto soon came to a wall and placed both feet onto it and leapt straight towards Starfire who used her eye-beams, only for the thief to vanish then appear behind her. The girl turned her head to look at the thief wide eyed as he then kicked out at Starfire, his kicks enhanced with electricity like his fists. The girl was quickly assaulted by numerous Kicks from Naruto, before the thief then used an Ax kick on her back and sent her sailing into the ground as he then rolled into a spin before hitting the ground, leaving only a surprised Raven coherent enough to watch him.

"I thought already told you… I don't have time to play with you kids today…" Naruto said darkly as Robin struggled to get to his feet, the thief then stopped as he heard the static of his Police Scanner placed a hand to his right ear. "Somebody! This is the JCPD we need help down here, there's… Some… Some Guy down here with a sword tearing up the station! If anyone can hear this please he… AHHHH!!" The message came to a halt with that scream and static making Naruto's eyes widen… _'Jinx!'_ He thought then crouched and jumped up, teleporting as he did so and flying off away from the Titans as they all tried to get up.

"Dude… is it just me… Or did we just get our butt's kicked?" BB questioned as he got up and rubbed his head, Robin gritting his teeth at the younger boy's words. The only one who didn't disagree was Raven, and the girl was still trying to get the damn X off of her mouth so she could use her powers.

--

(Jump City Police Department…)

"Shit!" Officer Connors said his sunglasses now gone, as he and Jinx both sit crouched behind an overturned table, the older man holding a modified M1911A1 in one hand and a combat knife in the other. "Does this guy happen to be a friend of yours?" He then questioned of Jinx, and the pink-haired girl shook her head rapidly as another body was tossed their way, slamming into the table they had taken refuge against. "Great, that's even worse…" He grunted out and took a quick peek out from behind the table towards the intruder.

The teen had spiky black hair reminiscent of Robin's, loose fitting almost Japanese looking clothes, and a long straight single edged sword… _'Hm… A Chokatou… Not really a good sword, takes too long to draw from the sheath…'_ Officer Connors thought to himself then looked to Jinx. "I want you to get out of here, I'll distract spiky over there…" He ordered and Jinx gaped at him.

"Are you fucking crazy old timer?" She questioned with a hushed tone. "That maniac over there will tear you to shreds!" She said with a worried look and Officer Connors merely grunted then looked back over the table as Sasuke walked into a hall… _'Perfect, that hall should be too narrow for him to use his sword, if I can get him up close I won't have to worry about that blade… But I still don't know what else he can do…'_ The man thought to himself, blue eyes narrowing as he then looked at Jinx.

"One, My name isn't old guy, old timer, old man, or anything with old in it. It's Jack. Two, get the fuck out of here before I knock you out and carry your ass out of here!" Jack growled at the girl and Jinx glared at him, huffed then let out her breath and crossed her arms.

"Just don't get killed…" She said before then rushing off in the other direction as Jack frowned and looked back to the hallway… _'I'll try my best kid… I'll try my best…'_ He thought then took hold of his gun and knife at the same time, and rushed passed his downed comrades in a crouch, holding the two weapons in front of him. Looking down the hall Sasuke had gone down, Jack grimaced, blood and bodies lay to either side, and looking down Jack cursed lightly and placed his back against the side of the door seeing Sasuke already at the other end of the hall, holding one of the other officer's up with his sword.

The black haired teen then tossed the officer off his blade, making him hit the side of the hall, leaving a dent behind as Sasuke quickly turned and sliced the mechanism holding the door shut before walking in at a sedate pace. "Man… This kid really need's to learn the concept of stealth…" Jack said to himself before rushing down the hall passed his fellow officer's and towards Sasuke…

Meanwhile with Jinx, the pink haired girl ran out of the building, grimacing whenever she saw an especially gruesome corpse. As she ran she soon saw the exit and let out a sigh of relief, quickly running to it only to collide with someone. "Kami!" Came a synthesized voice and Jinx looked down to see Red-X, whom Gizmo said was actually Tempest, and with Tempest sword on his back that made sense.

"Tempest!" Jinx said happily hugging a surprised thief, and then grabbed him by the shoulders. "We have to go back inside! Officer Connors is in trouble!" She said quickly, confusing the blond who then let out a sigh before placing his hand on her mouth.

"Alright, I'll pull my hand off as soon as you calm the fuck down Jinx…" He said and Jinx started to breath much more slowly and X removed his hand from her face. "Alright, now tell me what the hell has got you so worked up?" Naruto questioned of the girl who then nodded her head to the older teen.

"You see I was an orphan, but I kept running away when I was younger, and there was always this cop back home who would keep trying to take me back to the orphanage. He was probably the only good influence I had, and even then he's not quite the best of the best, he's just always looked out for me…" Jinx said and Naruto had a brief vision of Iruka in his head seeing as that sounded like this "Officer Connors" was Jinx's Iruka… "And now this psycho with spiky black hair is tearing the Police Station apart and Officer Connors is trying to stall him so I can get away!" The girl said quickly and Naruto narrowed his eyes on the building, and then turned his head to look at the pink haired girl.

"Don't worry… I'll go save him… You head on back to yours and Mammoth and Gizmo's place…" Naruto said then gently pushed Jinx off of himself and ran into the building, and narrowed his eye's seeing all the bodies around the place. _'Whoever this psycho is, he's really got to practice on his stealth, the fucking idiot will have everyone in the damn country after him for this…'_ Naruto thought to himself as he passed the numerous guards and ran in the direction of the carnage.

Back with Jack, the man was not having a good time; he and the black haired kid were in the file room, many of the file cabinets having been sliced into pieces by an irate teen that couldn't seem to read any of them. This had led to him attacking anything that moved, which unfortunately included Jack himself. "Dammit!" He exclaimed rolling out of the way of the dark haired teen's Chokatou and firing his gun at the boy who used his sword to deflect the bullets. The older man growled and rolled to the side as the dark haired teen lunged at him once more, swinging his Chokatou towards the man only to miss.

"Your better than the rest of these losers… I'll give you that much, but you still don't stand a chance against an elite Uchiha!" Sasuke said smugly, making Jack groan to himself wondering what kind of place this egomaniac lived in. Sasuke then lunged at Jack, who calmed his breathing and used his knife to connect with the Chokatou at it's hilt, then slammed his fist into Sasuke's face before then punching him with the other arm, grabbing him by the hair he then slammed the punks face into one of the only standing file cabinets.

"Don't get too cocky, the moment you underestimate an opponent is the moment you lose…" Jack said to Sasuke, aiming his gun towards the Uchiha's head only for him to then spin his legs to kick the gun out of his hands and take a swing at Jack. The man cursed and flipped backwards, blood pouring from his forehead from a light cut. Quickly wiping the blood away Jack cursed and ducked to the side as Sasuke swung his sword at him once more, blood quickly poured down from the wound on Jack's head however, and the man quickly rolled to a sheet and ripped a long strip from the gray cloth.

He then began wrapping it over his head, before tying it in the back of his head, and wiping the blood from his eyes once more, the ends of the cloth hanging down to his shoulder blades. Dodging Sasuke's Chokatou once more, Jack noticed the teen seemed more annoyed he was dodging than anything. _'Something tells me this kid hasn't lost enough fights to know the meaning of "Humility"…'_ Jack thought to himself then rolled along the floor and grabbed his gun, aiming it at the Uchiha once more, the boy glaring at him with a snarl on his lips.

"_Inu, Akuma, Usagi, Hebi, Ookami, Tori, Tanuki, Haku, Taka, Itachi, Mangu-su, Kitsune, Yama, Tori, Inu, Taka, Neko, Karasu, Hoshi, Hige, Kuma, Saru, Nezumi…"_ A robotic voice chanted as a shimmer of some kind came from nowhere and blocked the spiky haired boy's Chokatou with a sword of it's own.

"What the hell?" Jack questioned as the shimmer then took shape of some kind of Cyborg Ninja? The man then watched as the ninja swung it's own sword, knocking the samurai wannabe off balance before then kicking him in the chest and sending him flying back into a wall. Quickly regaining his senses the man aimed his gun towards the Ninja, which turned its head to reveal a white skull with a red X curving down one eye. "Who the hell are you?" He demanded and received silence. "Answer me!" He demanded once more while pointing the gun towards the sword wielding Ninja.

"Neither enemy nor friend…" The Ninja finally said and looked towards Sasuke, the boy getting back to his feet and glaring at the black clad warrior. _'Is this some kind of AnBu? Hmph, if it is he'll know what I want.'_ Sasuke thought to himself then pointed his sword towards the skull masked thief.

"Are you an AnBu?" He questioned, yet received Silence as his answer, making him grit his teeth in anger. "I asked you a question you low level scum! Are you an AnBu for this city or not?" Sasuke demanded and the thief let out a low chuckle.

"No… I am a ghost from another world…" With that Naruto flipped his Ninjatou to be held backhanded, and crouched down into a stance. Sasuke raised a brow at this then activated his Sharingan, smirking as he watched the strange AnBu.

"Fine then, Dokuro, lets see what the AnBu of this strange world can do!" With that the spiky haired boy lunged at Naruto, swinging his Chokatou only for him to vanish in a shimmer of light. "What the?" Sasuke questioned only to be kicked from behind and sent sprawling forward.

"It seems like I'm going to have to take you down a few pegs…" Naruto said darkly while Jack just watched the two with growing confusion then ducked behind something so he could watch, but wouldn't get between them. Sasuke then got back to his feet and glared at the "AnBu" before him with anger before lunging at him with a roar. Only for him to vanish once more and then appear above him and use a dropkick. Sasuke punched the ground then flipped back to his feet once more and lunged at the masked thief, swinging his Chokatou at him wildly.

Naruto blocked each strike easily, smirking, as the Sharingan wasn't working thanks to the blond's mask keeping him from using any illusions. Naruto then ducked quickly to the side while sticking a foot out, tripping Sasuke and sending him tumbling forward into a wall with a grunt. "Catch me if you can!" Naruto then exclaimed in his synthesized voice, jumping up to then activate his "One-Thousand Blades Jutsu" the thousands of Wind Like Blades cut open the roof without him having to move his own sword even once.

Sasuke gritted his teeth at this and lunged up after the thief, finding himself in the computer section of the station. "Come out you coward and face me like a man!" Sasuke suddenly exclaimed only for the thief to appear before him and slam his hand into his face, sending him reeling back into the hole and to the ground below with an audible groan. Naruto chuckled at this and watched as Sasuke got up, holding his back and grimacing in pain the whole time.

"C'mon kid… X marks the spot…" Naruto mocked while pointing to the X on his chest and Sasuke snarled before then crouching down and lunging at the thief who then used his Ninjatou to block Sasuke's Chokatou. "You've really got to lighten up chuckles." Naruto said humorously to Sasuke who roared, swinging Chokatou wildly while Naruto dodged it with ease, smirking at the dark hard boys temper problems.

"Hold still damn you!" Sasuke roared at the thief who then grabbed Sasuke's right arm, swung his right leg to knock Sasuke off his feet then turned to Judo-toss Sasuke into a table with a computer on it, sending sparks flying everywhere. Sasuke then stood up painting and looking to his sword, then sheathed the blade, Naruto grinned, chuckling as he then moved his arm and sheathed his own blade.

"Good, now we can fight as warriors…" Naruto said while taking a stance, remembering the words of Red. "Hand to hand is the basis of all combat, only a fool would trust his life to a weapon!" With that Naruto and Sasuke lunged forward and each threw a punch at the other, both connecting and sending them flying back. Naruto flipped to land on his hands and feet, while Sasuke landed in a crouch, the two stared one another down before then lunging at one another once more.

Naruto ducked under the punch from Sasuke and swung his leg into a kick, this was blocked by the dark haired Uchiha who then pushed the leg to the side, making Naruto spin his body into a flip in order to stay on balance. The two slowly got back to their feet after this and Sasuke narrowed his eyes. _'Somehow… This seems familiar… Like I recognized that punch?'_ Sasuke thought to himself then watched as the thief then flipped backwards, before then lunging out of a window.

The Dark haired Uchiha mumbled a curse before following after the thief, lunging out of the window and after the black clad boy. He saw him on a roof and quickly ran up the side of the building and onto the roof, glaring towards him angrily. Sasuke then watched as the thief made a "c'mon" motion with one hand and gritted his teeth. _'I'll do better than that!'_ Sasuke snarled in his mind and made several hand seals before forming the Tiger seal and in taking a deep breath. **"Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu!"** He exclaimed as numerous fireballs flew from his mouth and towards the thief who inwardly cursed.

_'Shit, Sasuke-Teme this is a highly populated area what the hell are you thinking?'_ The masked blond wondered then flipped around the small fireballs, before then vanishing and appearing beside of Sasuke, plunging his fist into the other boy's face and sending him flying off to the side. _'I have to get the Teme out of here, away from any innocents…'_ Naruto then thought and looked towards the bay, nodding to himself he headed in that Direction and heard Sasuke roar as he followed after the blond. _'C'mon Teme, that's it follow me you Baka… I'll really cut loose when we get away from people…'_ The blond haired thief thought to himself with a smirk as he evaded a couple Kunai and Shuriken thrown by the Uchiha brat…

--

(Elsewhere…)

The Titans walked into the JCPD building with pure horror written on their faces. "Who the hell did this? X?" Cyborg asked as a man walked from one room, shaking his head slightly then looked at the Titans and blinked…

"What took you so long?" He asked and BB snickered making the rest of the team glare at him once more to shut him up.

"Sir, who did this?" Robin questioned while motioning to the carnage of bodies strewn throughout the building.

"Some fucking black haired kid in robes with a Chokatou handy… That's who…" The brown haired man grunted then sat down and pulled a cigarette from one of his pockets then grabbed a lighter and lit it in his mouth. "He anyone you know?" Jack then questioned and Robin frowned before shaking his head no.

"Dude, so X didn't do any of this?" BB questioned and Jack frowned.

"You mean that Ninja freak with the skull mask?" He asked and Robin immediately nodded his head. "He was the one who got the sword guy to leave…" Jack said and Robin frowned to himself, then took a thoughtful expression.

"They were working together?" He asked and Jack scoffed.

"No they were fighting dipshit… They really didn't seem to like each other…" Jack said then mumbled while taking a long drag from his Cigarette and Robin took a thoughtful expression.

"Alright, we're going to split up, Beast Boy, Cyborg, Starfire, you stay here and help…" Looking to Jack for a name the man rolled his eyes.

"Officer Jack Connors." He said simply and Robin nodded his head.

"Help Officer Connors here and see if anyone else around here survived. Raven, your going to go looking for X while I go looking for this sword wielding maniac." Robin ordered and Raven grimaced before then vanishing into the shadows… Robin then raced out of the building and onto his R-cycle while Connors grumbled under his breath.

--

(With Raven…)

Raven appeared in the skies over Jump-City, looking around for the wandering thief known as Red-X when she spotted fire and flew towards it. She then saw X and their mystery sword-wielding maniac. The two were in pitched combat and the girl could see why Officer Connors said they didn't seem to like one another. The one with the robes was breathing fire however, and Raven was fairly certain that wasn't a Metahuman power, especially considering she could sense it. So moving in closer Raven decided to watch the two and try to figure out how they were controlling the elements themselves…

Naruto blocked a right hook from Sasuke, the boy was beginning to be annoying, it was obvious to the blond that while he might have gotten a little rusty, Sasuke's skill's had stagnated without a challenge. So the blond was more than his equal at this point and thus was easily avoiding the attacks. _'Don't get cocky Naruto, remember that Sasuke-Teme still has that damn Curse-Seal of his…'_ Naruto thought to himself then flipped backwards as Sasuke punched towards him, hitting the ground instead as the black clad thief flipped back, off of the building they were on and to the docks below.

Sasuke followed the thief and threw numerous punches and kicks at him, and the skull-masked warrior was blocking all of them easily, raising Sasuke's ire. The dark haired youth could swear he had seen this style before however, like he knew the person behind that mask… But Sasuke didn't pay any attention to that, instead he lunged at the Skull-masked warrior, throwing another punch only for his arm to be grabbed and his body flipped backwards into the bay.

Naruto then followed after Sasuke, the masked thief smirking to himself as he then lunged forward, plowing his fist into Sasuke's face once more and sending him flying back. The thief then crouched down as Sasuke flipped up and formed a few more familiar hand seals. **"Katon:**** Goukakyuu no Jutsu!****"** The Uchiha brat called, launching a massive ball of flames towards the black clad thief. However, Naruto quickly jumped into the air and used his Chakra to manipulate wind once more, creating a vacuum to stop the flames and put them out.

Landing to see a gaping Sasuke, Naruto then lunged forward and ducked down before kicking the Uchiha brat into the air. Flipping to his feet Quickly Naruto then launched himself into the air and delivered a dropkick to the Uchiha's back, sending him flying back down into the water, making a massive splash. Naruto then landed, with a slight panting breath he looked to the water as Sasuke pulled himself back up, Raven watching nearby with wide eyes at the abilities of the two warriors.

"Yes… I remember… I REMEMBER THAT!" Sasuke then exclaimed before laughing loudly. "I remember this feeling! This tension!" He then said and quickly formed several hand seals. "NARUTO!" He exclaimed angrily as a familiar ball of lightning formed in his left hand. Naruto was about to prepare to dodge the attack when he noticed a presence behind him and saw Raven a distance away. Cursing lightly, Naruto knew he couldn't move there was too great a possibility that if he were to dodge Sasuke would hit HER instead!

Gritting his Teeth Naruto held his hand out to the side and narrowed his eye's on Sasuke. Quickly forming a Kage Bunshin Naruto held his right hand to the side and let it form a swirling sphere of energy into his hand. _'If I can't win this without someone dying, then I guess we'll both just have to settle for a draw this time Sasuke…'_ Naruto thought to himself as the clone then dispelled itself. Sasuke then lunged forward with an almost psychotic look to his eyes and Naruto lunged forward also.

**"CHIDORI!"**

**"OODAMA RASENGAN!"** The two exclaimed at the same time as their most powerful attacks hit one another and Raven had to shield herself as a burst of power expanded from the two combatants. She was still able to see beyond her shield, but what she saw was beyond any power she had ever seen two mere humans use before. Black as midnight a sphere, a shell of power was rapidly expanding itself, white glowing lines slowly covering the sphere as it grew until, it exploded and Raven was sent flying back in her shield.

Raven soon found the sphere of power had dissipated, and looked around, only to feel her eyes widen seeing as the water in the bay had been moved to form a sphere in the ground, only it was now filling back up. Looking around Raven saw something floating in the water and flew down towards it, reaching a hand down she pulled Red-X out of the water and onto a black platform made from her own energy. Looking down on him she noticed a crack in his helmet, only for her eye's to widen as red energy suddenly leaked into the crack and it slowly sealed shut…

_'Was… Was that a Demonic Aura?'_ The girl wondered to herself only to shake the thought off and then look towards the Tower then back down at X. _'If anything we need to know about that sword wielding maniac, if and when he comes back…'_ The girl reasoned then flew towards the Tower with Red-X as her passenger/prisoner…

Meanwhile Sasuke was laying face first on the ground, hidden near a warehouse and unable to move. "So you found him…" Came the voice of Neji as the Hyuuga walked towards Sasuke who gave a weak smirk towards him. Neji looked at the Uchiha and frowned at him. "And you've alerted our presence to the authorities and protectors of this city." Neji said and Sasuke glared at the Hyuuga, wasn't it enough that he'd found Naruto, what did it matter if a few weaklings knew they were around. "And no doubt now they're going to be hunting you down for murdering their comrades… Foolish…" Neji said and Sasuke once more gritted his teeth and glared at the Hyuuga.

Neji then moved quickly, grabbed Sasuke and slammed him up against a wall forcefully. Narrowing his eyes on the Uchiha he then kneed him in the stomach and let him drop back to the ground holding his midsection. "Our orders are to bring back Naruto, Alive and unharmed Uchiha…" Neji then said before kicking Sasuke in the side and into a wall, making the brat grunt in pain as Neji then shook his head. "And should you, or anyone else in this team attempt to kill Naruto, I am to eliminate you with extreme prejudice…" Neji said darkly making Sasuke glare at him.

"And if you think being the last of the Uchiha will get you off this time Sasuke, you're dead wrong… These orders come from the Hokage herself. And though the Council thinks otherwise, the Hokage's word is law in the village. Not theirs…" Neji said darkly before grabbing Sasuke by the hair and lifting him up. "So stay in line, or I'll put you in your place… Permanently…" Neji said darkly before slamming Sasuke's head into a wall, knocking the Uchiha out cold as he then took hold of his leg and dragged him off, back towards home…

--

(??)

In a dark room in an unknown place, a single slate-gray eye opens to look at a screen showing Naruto fighting the Titans in his X-suit, the fight between Naruto and Sasuke, Sasuke being carried off by Neji, and Naruto to Titans Tower. "Truly amazing power…" The voice is feminine, yet cold and calculating, the eye is trained into a deadly glare onto the screen before her, her form shadowed in darkness. "One with god-like power over the Wind, the other holds power over Fire and Lightning at a lesser scale… Truly amazing…" The girl said darkly while looking at a freeze frame of the two warriors side by side…

"The dark haired one is physically powerful… However he seems a tad too arrogant, also he is rash and obviously doesn't think past a few brief moments. The other however has shown himself to be highly intellectual, thinking things through until the end. Like the first one this "Red-X" is physically capable of assisting me… However, he also seems to have a tad too many morals…" The girl deduced then laced her fingers before herself and narrowed her eye.

"What would father do?" She questioned of no one, clockwork gears churning in the background till her eye closed and a light chuckle escaped her throat. "Of course… The Rash one wouldn't make a good heir for father, but this Red-X would… But the rash one would make for an interesting pawn…" The girl said to herself then the screens shut off, blanketing the room in shadows and hiding the girl from view…

--

TBC…

--

By:

26 Lord Pain…

And

Master XIII…


	12. Past & Present Pt 3

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

Chapter 11: Past & Present: Pt 3…

--

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

--

(??)

Neji walked into his and the other Konoha Nin's hideout before roughly tossing Sasuke's bloody, bruised, and nearly crushed body inside, awakening the prick and making him groan in pain. "Sasuke-kun!" Sakura exclaimed rushing over to the boy while Kakashi looked up from his book with a raised brow directed to Neji.

"What happened?" Kakashi questioned and Neji narrowed his eyes on Sasuke as Sakura healed him.

"He attacked this land's "Police" murdered more then two dozen of them, revealed us to the world at large, then had a confrontation with Naruto… Which resulted in his present condition." Neji explained and Ino slapped her face with a groan.

"He just made us a shit load of enemies… Didn't he?" She questioned and Neji nodded while Kakashi could only sigh. _'How is he such a genius? I mean yes he can use high-powered Jutsu and has a great skill in Tai and Kenjutsu… But seriously what Ninja reveals themselves to the authorities then kills them? Not only that but now Naruto will be watching for us, alerted to our presence it would take nothing short of a miracle or an act of Kami herself just to find him?'_ The older Jounin thought to himself as Ino was glaring at Sasuke and Hinata walked over to Neji.

"N-neji nii… Is Naruto alright?" She questioned with a slight stutter and Neji frowned to himself, as far as he could tell, Sasuke had got the brunt of that last attack…

"Naruto now wears some form of Chakra enhanced armor, not only that but it seems his skills have increased greatly… However his Chakra seemed slightly sporadic, it is likely that when Sasuke faced him it was already after he had been weakened from an earlier battle… Or perhaps his training with Elemental Manipulation left him little time to work on his Chakra control…" Neji explained then mused and Kakashi's eye's widened, he was still trying to grasp the concept of the boy being that dangerous, after all, he thought he'd mellowed out back when he was eight…

"There's no way a weakened Naruto can do this to Sasuke-kun!" Sakura then shouted out towards Neji who scoffed, why the hell couldn't Tsunade have sent a competent Ninja with them, who wasn't a Fan girl…

"Believe what you will Sakura, but it appears that we have misjudged the difference between ourselves and Naruto. Do not forget, that he WAS the one who defeated the supposedly invincible Uchiha Madara…" Neji reminded and Sakura froze, she HAD forgotten about that and suddenly felt scared… If he could beat Madara, what kind of chance did they have to capture him?

"_**Chance! You don't have a fucking Chance you cheating mother fucking Bitch! I personally hope he beats the living hell out of you just so I can shove your ass into the deepest pits of this mind and take over for myself just to let you know what it's like to be locked away!"**_ The angered voice of her Inner Sakura called out angrily and Sakura started to shake, placing her hands over her ears to block out the voice. This had become a problem recently, her Inner-Self and she had different views on Naruto, her Inner-Self seemed to like him now, while she still wanted Sasuke, and as it was, she had to keep control lest her Inner-Self make her threats very real…

"Neji, was there anything else you could tell about Naruto besides him being weakened?" Kakashi questioned and Neji frowned slightly.

"He seems to have upped his Elemental Manipulation beyond anything we thought possible, as well as some new Taijutsu style I've never seen before…" Neji reported and Kakashi frowned, this was worse than he had thought, Naruto was definitely not going to be beaten easily, and thanks to Sasuke they had no way of asking anyone for help… Why the fucking hell does everything always have to go south whenever he's involved?

--

_"Mom… Why does everyone always call me a Demon?" A younger Naruto questioned, while his mother was wiping a scratch that was on his right cheek. The woman gave Naruto a slight sad look before smiling and hugging the blond haired child._

_"They just don't understand Naruto… They just want to make you feel bad because they do…" She whispered to the blond who closed his eyes as his mother held him close to her, only to open them a second later and find himself in a dark sewer…_

_"Mom?" Little Naruto questioned, looking around then walked down the path before, soon a strange hymn began to play, a song, which seemed to echo down the halls of the sewer, and never seemed to stop. Shivering, the tiny blond haired child walked down the halls of the sewer, only to come upon a massive cage… "Kyuubi…" He whispered and then felt himself return to his full size._

_"What an interesting dream you're having…" Came a calm voice and Naruto turned to see a familiar Ninja with half a Tora mask covering the right side of his face, the left covered by a mask like Kakashi's and some of his Hittai-ate…_

_"You…" Naruto said with shock and surprise in his voice as the man leaned against a wall, arms crossed over his chest and white hair smoothed back._

_"Hm… So, you do remember me." The man said simply as he then pushed off of the wall, folding his arms behind his back as he slowly walked towards Naruto who assumed a crouched stance. "Come now… I'm not the person who killed your mother child… merely a ghost from another world…" The man said simply while Naruto remained on alert. The man chuckled lightly at this then lifted a head and closed his single visible eye. "Beautiful… A symphony of Madness…" He said and Naruto twitched, as the man then looked into the cave, the boy following his gaze…_

_He saw Kyuubi's eye's open, but something else, he saw four Red eye's open as well, a pair of toothy grins appearing beneath Kyuubi's and the other sets of eye's. Naruto then turned to the man who looked like his tormentor, only for him to reach up and pull off his Tora mask, dropping it to the ground. "Soon… The End will begin… And whether you like it or not child…" The man turned at this and Naruto took a step back seeing a skeletal face with a red S shaped symbol at his brow had replaced what he had seen before, his clothes having changed to someone else's as well. "There's nothing either you… or __**she**__… Can do, to stop it…" The man said ominously then turned back to the cage, Darkness consuming Naruto's vision at that moment…_

--

(??)

Naruto quickly sat up with a start, only to place a hand onto his head and groan lowly. "Ugh… Okay… What hit me this time… a freight train?" Naruto questioned while slowly rubbing his now throbbing head and then shook it, clearing it of the clouds only to hear someone's voice.

"Actually, you and some guy with a sword hit one another with two powerful and somehow purely elemental attacks…" The dull tone came from nearby, making Naruto stiffen before reaching up and making sure his mask was still on, he then grumbled to himself seeing as it was and he hadn't been able to notice it even with his H.U.D still on. Turning around slowly Naruto saw he was in a dark room with black and blue painted over the walls in a flame pattern along the ground, an almost gray carpet with a purple streak crossing the room to end at the bed, which was an almost oval shape with something at it's head which resembled a cloak being pulled up with a red gem…

Also in the room was a triangular Bookcase in one of the walls with a statue of an eerie looking Raven with red eyes on it, with a strange stand that had a statue of two theatrical masks on it as well, an old fashioned globe at the wall opposite the bookcase. Near to him, the blond noticed a window that took up most of the wall with dark drapes pulled over it, a long dresser lays to his other side, with a hand-mirror laid atop it with a golden cup near it and a mirror on the wall behind it, all beside another Bookcase which lay inside the wall itself…

"Okay… I have to say this is by far weirder than even Jinx's room… and she likes unicorns…" Naruto said mostly to himself then noticed that Raven was floating off the ground before him, her hood over her head and legs folded into a lotus position, making him blink and reach up to rub the back of his neck. "Did something fun happen while I was out?" He questioned only to have Raven roll her eyes, then give him a dull glare.

"No…" She said flatly, making the thief snap his fingers comically.

"Too bad…" He then said while shaking his head and Raven rolled her eyes once more. "So what brings me hear… Karasu?" He questioned with a grin seeing the girl tilt her head with a confused look on her face… damn she looked really cute when she was confused like that…

"Kara who?" She questioned making the masked blond snicker into his hand.

"Ka-Ra-Su. Raven." He said and the girl made an O with her mouth before returning to her normal blank look.

"You're here because I have a few questions which don't involve the other Titans and only you can answer them." The girl told him, making the thief shrug his shoulders before leaning back with his arms crossed under his head and awaiting her questions. "You're strange ability to control the elements… Where did you learn it?" She questioned making Naruto twitch under his mask, and remained ever thankful for the mask covering it from view.

"Sorry, that's a little too personal… Can't have just anyone figuring out how I do my tricks now can I?" Naruto quipped making the blue-cloaked girl frown before then shrugging her shoulders.

"Alright then, who was that guy with the sword? You seemed to know him." She questioned then stated and Naruto's eye's narrowed dangerous beneath his mask.

"He's my problem, you and the other kid's should stay out of his way or he'll barbeque you… Just leave him, and any of his friends, to me." Naruto said darkly and Raven twitched before narrowing her own eyes on the black clad thief.

"This is our city, if someone's a threat to it, we deserve to know who he is and what he can do." She said flatly and Naruto grumbled under his breath before then crossing his arms.

"Name: Uchiha Sasuke, Elemental Alignment: Fire and Lightning, Age: seventeen, Special Abilities: Sharingan. Known Jutsu's: Chidori, Chidori Nagashi, Raikiri, Kujiyose no Jutsu, Ayatsuito no Jutsu, Kage Shuriken no Jutsu, Nawanuke no Jutsu, Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu, Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu, Ryuuka no Jutsu, Senei Jashu, Sharingan soufuusha sannotachi, Shunshin no Jutsu, Nawanuke no Jutsu, Kawamari no Jutsu, and Bunshin no Jutsu…" Naruto listed with a hidden smirk, trying desperately not to laugh upon seeing Raven with an absolutely priceless look on her face.

"Huh?" She questioned intelligently and the laughter finally came in the form of Snickers from the black clad thief.

"If you want to know what he can do from that least, then you might want to look up some Japanese…" Naruto told the girl who glared at him angrily. "What? You said you wanted to know what all he could do, you never said in what language I should tell you in." Naruto quipped humorously while wagging a finger and the girl grunted before then crossing her arms and glaring at him.

"Than what about that Demonic aura you had?" She questioned, Naruto's eyes widened dramatically at her words, thankfully concealed. "When I pulled you out of the water your suit had some minor damage, only a demonic aura seemed to seep into it then fix it… Why do you have that?" She explained and Naruto blinked. Did that mean Kyuubi's healing Chakra could also fix his suit as well as his body? Neat…

"That's private miss blue boots… Unless you want me asking how YOU know it's a Demonic Aura…" Naruto said then threatened simply and Raven frowned once more before nodding her head. She'd rather not have the criminal world know how she knew about Demonic Aura's thank you… "Now is that all you wanted to know?" He then questioned with a frown and Raven sighed.

"One last question… Why did you save me?" She questioned and Naruto was silent for a few seconds.

"What the hell are you talking about? And in case you've forgotten I beat the shit out of you kids earlier." The thief said smoothly and Raven frowned once more, making Naruto grit his teeth wondering what he did to deserve this. "Alright geese, calm down… Contrary to popular belief I'm not a Villain, I'm just a thief. A kind of gray to the black and white of you kid's world if you want to call me something fancy. The only thing I'm interested in is doing what I want…nothing else… and especially not killing you…" Naruto told the girl plainly and Raven frowned once more.

"That still doesn't explain why you saved me, if you really only cared about yourself you would have let that… Sasuke?" She started then questioned and Naruto nodded his head to the girl. "You would have let him ram that lightning attack straight through me and then taken him out permanently. Thus killing two birds with one stone." She said flatly making Naruto twitch before letting out a sigh.

"Geese, okay, the reason I saved you was because I don't like seeing people, girl in particular, die right in front of me…" He said simply and Raven raised a brow. "I watched as my mother was murdered right in front of me at eight fucking years old… How the hell would you react?" He asked darkly eyes narrowed and Raven winced before looking to the side.

"Sorry…" She offered with a softer regretful tone and Naruto sighed before stretching his aching muscles and then rolling off the girl's bed to stand up.

"So, what now?" He then asked and Raven lifted a hand, black energy covering the limb as she waved, making the window of her room open up, confusing Naruto as he turned towards her with a raised brow under his mask.

"Now, we're even. I made sure no one else knew about you while you recuperated… So I don't owe you for saving me… I don't like owing people favors so just go…" She said while crossing her arms and looking to the side with a frown. Naruto himself blinked before smiling behind his mask and shaking his head with a chuckle.

"We're not even…" He said and Raven turned sharply with a raised a brow towards him. "Sasuke… He's my responsibility, and he…killed…allot of good people the other day… Until I get him back, we're not even, not by a long shot." Naruto then jumped out of the window and smirked to himself… _'Later… Karasu-chan…'_ He thought to himself while using his teleportation device, leaving Raven to look out her window before closing it once more.

"I wonder if I should have told him he was unconscious for four straight days?" Raven questioned of herself then shrugged with a diabolic smirk on her lips. "He'll figure it out eventually…" She then said while walking out of the room and down a hall to a pair of Double Doors which she entered into. Within showed the Titans Main Room, everyone besides herself present, Starfire was attempting to cook something once more, Robin was leaning near a Computer with a frown on his face, Cyborg was sitting down next to BB who was playing a game with what looked like Cyborg Ninja in it.

"X just left." Raven commented and Robin's frown deepened, while an eye twitched under his mask, Starfire seemed to cease stirring whatever concoction she had whipped up and Cyborg turned to her from his seat on the couch.

"You get the info, Rae?" Cyborg questioned and Raven formed a ball of energy before pulling a recording Device from it, then levitated said device to Cyborg.

"It's in some other language, he said Japanese so you should have that run through the Translator first." Raven told the Titanium teen who simply nodded his head, then walked to a couple of doors at the side of the room and out of sight, while Robin grumbled under his breath angrily from his spot near the computer consoles.

"I still say we should have locked him up…" The Titans leader grumbled out loud angrily only for Raven to frown towards him.

"If we did that we wouldn't have gotten anything from him about this Sasuke character. Subterfuge was needed for getting anything out of him Robin…" Raven told the Boy Wonder who merely grumbled to himself angrily. "And in case you've already forgotten Robin, we don't have any legal reason to hold X captive. One, Lexcorp has disavowed any knowledge of the Xenothium scanner, Two, the company who HAD the Xenothium is keeping it under wraps to keep from having a Political backlash due to the illegal and dangerous properties of Xenothium ore… We can't legally arrest him even if we want too Robin…" Raven said with a shrug and Robin growled angrily to himself, wondering why politics had to get in the way of justice yet again…

"Besides that, he may be a thief, but he's also saved my life, twice now. And I might add, yours, Starfire's, Cyborg's, and Beast Boy's… Unfortunately we ALL owed him one… And letting him go was the least we good do…" Raven said flatly, annoying Robin further, while Starfire nodded her head from the Kitchen area.

"This is True Friend Robin, without the Red-X we would not have been able to defeat the Chang person." Starfire's words only served to annoy Robin more; he didn't like owing a criminal anything… at least Raven's plan had given them a clean slate…

"Wait… Raven did you say X knows Japanese?" Beast Boy questioned finally contributing to the conversation, turning from the game he had been playing and looking to Raven who nodded her head. "Wow… I wonder if he's really a Ninja or something… That would be so sweet!" BB wondered aloud then said and Robin frowned to himself before taking a thoughtful expression and pondering over that idea.

"I've dealt with a Ninja before BB, they're stealthy and crafty, but X wasn't the same as the one I met…" The Boy wonder said and BB looked at Robin with a clueless expression. "The Ninja I fought was cold and ruthless, yet just as skilled, X seems more laidback in battle… I think he might have Ninjutsu training, but doesn't exactly follow the Code to the letter." Robin mused more to himself than anything while BB just shrugged his shoulders before returning to his game. Seemingly forgot Raven sighed then made her way out of the room and headed for the roof, she really needed to meditate… X was just so… she couldn't place it but something about him felt familiar… and he really managed to annoy her with all the comments and quips…

--

(Naruto's Apartment…)

"Dammit…" Jinx grumbled as she worriedly paced back and forth in Naruto's apartment, biting one of her fingernails. "Where is he?" She demanded of no one while throwing her arms to the air then rubbed the top of her head. She stopped however and when she heard some rustling, only to twitch seeing Gizmo and Mammoth were now rutting around in Naruto's things, primarily the stuff he had in his duffle bag.

"Hey Giz, check it out!" Mammoth suddenly called out and Gizmo looked over the big guys shoulder. In the gargantuan Teen's hands was a picture of a younger Naruto being hugged by a woman with long blood colored hair and golden yellow eyes. "Ya think this might be Temp's mom?" Mammoth questioned and Jinx looked over the red heads shoulder as well.

"Who else do you think it is, gack face? His fucking sister!" The tiny terror mocked loudly and Mammoth glared at the green wearing boy while Jinx looked into the bag and grabbed a different picture, this one having a blond haired man with blue eye's who looked almost exactly like Tempest holding the same red haired woman.

"This must be his dad…" She said softly and Mammoth and Gizmo both looked, only to gawk.

"Wow! Is Tempest a Clone of his dad or what?" Gizmo questioned and Jinx snorted.

"Tempest's eye's aren't as feral as his father's, he has his mother's eye shape but his dad's eye color, he also has his mother's nose and those whisker's aren't his dad's… But they don't look like they come from his mom… Maybe he got into an accident or something…" Jinx said thoughtfully and both Gizmo and Mammoth snickered at the girl's words. Stopping the girl looked at the two with a confused stare, before asking them a simple question. "What?"

"Do you have a crush on Temp or what? Cause that seems to be a little too much info for his friend to have on his appearance." Gizmo said with a grin and Jinx blushed before twitching as the two boys' fell over laughing loudly.

"Oh shut and grow up!" The girl exclaimed then put the two pictures back into Naruto's bag before grabbing another one and her eye's widened… "That's him!" She then exclaimed while looking at a picture of the "Rookie Nine" with their Sensei's outside of the Konoha Ninja academy. However, Jinx was looking at Sasuke in particular and then looked to her two friends. "This is the guy who was offing all those cops!" She stated and both Mammoth and Gizmo looked at the picture and at the boy in the picture.

"Aw, he doesn't look so tough!" Mammoth said and Gizmo nodded his head before looking at the young Naruto and snickering into his hands.

"Tch, look at Tempest! He looks like he'd be related to Beast Drip with that goofy smile on his face!" Gizmo said loudly before falling over laughing, Jinx merely glaring at the Tiny Terror for the unneeded crack at Naruto.

"Yeah, it's weird how I used to act like the Green Bean, huh?" Came the said boy's voice from behind the group who all cursed at the same time before looking behind their shoulders to see Naruto sitting on his couch looking at them with his arms crossed over his chest. The blond haired boy then reached up to his head and pressed into the plates over his ear's, revealing a pair of joints on his jaw, pushing the Skull portion up to reveal the visor beneath it, and then pull the lower jaw downward into a hanging position while pushing the visor upward and removing the mask completely.

"Why is it so hard to remove that?" Jinx asked after a brief silence and Naruto and Gizmo both grinned to one another.

"If it wasn't made in this way, anyone could get it off." They both said and Jinx slapped her face, why hadn't any of the OTHER heroes or villains thought of that?

"So whose that black haired twerp?" Mammoth questioned and Naruto's grin faded into a serious expression.

"My problem that's who… He and a couple other fuck-heads were sent by my home village to drag me back…" He said with a frown and Jinx blinked before frowning slightly and looking at Naruto.

"You're a "Rouge Ninja" then?" She questioned with air quotes and the blond haired boy, as well as Mammoth and Gizmo, all looked at her strangely making her blush. "Cheshire's a ninja, she said they used to have all kinds of Ninja like that back when they were allied to Shoguns and such… Not so much anymore." Jinx explained then shrugged making Naruto roll his eyes.

"Yeah well I am one and they're the Baka's my village sent after me. Probably by Baachan to drag my ass back to that shit hole village…" Naruto said with a frown and Mammoth grinned, cracking his knuckles.

"Heh, I'd like to see any looser try to drag my buddy anywhere with me around." He said menacingly and Naruto looked at him strangely.

"We're still friends? Even after I betrayed you guy's and blew up the academy?" Naruto questioned and Gizmo held his stomach and started laughing loudly.

"That was you?" He asked loudly and Naruto nodded his head then watched as Gizmo fell to the ground laughing. "Oh that was priceless! Why didn't you invite me to help with that? I've only DREAMED of blowing a school up like that!" He said while continuing to laugh and Mammoth slapped Naruto on the back, knocking the boy forward some from the force.

"Man, if I held a grudge against everyone whose either tried to blow me up, trip me into some goop, beat the hell out of me, or even set me on fire, I wouldn't have any friends at all." Mammoth then said making his three friends look at him strangely. "Jinx pushed me into the goop, Gizmo blew me up, Seemore set me on fire, and Private HIVE tried to beat me up." Mammoth then listed, making Naruto look at Gizmo and Jinx with a raised brow, while both of the other Troika members we're whistling innocently.

"Okay… Besides the fact that your best friends all tried to hurt you in some way shape or form, why aren't you mad?" Naruto then asked with a confused expression and rubbing the back of his neck making Gizmo snort.

"Jinx told us about Brother Blood, hate to say it, but I'm with you… I don't want anyone poking around inside my skull!" The Pint-sized Terror growled out with Mammoth nodding his head with a frown. "Only difference is we actually waited until we graduated to get out of there. Now the HIVE bought us a place to stay! I've also been making a block for his Psychic Powers so we won't have to worry about him trying to control us." Gizmo said with an evil grin, ringing his hands while imagining the lab he was going to build, and the numerous insidious devices that it would produce…

"And seeing as we are still friends… Want to stay with us?" Jinx offered with a shrug and Naruto leaned back, took a thoughtful expression then smirked.

"Stay with my friends in some secret hideout where no one will find me, or stay here and pay rent, while eventually Sasuke and the other's will take their heads out of their asses long enough to look for my alias… Nah, I think I'll crash with you guys." Naruto said sarcastically then stated with a grin as he got up and then went around the room gathering his things and stuffing them into his duffle bag. After that the blond retrieved his mask and replaced it over his head and face, before then opening his window and motioning for the other's to go out first.

"Uh, why are we using the Window? The door is over here." Jinx questioned then stated with a wave to the mentioned portal and Naruto slapped his masked face with an annoyed scowl under his mask.

"Because if people saw us walking out together don't you think they just might notice four wanted criminals all leaving an apartment rented by someone?" The blond asked with an annoyed tone and Jinx blushed slightly before exiting through the window, Gizmo following with Naruto behind them telling Mammoth to go out the door seeing as he was too big for the window. Mammoth grumbled under his breath about bossy blonds before then heading out of the room and up to the roof so he wouldn't be seen either. The group came back together on the roof, with Naruto looking to the Troika.

"Where's this base located Giz?" Naruto questioned and Gizmo rubbed his head.

"Outskirts of town on the east side, beside that stupid Billboard with the Titans on it." He said and Naruto rolled his eye's at the vague description before placing a hand on Jinx's shoulder, Gizmo placing one on her other shoulder and one of Mammoth's.

"What are you?" Jinx started then felt like her stomach was dragged from her body and out her throat somehow. She noticed a shimmering of light around them, then that everything seemed to blur and suddenly, they stood before a large three story building that looked like the one that Brother Blood had set up for them… Looking around her eye's widened realizing it WAS the one Brother Blood set up for them…

"Coming?" Naruto quipped, breaking Jinx from her shock as she saw him and the other two Troika boys walking into the building. The pink-haired girl huffed before rushing after the boys with an annoyed look in her eyes… Why were all men so impatient?

--

Seeing the inside of the old warehouse made Naruto sigh, it was a complete wreck, hell; half of the place had collapsed in on itself no less! "Argh! They stuck us with a Burn Out Lair of all things!" Gismo shouted and Naruto looked at him strangely.

"A Burn Out Lair is a Hideout the HIVE gives to graduates with little skill and no talent for being a villain, it's a place more for hired muscle than anything else…" Jinx explained and Naruto could see the anger in her eye's plain as day while Mammoth lifted up a large metal beam, only to find a familiar face sleeping on a couch in the center of the room and snoring lightly…

"Seemore?" Naruto questioned and the said boy shook his head and sat up, then stretched out his arms and looked at the group groggily before waving once.

"Hey guys… Brother Blood said me and a couple other's should crash with y'all for a while…" The one eyed teen explained before then laying back down and going back to sleep while Mammoth grunted and tossed the metal beam to the side.

"Wait… What others?" Naruto questioned and Kid Wykked appeared before then and raised a hand in a simple hello. "Oh… Well that's not so bad." Naruto said only for Kid to move, Mammoth doing the same as Private HIVE landed before him, making the black clad thief slap his face.

"Private HIVE reporting for duty, Sir!" The shield wielding teen said with a Salute directed to Naruto who sighed and looked to Jinx who looked about as thrilled as he did about their new situation.

"Oh great… The walking disaster area… Just what we need to fix this place…" Naruto grumbled sarcastically then looked around and sighed before making a familiar t shaped seal. **"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"** He exclaimed and numerous copies of him appeared in many plumes of smoke, surprising those in the room, save the sleeping Seemore. "Alright guy's, I want the first half of you to check this place out for salvageable parts, the rest of you head out and do your best to fix up the place, take Mammoth and Private HIVE with you." Naruto ordered and the Private saluted to him once more before walking off with Mammoth and several dozen clones.

"What about the rest of us?" Jinx questioned and Naruto took a thoughtful expression.

"Gizmo, can you make one of those Solid Hologram rooms they used at the HIVE for training?" The thief questioned of his tiny friend who snorted.

"Yeah, but what the hell do you need one of those for? Your already tough enough to take out the Titans in five minutes flat!" The little boy questioned then exclaimed with a grin and Naruto frowned to himself.

"I'm rusty… If I were at my peak I wouldn't have needed those five minutes to take the Titans down, nor would I have passed out from a simple Oodama Rasengan. I need to get back up to speed in case I have another run in with Sasuke or any of the other's…" Naruto replied then took a thoughtful expression. "Jinx, you and Kid here are going to scout out the building and make a detailed list of all entrances and exits, that includes Vents and anything else you might use on a job if you were going to sneak in here. When you have that I'll work on getting our security up to my Standards…" Naruto said and Jinx frowned crossing her arms and then narrowing her eyes on Naruto.

"And what exactly are YOUR standards?" She asked and Naruto chuckled lightly.

"By the time I'm done no one will ever be able to get in hear without us knowing it long before they realize it." Naruto answered and Jinx actually smirked before nodding her head.

"Finally, someone who takes things seriously around here." She said mostly to herself and Naruto shrugged.

"Don't get too used to it, I'm just making sure we're secure from my old friends. After I'm sure we're all safe, I'll let the guys slack off some." With that Naruto vanished off into the building, making Jinx huff and Kid roll his eyes.

"C'mon Kid, his highness the prince of all thieves gave us a job to do… I'll check the vents and halls, you deal with the entrances…" Jinx grumbled while grabbing Kid by his cloak and pulled him with her so they could get their own assigned tasks done with. At that moment, Seemore raised his head and looked around, seeing no one around her scratched his head and yawned.

"Why do I feel like I just missed something really important?" He questioned of no one before shrugging his shoulders laid his head back down, and fell asleep once more snoring lightly on the couch…

--

(Later…)

Jinx was crawling through an air vent, grumbling under her breath every now and again, while also noting it was way too big… Who in the hell made these things so damn big anyways! "I'll probably never know the answer to that question…" She mumbled under her breath then pushed the grate for this vent out and pulled herself into one of the still demolished sections of the base, grunting and then leaning back to allow her spine to pop lightly. "Why didn't Temp do this himself? He's crawled through enough Vents to be a master of it!" Jinx grumbled to herself then walked down the halls, looking up and frowning, making a note that they'd need to add some security cameras to this hallway… And the next one… And the next…

"ARGH!! Why in Christ's name did we get stuck with a fucking burn out lair for an HQ!! We were the best damn students in the HIVE!" Jinx shouted angrily then crossed her arms with a huff, cursing Brother Blood under her breath as she then walked down and turned into the next hall. The pink haired girl wouldn't say it out loud, but she was relieved that Tempest or Red-X or whatever the hell he was calling himself was there to help them whip this place into semi-decent shape. Not only that but from their experience with him in the past the teen was an excellent leader, constantly bettering himself and those around him as best he could… sort of like an "Anti-Robin" as some put it…

For another thing, she was glad he was here so she would have someone at least partly intelligent to have a conversation with. Gizmo was a foul-mouthed annoying little midget, Mammoth, while nice and kind of like an older brother, was still on the dim side. Private well… Besides having a hard head and military background, all she knew was that he supposedly slept with a teddy bear… Kid never spoke unless it was to Angel, and even then that was rare, and Seemore… He had a crush on her and yet constantly seemed to miss anything important… How he did that she would never know…

However upon reminding herself of Tempest, or was it Red-X? She inwardly gave up that, and pulled a notepad from a pocket on her skirt and wrote down what she had found about the halls and the vents. She made notes about cameras and sensors they should add around the base while also mentioning the size of the air vents and possible ways of rectifying this without any serious overhauls to then entire place. Tapping her chin with the pencil she brought with her lightly she also mentioned some other facts, such as the fact that only one Vent led outside while the others seemed to draw from it.

As Jinx continued down the hall with the paper, she blinked upon hearing the sounds of a fight. Putting the notepad up the pink haired girl slowly made her way towards the sounds only to find Naruto, sans his mask and the extra armor/padding of his suit, and fighting at least a dozen of his clones in the massive room near the center of the base on the first floor. Walking in, Jinx sees the blond is using his sword as are his clones, only the one, whom she assumes is the original, is easily knocking them all back before swiping and sending five of the clones into plumes of smoke.

Watching with a fascinated expression Jinx sees Naruto then duck under one clone before backhanding the next, then jump over another with a kick to a clone behind it. Naruto then swings his sword quickly slicing another clone in half before then flipping into the air and stabbing down on another clone… leaving only the original and the final clone left… Smirking as he makes a classic, c'mon gesture with one hand to the final clone. The clone doesn't take the bait however and slowly both of the Naruto's circle one another, only to quickly lunge forward their blades moving in a single ark that appeared as though it was a mere flash of light…

The clone the disappeared in a plume of smoke and Naruto fell to one knee, panting heavily then wiping his brow. "Man what a workout, right Jinx?" Naruto said then questioned looking towards the Pink haired girl with his trademarked foxy grin and actually making the pink on her cheeks brighten…

"How… why… if this is you weak you must be like a god at full strength…" Jinx said flatly and Naruto snorted before flipping back to his feet and then rolling his shoulders around to loosen the stiff muscles.

"Nah… I'm rusty not weak. My physical and elemental abilities have never been better, it's just I've been neglecting my Chakra Control training for a while now… So basically my Chakra based skills use up more Chakra and are a tad bit more erratic than they are supposed to be…" Naruto said with a thoughtful expression before walking over to Jinx and looking the girl in the eyes. "Need something?" He questioned and Jinx blushed once more before she quickly nodded her head and handed him her notepad. Taking the object Naruto turned from Jinx, flipping through several pages and frowning in thought, though personally thought Jinx herself could get this place in shape from the suggestions she left…

"Hey… Tempest…" Jinx then said and Naruto turned his head towards her only to duck as she tried to kick him in the head, now grinning. "Would you mind having a light spar?" She quipped and Naruto blinked, before flipping backwards several times to a makeshift table formed from slabs of dislodged wall, his armor and helmet resting on it he put the notepad down then looked at Jinx with a grin.

"C'mon!" Naruto exclaimed while lunging at the pink haired girl, spinning into a roundhouse kick. Jinx seemed to see this however and fell back, using her legs she bent along the ground, ducking under the kick, then kicked the blond in the back. Naruto flew forward, only to flip himself in midair then flip to his feet-facing Jinx with a grin as he saw the girl get back to her own. "Geese, your one seriously flexible chick, Jinx!" Naruto then said and Jinx grinned once more, and then jumped forward into several forward flips before planting both feet into Naruto's chest. The blond expected something like this however and took hold of her legs, then spun on his heel and tossed the girl towards a wall. However, the pink pixy simply flipped in midair, her feet hitting the wall before she then flipped off the wall and into a handstand, the girl then spun and flipped into the air at the same time landing in a pose facing Naruto with a catty grin…

"What do you think?" The girl quipped and Naruto took a mock thoughtful expression on his face, even going as far as cupping his chin with one hand.

"Well, you stuck your dismount, not only that but you showed some real flexibility there… So I give you a ten." Naruto said with a grin and Jinx smirked, then lunged forward once more, kicking at the blond's head once more as he moved back then grabbed her leg at her next kick… "You know I can see your panties when you kick at me, right?" The blond then asked causing Jinx to nearly match her hair and eyes before he then kicked her leg out from under her and spun her in midair, only for her to land on her hands and feet… was it him, or was she really part cat?

"Hey! Cheap shot I call foul!" Jinx shouted at Naruto who scratched one cheek before grinning down at the girl.

"Nope. We're criminals, who needs rules." He then said and Jinx narrowed her eyes, and then used several flips to kick Naruto in the face sending him flying back. Naruto hit and skid along the ground for a short while, before then hitting the wall, groaning and sitting up to glare at Jinx. "Okay, now the kid gloves are coming off!" Naruto growled before lunging forward into a roundhouse kick, only for Jinx to kick at the same time and both to spin back from their momentum.

Naruto and Jinx both landed and flipped from a handstand to stand back to back. They both then quickly turned, Naruto lunging at the pink haired girl with a roundhouse punch, which Jinx ducked under then tried to counter with a rising kick. Naruto countered this with his own leg however then grabbed the front of Jinx's outfit. Jinx then rolled them both back and they ended up with Jinx straddling the blond and pinning him down at the waist…

"Ha, got you!" She said with a grin only to notice a smirk on Naruto's face. Looking down the pink haired girl noticed that Naruto had at some point form a Rasengan and now had it aimed right at her stomach and with his other arm holding her shirt she was unable to move…

"Now then… who's got whom, missy?" He quipped with a smirk and Jinx glared at the blond haired boy angrily.

"Shut up… it wasn't even a real fight…" The girl grumbled and Naruto snickered.

"Yeah… and Cheshire didn't lose to me because of a wardrobe malfunction." Naruto quipped and Jinx twitched slightly before glaring at the blond once more.

"You caused the damn malfunction!" She shouted and Naruto shrugged without letting the Rasengan go.

"That's what we call a technicality my dear, Jinx…" Naruto quipped and Jinx frowned, slowly moving so she was no longer straddling the blond's waist. "You know… we're lucky no one can see this or they might start to get ideas about us…" Naruto then said while absorbing the Chakra from the Rasengan back into his body. Jinx at hearing this blinked then did turned a color to match her hair and eye's, before glaring at the blond angrily.

"Yeah, like you holding my shirt would have helped anything." She quipped while crossing her arms and Naruto took a thoughtful expression once more.

"No it wouldn't… good point…" He conceded while then flipping back to his feet and dusting himself off, Jinx getting back to her own feet straightened out her own clothes before walking over to Naruto. "What?" The blond asked and Jinx poked him in the chest.

"This little spar is never mentioned to anyone." She stated simply and Naruto blinked before nodding his head slowly. "Good." Jinx said with a nod, and before Naruto could say anything witty or sarcastic the girl jumped and wrapped her arms around his neck, planting a kiss on his lips, knocking him back and onto his ass before she finally released his lips. "Then we'll never need to mention that either." Jinx then said with a Cheshire cat grin before getting off the blond once more and leaving the large room, leaving an utterly confused Naruto behind her…

"What the hell was that about?" The blond asked with an utterly confused expression on his face. Hell, for all his flirting he never actually thought it'd be Jinx to jump him like that… _'No we won't be talking about that… not for a good long while at least… but when we DO speak of this I am going to find out why the hell you just kissed me like that! Or at LEAST why you didn't let me enjoy it!_' The blond thought to himself snickering at the end then shaking his head, walking back to the makeshift table to get his armor and gear as well as the notepad Jinx had filled with ideas. Stopping for a second as he looked at his helmet/mask's skull marked face, Naruto couldn't help a slight smirk that crossed his lips.

'_Heh… Ero-Sennin…I bet your still looking out for me from beyond the grave aren't you…'_ He thought while shaking his head then chuckled lightly. _'Why else would I have two different girls liking me, one jumping me with kisses and the other actually going out on a "somewhat" date with me…' _Naruto thought with a smirk still plastered onto his face before shaking his head then walked back towards his room… it'd been one hell of a day that's for sure…

--

TBC…

--

AN: Sorry for the long ass wait, hope you like the long chapter I made to make up for it. Please read and review, we'll try and get the next chapter up as soon as possible. "Ciao!"

By:

26 Lord Pain…

And

Master XIII…


	13. Who are you?

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

**Chapter 13: Who are you?**

--

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

--

(Jump City, California…)

It was Saturday evening, the HIVE gang had been working on their new base for hours on end with most of them having gone to bed. Naruto had, only to be awoken when his first batch of clones had dispelled a couple hours later. Thus the unofficial leader of the HIVE gang had made another batch and let them get to work also, before then laying back and passing out once more. Once they had dispelled Naruto had decided to get up, and stay up, making yet another large batch of clones which he assigned various task's, most of which were simply finishing what the last batch couldn't.

Naruto wiped his brow as he walked into the main room of the Base, it being the only finished room in the entire place. The blond haired thief then sat back into the HIVE's couch and cracked his neck, feeling the muscles give off numerous pops from the stress he had gathered. "Are we done yet?" Jinx asked tiredly with a slouch before falling onto the couch, slowly handing a notepad to Naruto. The Blond chuckled lightly then felt his Clones dispel, making the Thief grimace from the influx of information as a result.

"Mammoth and Private should be down soon…" He said simply while Jinx grumbled something ineligible. "You Okay?" The blond asked the girl who reached out and grabbed onto a pillow, then snuggled into the pillow, looking like a cat… Making Naruto's lips twitch at the sight. "Never mind…" He then said and looked at a nearby clock, letting out a sigh the blond got back to his feet and went off into the Hideout to pick out a room for himself so none of the other's would bug him.

Finally finding one of the finished room's, Naruto pulled out an X shuriken and then placed it onto the door, then slammed his fist into so it would dent the door, allowing it to stay. Smirking, Naruto walked into the room and placed his things down nearby, stripping out of the X-suit Naruto pulled on his Civilian clothing. "Raven said Saturday, so I might as well get there a bit early…" Naruto said to himself while putting his Bucket Hat over his head, shadowing his eyes before then brushing his hair down to cover his whisker marks and nodded. "Good to go!" He said with a grin and walked out of the room, whistling to himself as he did…

--

Naruto walked into a dark café, the same café that Raven had told him to meet her. Scratching the length of his nose the blond made his way inside and looked around for the violet-haired girl. "You're early." Came said girls monotone as a shadow formed beside her, and the girl rose up out of the ground to stand next to him.

"Yeah well… A former Teacher of mine was always late, I decided I don't like to be kept waiting and figured you wouldn't either." The blond explained with a grin and Raven nodded her head slowly before walking over to a table in a dark corner of the room, Naruto trailing behind her. Naruto and the girl sat down at the same time and the blond looked around, seeing only a few patrons, all of which seemed to ignore them.

"Their used to me coming in. They pretty much just ignore me now and get on with their lives." Raven explained and Naruto shrugged while then sitting back slightly, looking around the dim room and noticed… Wait… That was Neji at the counter… Naruto blinked several times before shaking his head, what were the odds of him seeing Neji in a Café? A waitress came over before they could start this little inquisition as Naruto liked to think of it, they each made an order and the girl went off.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Naruto questioned and Raven blinked before thinking it over. She hadn't really thought about that, she really just wanted to know how she felt like she could trust him… Frowning the girl closed her eye's, concentrating on what to ask out of the numerous questions floating around in her head…

"For starters, where are you from?" Raven asked, opening her eyes to meet his deep blue ones and making Naruto wince. That was one of the big ones he didn't want to answer, and really couldn't answer truthfully without sounding crazy. Also asking this could tell her some more things about him, which he didn't want her to know.

"A small town outside Kyoto in Japan called Konoha." He lied easily, meeting her violet gaze without flinching. Yet still Raven could tell he was lying, but she didn't want to force anything out of him if he didn't want to talk about. It was his business not hers after all, and this wasn't supposed to be an interrogation. She simply nodded to his lie before trying to decide on what her next question should be.

"Okay, How long have you been in jump City? " That was one thing she really needed to know about him, after all, she had been in the city for only two years now, the likelihood of having met him on Azarath was slim to none so it was possible she met him during that time. The blond before her leaned back at this question, truthfully all it would tell her was when he got to town, and that wasn't really anything dangerous… So Naruto decided he was going to tell the truth on this one.

"I've lived in town for about a year by now. And before you ask, I had to leave home because of some…difficulties… in the village." For some strange reason the blond haired nuke-nin felt like both Anko and Ibiki were interrogating him, and that was not a feeling he liked one bit. The answer to her last question was a little confusing to her at first, at least the reason for him to leave his home was. _'Why would he leave because of difficulties? No, what difficulties would force someone to leave his home? Maybe I should ask about that?'_ She thought to herself before speaking her question to the boy.

"What kind of difficulties would make you leave?" oddly, this sounded a bit like the story she had given the other titans when she had first met them. To the blonde in front of her took a thoughtful expression at this, contemplating what to say to the girl. Sure he could lie, but that would probably be a bad idea, she hadn't called him out on anything yet but she WAS a telepath, so he decided he'd tell a half-truth this time around. Before he could start, a waitress brought both Naruto and Raven there order's, Herbal Tea for Raven, and Green Tea for the resident Blond.

"Well for starters, I wasn't really well liked around there, mostly because of something that my dad did before I was born, which also got him killed. My mom died when I was still growing up, and my legal guardian decided to hide the fact that she was murdered from me along with the inheritance I was supposed to get from both of them. Most of my early years I played a lot of pranks on people, the very influential ones around the village mostly, mainly because they deserved it." Naruto said then took a drink from his green tea, sipping and wetting his mouth before then continuing.

"But the big nudge that got me to leave was when I caught my Girlfriend sleeping with my best friend. If I hadn't have left I'm pretty sure I would have killed both of them. So I decided I'd run away, taking only what I needed, along with a few scrolls and books about stuff like medicine and different styles of fighting. I even think some are written about ancient lore." Somehow, it felt good to be talking about this to someone, well; he supposed everyone had to get something off his or her chest every now and again. Though it did help that he also felt a strange type of kinship for the gray skinned girl… He smirked at that thought before taking another sip of his green tea and leaning back.

"You actually know how to fight?" Raven asked him, not really surprised by that fact, as it seemed everyone knew how to fight nowadays… No, she was more surprised that from the sounds of it, he was practically an orphan from birth. And unless he was exaggerating, which she doubted, he was also not very well liked from where he was originally from. That, she could easily relate too, seeing as the Monk's of Azarath were the only one's who didn't treat her like a "Hell-Spawn" though her Mother seemed to ignore her most of the time… He was somewhat like she was in some regards, but what exactly did his father do, for that dislike to be passed to the Youngman before her now? Summon a demon or something?

"Yeah, my mom taught me allot about defending myself before she passed. After that, the old fart that was watching me taught me some… But none of it was nearly as useful as what my mom taught me. Even if he was named after a great ninja, I don't think he was that great a man. I don't really fell like talking about him, though, so can we move on now?" The blond questioned as he was starting to get a little uncomfortable, which Raven could tell. The girl decided to give him some reprieve from her enquiry on his past and ask about something else.

"What kind of people did you hang out with to not be bothered by me? I find it would be hard to hang out with anyone that would make you used to someone like me." Raven asked then explained, expecting an answer that would be kind of strained. What she got was one of total truth however, which was surprising.

"Oh man… uh… Lets see, two cousins who didn't really know each other too well, one of whom used to stalk me all the time. These three little kids who always thought of me as their leader or something… Then there was an egomaniacal Emo with a group of fan-girls I thought was my best friend. Then there was this really violent trio of siblings, the youngest of which was kind of a sociopath. A brunette girl that was almost completely obsessed with sharp, pointy things. A blond haired girl whose family was mostly shrinks, with her pink haired bitch of a best friend" Naruto said before taking a quick breath of air to continue, leaving a slightly stunned Raven to listen.

"A quiet guy who loved bugs, a lot. Then this guy who never seemed to go anywhere without his dog. A lazy kid who was actually a genius with his really big-boned food enthusiast friend. Not to mention a sadistic woman who loved snakes too much, a Father and Daughter who worked together in a little food stand. A bowl hair cut guy who loved to spar and his mini-me, a chain smoker, a red-eyed tease, and a very lazy, very late, very perverted, one-eyed sensei!" That last one on that list, the blond had almost hissed out with anger, before taking his last sip and finishing his Green Tea.

Raven was almost reminded of the silver-haired guy in the bookstore by that last one, but for some reason couldn't really tell. She then looked up at the clock on the wall behind the counter, only to notice that it was now past ten. She needed to get back to the tower before the others started to get really worried… Or come looking for her and say she had a boyfriend. Just as she was about to leave, the door to the café opened to show Cyborg and Beast boy both standing there, looking around the room for her.

They were surprised to see her sitting there with a kid their age in a bucket hat and red t-shirt. Hell… They were surprised to see her sitting there with anyone, but the fact that it was a guy, and she was looking at them wide eyed made them start to think… However the blond then stood up and looked at her friends with a smirk, before then turning back to her and speaking to her in a hushed yet amused tone.

"I got to get going, my roommates are expecting me back in another hour. If you got the time, I'll see you next week, Karasu-Chan." with that, the blonde puts some money on the table and leaves through the front door. _'Wait a minute… Karasu-Chan? Isn't that what X called me?'_ The violet haired girl thought to herself as she watched the blond leave. "Hey, wait!" She called out quickly, getting up to follow him out the door, only for it to look as if he had somehow disappeared completely.

"Uh, Raven. Was that your secret Boyfriend or something?" Came the amused voice of a certain metal man from behind the girl as surprised as BB that she was in a café with some a guy. She didn't answer his question however, instead, she summoned up a shadow and let it envelope her before it disappeared into the floor with her in it. She arrived at the Tower quickly, and ten minutes later, Raven was sitting on the couch reading a book and ignoring anyone around her, while Starfire was messing around in the kitchen yet again and Robin was flipping through the channels on the T.V. with a bored expression, when Cyborg and the green idiot finally walked in.

"Hey Star, Guess what we saw!" beast boy says with a wide grin on his face, getting the attention of the others save Raven who twitches. If anyone had bothered to look at her, they'd have noticed that she was suddenly holding her book a little too tightly in her hands, and that she was somehow bending the hardback books cover…

"What is it, Friend Beast Boy?" The orange skinned alien girl asked without even looking at him or the smirking Half-bot at his side. The two guys near the door move in front of the T.V. before they give the Victory sign to each other, making Rabin slap his face wondering what stupid thing their going to do next that will somehow anger Raven, with both hands and start dancing and chanting.

"Ravens got a boyfriend! Ravens got a boyfriend! Ravens got a …Yeoch!" they both scream at the same time as the blue-clothed girl whacks both of them on the head with her rather large book, using her powers to make it hurt them more. They look at her with wide and very scared eyes, as she seems to loom over their terrified forms. Her eye's, which are normally Violet seemed to have a red on the border between her iris and sclera and was twitching wildly.

"He is not my Boyfriend!" She snapped at them angrily, before turning to leave, only to find her way blocked as Starfire suddenly embraces her in a bone-crushing hug… _'Why me? What the hell did I ever do to deserve this?'_ Raven couldn't help but wonder to herself as she could almost swear she heard her back start to crack while Starfire went on and on about how "Glorious" it was that Raven had "The Boyfriend"… Why did this have to happen to her whenever she was near a guy for a prolonged time outside of the Tower? Especially seeing as he wasn't her boyfriend…

--

(H.I.V.E. Five HQ)

Naruto whistled lightly as he walked passed the genetic scanner that the tiny terror, Gizmo, had set up the night before, so that the group wouldn't have to worry about anyone trying to use the Front Door at least. As soon as he walked in, it was to see the sight of both Mammoth and Private H.I.V.E asleep at a table across the room from him with their heads sideways and drool sliding out of their mouths and coating the table. Kid Wykkyd was asleep as well; only he was in front of the couch with his head leaning back against it. And last, Jinx was still asleep on the couch, snoring softly with her head tilted to one side.

'_I really got to stop working these guys so hard. Maybe I'll give them a break tomorrow… Nah, they can take it…'_ the blonde thinks to himself as he takes off his bucket hat and heads towards the room marked with a red X symbol on the front and rolls his eyes. Opening the door and sticking his head inside, Naruto sees a bed within, though is lacking any sheets or a pillow… So either someone was really bored while they were working, or Jinx was just trying to thank him for the rescue he'd managed the other night, and had set it up for him…

'_Either way, I really got to remember to thank someone for this.'_ He thinks to himself with a slight smile tilting the sides of his lips upwards, before then stretching with a yawn and getting out of his "Civvies" and into something more comfortable. Once he has finished that, the blond flips down onto the bare mattress of his bed and bounces once before crossing his arms behind his head and letting out a sigh…

--

(Titans Tower…)

Starfire was not in a good mood, contrary to what most think she has worries, and one of her biggest worries is for her Sister Blackfire. The worry is due to the simple fact that the Centari police for stealing a Centari Moon Diamond had arrested the older girl… But according to a report sent to her from Galfore, her sister is heading directly towards earth once more. Sighing the normally Chipper girl floats around her room, trying to decide what to do…

Should she tell her friends about Blackfire? No, this was HER family, her problem, they shouldn't get involved with her Sister when they all had other problems to deal with already… Shaking her head Starfire floated over to the window and laid back, eyes closed she gave a smile when the sun hit her skin. The warm feeling she got was really just her body absorbing Solar radiation and storing it for later use… but it still felt nice to the Tameranian princess all the same…

A beeping from nearby alerted Starfire to something, looking around she spotted her Titans Communicator on her dresser and slowly went over and answered to see Static. "Hello Sister…" The Sister part was particularly sneered out and Starfire sighed before trying her best to calm down.

"B-Blackfire… what do you need of me Sister?" Starfire asked while cursing herself for the brief stuttering of her voice.

"You dead for one thing Sister Dear…" Blackfire replied offhandedly to her sister who flinched at her sister's deadly tone.

"Please Blackfire, we should not fight, I do not wish to fight my only Sister and…" Starfire started to say only for Blackfire to interrupt her.

"What YOU want doesn't matter Starfire, this is about what 'I' want for a change." Blackfire said with an ominous tone and Starfire listened to her sister… "I'll give you one hour to meet me Starfire, I'll be in the city. Don't bring your little friends… Unless you're a spineless Mull-worm…" Blackfire stated then said with a hint of humor, only Starfire either didn't notice or chose not to care and she frowned.

"I will find you sister. I do not wish to hurt you, but I will not let you bring harm to another." The Red Head said plainly and heard a laugh from her older sister as the connection on the communicator went dead. Looking around, Starfire debated with speaking to her friends over this mater, then shook her head of the thought. Tameranians dealt with Tameranians, Family dealt with Family… it had always been that way throughout History on Tameran, and Starfire wasn't going to break tradition…

Walking over to her window the Alien girl lifted it open then climbed into the windowsill before flying off into the city, seeking out her older twin sister…

--

After a while of desperately trying and failing miserably to fall sleep, the boy just gave up and got back up. He really had way too much going on in his mind at the moment… He'd always had this problem when he was younger; possibly why his "Dobe" self could never focus was due to too much going on in his head… And the only way he knew how to cure this was to work out his body to clear his mind. Normally, that would involve racing through the trees at speeds that would kill even the most skilled of ninja if they ran into something… then again… he wasn't most Ninja…

That thought seemed to ring in the blonds mind as he suddenly got a grin working it's way over his face. Moving over to his closet the blond pulled out his X-suit and began to suit up. First the Body-Suit came on, then the boots and glove attachments, then followed by the gauntlets, grieves, and belt. The blond attached his Shoulder guards and Sword Sheath next, then finally looked down at his helmets masked eyes before opening it and pulling it over his head… Turning to see the reflection of his suit in the Mirror, Naruto turned on the "Night Vision" setting for his mask's vision and then watched as his Mask's eyes began to glow neon green like a ghost.

Turning on his heel, Naruto stopped and checked that he had a full cache of gear on him, just a little precaution incase he ran into the Kids… Then again he'd be lucky if he did as Robin could amuse him while giving him a decent Taijutsu Spar… the Kid was great at Taijutsu, nuff said, hands down he was better than Lee with pure normal Taijutsu, but if Lee broke out the Gates or took of his leg weights… well… Robin would be paste… Shaking his head Naruto walked outside his room and then set the lock on the door, in his defense he did live with thieves…

Several minutes later, he's running from rooftop to rooftop with images of a certain raven-haired girl running through his head. Why was he as comfortable around her as Gaara and Yugito had been for him? Memories of those names rushed into his head along with many memories of Konoha and his friends. He quite suddenly realized he missed all of it… well… obviously not the lying, the betraying, the backstabbing the going behind his back or even the shitty ass Council but he DID miss his days with his friends… well… maybe just slightly.

--

(Elsewhere…)

Starfire landed in the city on a roof, looking around she sighed, her sister could be anywhere in the city. Starfire had already checked the first few places that her Sister had visited last time she was on Earth accept… the creepy rundown old warehouse! Smiling at her own cleverness Starfire shot up into the air and then straight for the old building, spotting a black dot on it's roof the girl landed and slid to a halt before Blackfire, the older Tameranian was laying on her side with one hand on her head, and a sly smirk on her lips.

"So glad you could make it…" She said though the sarcasm wasn't lost on Starfire this time.

"Why are you doing this again Sister? Did the Centari Prison really teach you nothing at all?" Starfire questioned and saw a brief twitch from Blackfire, why had she twitched? It wasn't irritation either or Blackfire would have shown it full force on her, no, she was hiding something.

"Why? Why am I doing this? Here's my reason plain and simple Starfire…" Blackfire started then lunged forward with a roar, spinning one leg out into a powerful Roundhouse kick and knocking her off the roof. Quickly flying after her Blackfire gripped Starfire by the throat while flying to the ground and slammed her down with a feral look in her eyes. "YOU RUINEDMY LIFE!" Blackfire roared while simultaneously lifting Starfire up, then reeling her left arm back as a violet Starbolt in hand before she slammed it into Starfire, sending the younger red head flying back into a wall with a loud scream of pain.

--

(Back with X…)

As the Thief was still lost in thought, he was pulled out of his trip down memory lane as he heard someone start to scream loudly. "YOU RUINED MY LIFE!" Following this proclamation was a dark blue light coming from a nearby alley followed shortly by a loud high-pitched scream. He quickly stopped above the alley and the blond haired Shinobi looked down to see none other than the Cutie… err… Starfire being held up by her throat and to a wall by a girl who was floating in mid-air and looked almost like a duplicate of her…

However, though they looked close enough alike to be twins, the black haired girl had several dissimilarities as well. Starting out she had black hair as apposed to black, with slanted eyes which had a white sclera and violet irises, her skin was orange like Starfire's, marking her as a Tameranian, her shirt, skirt, and boots were all black, with the same metal collar, belt, and gauntlets as Starfire, but this other girl had what looked like jointed metal bands over all of her skin baring her fingers and her face.

"Sister," Starfire squeaked out while gripping the other girl's wrist, "We only sent you back to prison because you stole that moon diamond… if you hadn't we would not have had too…"

"THIS ISN'T ABOUT THAT FUCKING PRISON PRINCESS!" The black haired girl roared with a snarl and Naruto blinked repeatedly wondering what the hell was going on. "This is about you always getting your way, you always had everything! And I never did!" Blackfire raged before twisting one heel and throwing Starfire into a wall. "I'm a Kom'Secrit Starfire! I don't have much, and you always got everything I ever wanted!" The Tameranian exclaimed while confusing Naruto as he thought she was a Tameranian… Starfire on the other hand was looking at Blackfire with a mix of shock and horror.

"S-sister… I… I didn't know I mean…" Starfire was slightly more afraid now; Kom'Secrit, or "Black Curse" in Earth English was a rare Genetic Disorder on Tameran. It's symptoms included black hair, violet eyes, never reaching to or above six feet tall, a very weak immune system, and no way to store Solar Energy for use of their powers…

"Yeah Starfire, I'm a Kom'Secrit! AND DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW BAD IT IS IN A CENTARI PRISON!!" Blackfire said then demanded and Starfire winced slightly, a Centari prison was the nastiest most brutal place you could ever be, and that wasn't even IN the prison! The world was cold as ice with a Sun, that's light BARELY reached it, making it a breeding ground for more germs than there ever was on Earth or Tameran… Her sister could have died being both Powerless and very susceptible to the germs…

"S-sister I really had not Idea… I merely thought that you disliked Training with our powers and…" Starfire started while getting to her feet, only to duck to the side when her sister kicked the lid of a Trashcan towards her. She was referring to when they were little, whenever she would try and have her sister Help her, Blackfire would go off and say she'd help her later…

"But This isn't about that hell Starfire. NO! This is about the fact you STILL get everything; I've had to fight tooth and nail just to survive. I had to hire an alien Scientist to make this suit JUST so I could fight like a Tameranian while learning Martail Arts to PRITECT myself!" Blackfire said then grabbed Starfire by then shirt and tossed her over her shoulder into a metal grate, Naruto narrowing his eyes and leaning forward. "This is about getting you back for all the crap I've had to put up with that you never had to deal with. My life's been a living hell, so why not make yours the same!" Blackfire exclaimed before lunging at Starfire once more and Naruto had enough of this and lunged down.

Blackfire suddenly finds Naruto in front of her, her fist in his clenched fist as his masked eyes shift from glowing neon green, to a burning fiery red… "Don't mean to break up this sibling rivalry babe, but the Cutie their looks like she needs a bit of a break before you continue." Naruto says in a firm tone before lashing out with a palm strike to Blackfire's chest, sending her flying back.

"What the fuck! Who in the Nebular are you!?" The black haired girl demands while Naruto raises a brow at the Nebular part, but decides it must be Alien slang. Looking at the girl however, Naruto has a flashback of another, of him and Sasuke back at the Valley of the end, how he was tittering on the edge of sanity back then as well… this girl however seems to have had a rough life, her own anger and pain is clouding her judgment so while similar to Sasuke… he knows she can still be saved…

"Nobody to someone like you, just a Shinobi." Naruto says simply before quickly drawing his sword and lunging forward, his vertical slash missing her by a fraction of an inch as she flips into the air. Narrowing his eyes, the blond Ex-Ninja then flips onto the building and runs on the side of it, jumping into a spinning slash, which Blackfire uses her gauntlets to block, surprising the blond as he never knew just how tough those damn gauntlets they wore actually were.

"Not bad huh? It's made from a flexible, but durable metal, twenty times more effective than steel… it's also one of the rarest ores in the known galaxy." Blackfire said before throwing her arms forward, sending Naruto back, but the teen flipped in midair and landed in a crouch on the side of the building.

"I must say, I didn't know that… Think you could get me some Babe?" Naruto questioned with a sly smirk and was greatly surprised when the girl smirked back.

"Hmm…" She looked thoughtful before looking down with a smile. "Maybe if you be good and move so I can get rid of Starfire over there…" She offered and Naruto blinked several times… well damn… a girl who flirts back…

"Sorry babe, she may not be my type but the Cuties too damn cute, to just let you hurt her." The blond said with a shrug, seeing Blackfire frown before charging a "Darkbolt" in both hands and lunging at the masked blond.

"Then I'll just have to MAKE you get out of my way then!" Blackfire roared before lunging at the masked teen, slamming her fist into the building, causing a large chunk to fall towards Naruto.

'_Aw Shit!!'_ The blond thought before teleporting out of the way and to the roof. Taking a second to catch his breath Naruto finds the girls fist connecting with his face and sending him skidding back. _'Alright… no more mister nice guy…'_ Naruto then thought to himself before flipping back to his feet and swinging his sword into its sheath. Taking a breath the blond then formed into a fighting stance and saw Blackfire smirk.

"I am a master of over five martial arts… do you HONESTLY think you can stop me with your bare hands if a sword wouldn't "Cut it"…?" Blackfire questions and the spikes on Naruto's knuckles come from his gauntlets, both those and his greaves beginning to glow as electricity arched across them.

"Maybe not BARE handed Babe… but I think these will do nicely…" Naruto says with a smirk before crouching and lunging at Blackfire, while Starfire peeked over the buildings as Naruto through a punch towards Blackfire. The Alien girl twisted to the side however, and smirked as she ducked into a low sweeping kick, knocking Naruto off his feet and to the ground. _'Man, why can't I ever get a decent sparring partner like this when I want too?'_ The blond wondered to himself with a chuckle before flipping back to his feet and taking another stance.

"This again? Why don't you just quit while you're ahead? I'm in a whole other league compared to little Starfire…" Blackfire stated to Naruto with her arms crossed and a smug smirk on her lips, making the blond smirk as well.

"Good… then I really don't need to hold back… do I…" Naruto quipped, surprising Blackfire as he suddenly shifted stances, his body seeming to relax as he took several deep breaths. _'Concentrate on your center… focus the power from within…'_ Naruto said to himself as he closed his eyes, and breathed out, then in once more…

At that moment, the blond seemed to simply vanish before Blackfire and Starfire, and then the strange chanting began all around them once more. _"Inu, Akuma, Usagi, Hebi, Ookami, Tori, Tanuki, Haku, Taka, Itachi, Mangu-su, Kitsune, Yama, Tori, Inu, Taka, Neko, Karasu, Hoshi, Hige, Kuma, Saru, Nezumi, Tori, Tora…"_ The voice carried over the winds, as then Naruto seemed to slip out of the shadows behind Blackfire, and lashed out with his elbow to Blackfire's back. However, he wasn't done yet as in a single fluid motion he suddenly twirled into a sweeping kick that ended in him kicking Blackfire into the air.

Seemingly vanishing into the shadows once more, Starfire watched as X appeared behind Blackfire, grabbing her by one arm and tossing straight to the ground before vanishing once more. He reappeared below Blackfire catching her with one fist to the girls gut as she hit, coughing up spit in the process before he then tossed her into the air and lashed out with a double roundhouse kick. "Shadow Claw Taijutsu, Style Two… The Art of the Shadow Dance…" The blond said cryptically while slowly moving into a new stance while Blackfire was coughing up what felt like a lung.

"W-what was that?" Blackfire demanded with wide eyes towards the Ex-Shinobi.

"Long ago… my mother and I lived together… we created this style together… to become one with the shadows… but… she never got the chance to see it completed…" Naruto said softly, though they both heard, as the blond then took a breath then exhaled. "I've only ever used this style against ONE opponent… I never fully trusted Style Two fully… but I don't think I could forgive myself for only using it without ever testing it's full potential…" Naruto said darkly while moving his arms, the Shadows literally moving as he did…

"H-how is it that you're doing that?" Blackfire questioned while taking a few shaky steps back.

"My Style is rather unique… instead of focusing on strength of body… I focus on strength of mind… using the fears of another is simple when you can read them like an open book… which is why this is Style One… The Art of True Fear…" Naruto said darkly and Blackfire shot into the air then formed a Darkbolt in one hand.

"I'm not afraid of anything!" She shouted tossing the energy ball towards the young former Nin who simply moved in a smooth motion and unsheathed his sword. Spinning arm and body into a single turn it looked as if the blond suddenly caught the Darkbolt with the blade of his sword! Surprising and scaring both Star and Blackfire the blond then spun his sword above him before throwing the bolt straight back at Blackfire!

The bolt hit its mark, knocking Blackfire back while Naruto swung his sword back into its sheath and took a breath. Shimmering once before seeming to meld with the Shadows around him once more, Starfire looks around for the teen, and when she is able to be certain he is no longer on the roof rushes off to find her sister.

Meanwhile, Blackfire groaned lightly in pain while slowly pushing a piece of rubble off of her. That bolt that hit her had sent her flying back into and through a building before she had managed to stop. Slowly getting to her feet, the girl looked up and turned pale seeing the face of Death itself in the form of Red-X "Deaths Head" mask… "Why are you doing this?!" Blackfire questions while backing away from what she can only guess is another alien of some form to have all these strange powers…

"Because… I knew someone like you once. Obsessed with the death of his brother for ruining his life. He sought out Vengeance for years, living only for the purpose of that man's death…" Naruto said darkly while walking closer and closer to Blackfire whose back hit a wall as he cornered her like a cat would a mouse… "He was so caught up in revenge, so consumed by it… that he lost sight of what he had in front of him." Naruto said and looked through his masks lenses into the eyes of Blackfire.

"What do I care if some loon you knew went crazy?!" Blackfire demanded and Naruto gripped her by the throat before glaring into her eyes.

"He was like you… you are like him… their both true statements… for once Sasuke had his vengeance, it wasn't enough… he was still angry, he was still alone, and killing his brother only made him empty inside… He tried to fill that emptiness, fill it with people, fill it with battle, fill it with missions… but even after all that, he was never any less empty…" Naruto explained darkly while glaring into Blackfire's eyes heatedly. "Sasuke had fallen so far into darkness because of his quest for Revenge that he no longer knew the way out… all that was left of my friend… was an empty husk…" Naruto said before dropping Blackfire on her ass.

"Now… Do you honestly believe that by killing your sister, your own flesh and blood, things will be magically fixed for you" He questions while looking down at the girl who grits her teeth.

"What else do I have?! All my life I've NEVER had anything, I had no powers, no respect, and no real love from our father, only our mother even openly acknowledged my damn existence!" Blackfire angrily told the blond while standing up, shaking with rage. "I had to fight tooth and nail to get the respect of my father, I had to train myself into the dirt to learn my skills, I had to resort to theft JUST to get what I needed for this suit so I could have my powers, I had to fight for everything I've ever had… and yet Starfire always had all of that… her powers, father's love, the peoples respect… what did I have… nothing because I'm a Kom'secrit!" Blackfire roared and found Naruto's face in front of hers, a hand beside her head.

"Then what will revenge bring you?" Naruto questioned and Blackfire openly gaped at him before she replied.

"It'll prove I'm better than her, that I deserve the same attention she gets for free!" Blackfire states and Naruto shakes his head from side to side.

"I was like that once… I thought if I could beat someone, a girl I liked would love me… but she never really did… all you'll get from this Blackfire, is the death of someone who truly DOES love and respect your… your little sister…" He says simply and Blackfire balks at the former nin's words.

"What does HER opinion mater!?" She demands of the blond teen who merely leans back from her a moment.

"It probably should mater… I've never had a family, I'd think that since she IS family her opinion of you would mater quite a bit…" Naruto stated and Blackfire blinked then looked at him strangely. "Think it over…" Naruto said and then placed his hand on the back of her head, a Static X attaching to the back of her neck. The device activated as soon as it had, the girls eye's widening before rolling to the back of her head as Naruto caught the now unconscious fallen princess. "Sweet dreams… princess…" He said softly before kneeling down and placing her head gently to the floor.

"Sister!" Starfire exclaimed rushing over to the sight and looking worriedly down at her sister, the blond former nin chuckling lightly to himself.

"She's fine Cutie, just unconscious…" Naruto stated and Starfire looked from her sister to the black armored Ex-Shinobi. "You okay?" He then questioned, startling Starfire who blinked before tensing, clearly remembering the last time they met.

"Why would you ask? You are the Red-X are you not…" Starfire questions and Naruto chuckles before then waving the girls anger off.

"I asked because I helped. Shinobi Rule number 4: Never do anything unless your prepared to finish it." Naruto stated then recited the old rule his mother had told him when he was little, remembering the hell that rule seemed to get him in as a kid as well…

"Shinobi?" Starfire questioned and Naruto chuckled once more.

"I'm kind of from a race of Assassins…" He admitted and Starfire made an Oh with her mouth.

"Your from outer space as well?" She asked and Naruto shook his head no.

"It's… hard to explain where I'm from Starfire… let's just say I know what it's like to not fit in…" Naruto said with a hidden, double meaning to his words before crossing his arms over his chest.

"Then… why did you help me?" The red head asked while rubbing her neck and Naruto sighed and leaned back.

"I know what it's like to have people you consider family try to kill, lie, and utterly betray you. I know how much it hurts, and I don't want to see that happen anyone else…" He says as he watches Star before reaching out to Star. "Let me help with that…" The blond says and gets a confused look from the girl; till he places his now glowing green hands on her throat and feels the pain leave.

"How… how did you do that?" Starfire questions with awe, she thought only Raven had a power like that…

"It's… it's an ability my people can master, but it takes a lot of concentration." Naruto explained, thanking the heavens Healing Jutsu were in the Scroll of Sealing as well as the normal Kinjutsus…

"Then I must thank you. But if I may ask, why do you continue to do what you do. If you wish to protect others from hurting, why aren't you one of the hero's?" The girl questioned innocently, getting a sigh from Naruto who looked to the sky above.

"Because… I got sick of always being used or hurt…" Was all he said before placing a hand on Starfire's shoulder, the girl suddenly found them leaving her Sister behind as they appeared on top of Titans Tower. Looking around, the two spot Raven meditating, only for her eyes to snap open and turn towards them. "Yo, Karasu-Chan, did you guys lose this?" He quips before flipping away from Starfire and vanishing once more with a quick flash of a Demonic aura surrounding him…

"Starfire, Do I even want to know what happened between you and X tonight?" She asks, while trying to get images of a certain bucket hat-wearing blonde out of her head as it appeared X and the blond had indeed both called her Karasu-Chan…

"The Red-X was simply aiding me with something…" She said as she and her friend walked back into the tower, a mysterious little smile upon the Alien Girl's lips as she and her best female friend walked into the tower…

--

(??)

The gray eyed girl watched this, she seemed amused as she watched, looking onto X, Starfire, and Blackfire with amusement. However upon seeing the skill, the finesse, the sheer power of X nearly made the girl shudder in anticipation of their first meeting. This was one with the power to lead her father's organization to new heights, to places beyond even her father's wildest imagination…

"All I need to do is continue to study him, the Titans, the HIVE brats, and those Ninja and I'll be ready to face them… then again…" Ravager started then said as she turned to look at the information she already had on the Ninja and smirked at a stilled image of Sasuke. "Pawns can be such useful pieces in capturing the King…" She said mysteriously before chuckling in her throat and turning off the view screen…

--

TBC…

--

By:

26 Lord Pain…

And

Master XIII…


	14. Robin's Birthday and a Message

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

Chapter 13: Robin's Birthday and a Message…

--

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

--

(Titans Tower…)

Beast Boy, Cyborg and Starfire all conversed with one another in the kitchen table, each one looking to the other. They sat in conference, over a most distressing subject indeed… "Man, why is it we're throwing Robin a Birthday party again? I mean last year was a total bust!" Cyborg said quietly and Starfire answered for him.

"Because, Friend Robin is out friend and our leader, he does much work and tries very hard to keep us all safe. And we should honor his day of birth as we do for each other!" Star said confidently and Cy frowned before nodding his head and looking over to Beast Boy who was trying to think.

"You okay little dude?" Cy questioned and BB blinked.

"Huh, yeah…" BB said sheepishly before rubbing the back of his neck. "Guy's, I know we kind of throw a big bash for Rob all the time here at the tower, but what he really needs if you ask me is to get out more." BB said and Cy blinked then looked to Star who suddenly started grinning widely.

"You mean we could have the large Earthly parties in the large places!? Glorious! I shall make the crown of meat for Robin immediately!" She asked then said excitedly and Cy rubbed his chin, it cost allot to rent a place for something like that… but if it was like a gift from all of them it'd be worth it to get Robin off his workaholic kick for at least his Birthday…

"BB that might actually be the smartest thing you've ever said or suggested in your life." Cyborg praised and BB grinned, before then blinking and gaping at him.

"Hey!" He called out indignantly and Cy chuckled to himself before looking to Starfire and BB with a serious expression.

"Alright, how do we get people to come to this Big blow out then? And where exactly do you plan on holding it?" Cy questioned with his arms crossed and both Star and BB tried to think of someplace that they knew, that they could get in touch with, and would have a decent enough crowd for a party anyways…

"Hey! Why not Piano-Pizza! It's always a hotspot for High school kids around our age and such! They even have that old DJ stuff and a Karaoke set still around inside the main building, and they used to be a Party place for teens, maybe we could get the owners to throw a bash for Robin!" BB offered and Star grinned while Cy nodded his head slowly with a thoughtful expression.

"We have saved that place allot… and the owner is really friendly…" Cy said thoughtfully before frowning to himself. "Well, that solves that problem, next problem…" He said and BB groaned, Star looking to him confused. "Raven, whenever we go out to Parties she's always by herself. Now who here wants Raven to be lonely while the rest of us are out jamming?" Cy questioned and both Star and BB's faces fell.

"If only Friend Raven had a friend of her own to speak with at the parties… then perhaps she would not be so lonely." Star said mostly to herself when BB's eyes lit up and a grin crossed over his face.

"Cy… what about that blond guy she was hanging out with a couple days ago?" BB said and Cyborg blinked once, and then raised his flesh and blood brow to the green furry jester.

"What about him?" Cy questioned and BB began to rub his hands together with an evil chuckle.

"Think about it Cy! If he WAS her boyfriend maybe we could get him to come and keep Rae Company!" BB said and Cy blinked then slowly a smirk formed on his own lips as he leaned back in his seat.

"Yeah… and even if he was only a friend he could still keep Raven company… BB, you're on a role today." Cy said to his green furred friend and BB smiled with his arms crossed over his chest. "Meaning you get to be the one to go out and find him while me and Star set up the party of the century in Robin's honor!" Cy stated then called out while Starfire happily giggled and BB slammed his head into the table repeatedly, wondering why he even bothered to mention that guy… he didn't want to be the one to face one of Raven's friends alone…

--

(Streets of Jump City…)

Naruto was currently roaming the shelves in a local KARMA. It was a record store that he had found only a few days ago when he got bored and Gizmo was still working on a training room for him. So far, he had built up a modest collection of CD's by using his stolen cash from the string of robberies he pulled prior to being found out as "Red-X" by the Teen Titans. He was currently looking at the cover to a new album called "Chinese Democracy." "Guns and Roses, huh. Personally I like their old stuff better." A slightly familiar voice right next to him says. Naruto turns his head to his left, a stick of dark chocolate pocky sticking out of his mouth, and who should he see but none other than the Green Titan himself, Beast Boy.

"Yeah, Their pretty good." Naruto says, while placing the CD back on the shelf before reaching for a Metallica album instead. "Is there any thing you need? Or are you just here to bug me?" He asks, not looking back at the green-Furry shape shifter. Hearing this, Beast Boy temporarily scratches his head for a few seconds before snapping his fingers in recollection and asking a question.

"Are you and Raven really dating?" He asks the blonde, hoping he won't get hit for the rather Candid question. He is rather surprised though when Naruto reaches into the pocket of the new dark-brown flak jacket he'd gotten recently and pulled out a box of pocky, offering him a stick. "Uh, thanks?" the green kid says, while quietly taking the offered pastry.

"Did, Raven say we were or something?" Naruto asks, fixing BB with a cool eyed look to ensure he wouldn't lie. Beast boy himself starts to sweat a little, realizing that if this guy can talk to the dark girl and not be scared, then what else can he do? Suddenly the Green Jester finds himself with a dry throat of thoughts of somehow being sent to a "Nightmare World" from whence there is no escape came to mind…

"No. She actually said she was just asking you a few questions." BB says demurely while taking a bite of the pocky, so his mouth wouldn't say something he doesn't want it to as seemed to happen at the worst of times.

"She was telling the truth then. Now, calm down, I'm not going to bite your head off or something." The blonde tells him, smiling a small bit and betting that was what he was thinking. Upon hearing this, BB stops sweating and actually smiles towards the older blond haired teen. This Naruto, at least Raven told them that was his name, after much coaxing and prodding of course, seemed to be pretty cool. "So, is that all you wanted to ask, or is there something else?" Naruto then asks, while putting the CD back and deciding on getting a copy of "Appetite for destruction".

"Well, I don't know if I should be asking you this, but, well… you see the thing is Robin's Birthday is in a few days, and we're all going to this place to throw him a party. Whenever we go to places like that, Raven just sits alone in a corner or something. Well Cy, Star and I were wondering if you'd like to come, and like meet the rest of the team, and maybe get Rae to have some fun for once seeing as you like being around her or something, we'd do it but we normally go off and do out own things at parties." BB finishes, taking the final bite from his stick of pocky. BB looks at Naruto, Expecting a reproachful look or a flat out NO from one of Raven's friends. He is surprised however to see the blonde scratching the bridge of his nose in a thoughtful manner.

"Alright, I'll go. Just please don't track me down again, all right. Makes me feel like I'm back at home." Naruto tells the green-skinned teen while shuddering as he remembers the few times people would track him down, usually for something painful… "Where is this Party Anyways?" Naruto questioned and BB let out a sigh of relief before giving a grin to the older Teen.

"Piano Pizza! Meet us there in three days at Nine!" He said happily and Naruto frowned before nodding his head seeing as that was the Pizza Joint that the Titans frequented after all… Walking to the register and paying for the CD and leaving BB standing they're with a very dazed look on his face. Shaking out of it after a few seconds, the Green Jester scratches the back of his head and leaves as well, a single thought running through his head.

'_Man, either Ravens going to be very, very happy for this, or very, VERY pissed off at us for this… then again she might be both.'_ The green teen thought while inwardly pleading for the former over the latter.

--

(With Naruto…)

'_Well, that was a bit of a surprise.'_ The blonde Jinchuuriki says to himself while walking down the street with his hat shadowing his eyes. _'Besides, hanging out with the kids can't be that bad. I mean, Raven is pretty interesting to talk to, Starfire isn't as ditsy as I thought she was, Naive yes, Ditsy no. And hell, Beast Boy seems like he has good tastes in music.'_ Naruto thinks to himself then looks around as he hears an eerily familiar sound, the sound of flesh hitting wood at a velocity not usually coming from mortal man.

Looking around for the sound, Naruto eventually finds himself standing before a Dojo of all things, a lot like the one that Lee had set up back home after he had saved up some money. _'of course I helped him, he said he'd pay me back but it wasn't a hassle to help Lee, he's always been a real friend after all…'_ The blond Teen thinks to himself while looking over the building with a slight interest. It is a small; square building made completely from wood, with a window at the front curtained off, a sign just above the entrance saying "Lair of the Dragon". What's even weirder is that Naruto has somehow found himself in China Town. A section of Jump city with most architecture based off of Chinese buildings and a high concentration of Asians due to it.

Curious despite being a master of his very own personal Style of Taijutsu, he walks to the large double doors and slides them open. Inside, he finds a large room with none other than Robin himself beating on a training dummy. The "Traffic Light" is surprisingly not dressed in his usual attire; instead he is dressed in a plain white Gi, mask still on, repeatedly hitting the training post. _'Hmm… he must be thinking of someone to hit a lot… hope it's not me…'_ Naruto thinks to himself as he watches for a few minutes, analyzing the Boy Blunder as he runs through the same series of lightning quick punches and kicks with deadly accuracy. When the kid stops for a break, panting and sweating, Naruto starts to clap his hands slowly yet loudly.

"Not bad, man, not bad at all." Robin looks towards the new voice, only to see a blonde kid in a pair of black khakis, black combat boots, black fingerless gloves with the metal plates on the backs of his fists, a red t-shirt, and a dark brown flak Jacket, and a Green and white bucket hat resting on top of his head to shadow his eyes.

"Thanks, I'm still trying to get it to the right speed." He says, while also wiping the sweat from his brow.

"Looked pretty damn fast to me." Naruto replies, placing his bag down and walking towards a fridge in the far corner. Though truly while it was pretty damn fast, Lee would have Smoked Robin, and possibly taken his head off if he took off his weights. Reaching into the fridge he takes out a bottle of water and tosses it over to the masked teen. Robin catches the bottle and gives the blond a quick thanks before taking a drink of it to cool off.

"It's not fast enough. You see, the problem with that combo, is that most of it is pure power, power I don't quite have yet." Robin says while looking at his arms with a frown, obviously meaning his Muscular power, but still this causes Naruto to cast him a slight glare.

"What would you do with that power if you had it?" He asks, earning a quizzical look from the masked teen a few feet away.

"What do you mean?" Naruto gives a small laugh before continuing.

"I've had friends who've wanted power for many reasons, they always want it but never really thought of what they'd do with it. Me, I could have allot of power for myself, but I learned something that makes me want Power less and less…" Naruto explained simply and saw Robin raise a brow.

"What did you learn?" Robin questioned and Naruto looked up as old memories came back to the surface of a young man who showed him the meaning of true power…

"A lesson an old friend of mine taught me. I'll spare you the long, boring version that Haku used. What I'm asking you is, will you use your power wisely, and protect those closest to you, or, will you abuse your power and use it only for yourself and your own ambitions?" as Naruto finishes, understanding appears in the bird-boy's eyes upon hearing this.

"I'd protect my friends, the city, and those that are closest to me." He states, voice not even wavering a bit and causing a smirk to cross over the blond haired boy's lips.

"Great. Remember; with great power come great responsibility. I only have a single question." Naruto says while walking over to his bag and picking it back up.

"What?" robin asks, standing to turn back to his training post, intent on continuing?

"Do you own this place or something?" Naruto asks, trying not to sound stupid. Robin gives him a smile and a shake of the head.

"No. The guy who does lets me train here for free seeing as I always save the city." He reply's waving as the blond teen leaves, only to remember something. "Hey, what's your…" but before he could ask the blond was gone…

--

(Three Days later…)

Naruto stood just outside Piano Pizza, at nine o'clock… okay so he was a couple minutes late but in his own defense he did have to convince his team that crashing the party might get the Titans extra mad at them. By the looks of things, everyone there was having a pretty good time so he was glad he put in that extra work. There was loud music playing, cheers, yells and even some laughing. With a cocky smirk over his face, Naruto walks in and heads for the front desk. Sitting there is the same girl that first gave him a tour of the city. She looks up as he approaches and actually seems surprised upon seeing the blond haired teen.

"Can I help you?" She asks, obviously bored and wanting to join the party out on the veranda.

"Yeah, I'm here for the party." He tells her with a wave, completely calm. She nods her head and motions him through the door. He thanks her and walks through, only to be immediately caught by Beast boy.

"Hey, you actually made it!" he shouts, nobody really noticing the green jesters yelling. "Hey before you go find Raven, there are a few people I need you to meet." Obviously, the green teen was a little too enthusiastic. He leads him over to a table where a group of local high school kids are sitting and eating pizza. Naruto stops in his tracks as he recognizes two of the girls sitting there surrounded by boys. One had bright pink hair and jade green eyes; the other had dark pupiless blue eyes and long platinum blonde hair. It was none other than Ino Yamanka and Sakura Haruno… though the schoolgirl uniforms were really something… _'Whoa, Jiraiya thought…'_ Naruto thought to himself while quickly turning away, obviously trying to hide himself from them.

"Eh, actually, I think I'll just go and find Raven." He says, confusing BB as he walks away very quickly seemingly trying to avoid the table like it held the plague. Shrugging his shoulders, BB grins and heads on over to the High School kids to try and convince the pretty blond, who looked eerily like Terra, to go on a date with him. Naruto however walks around for a few minutes before he finally spots Raven in the corner edge of the Veranda, looking out over the streets with a dull look to her eyes. Smirking to himself, he silently walks over behind her and smiles.

"You're not joining the party?" Surprised, Raven turns around to see none other than the blonde teen that has been on her mind for the past several days had appeared once more. He was dressed the same as when she first met him, metal-plated gloves and all, except for the flak jacket. What surprised her even more was the fact that he had somehow known she was here and that he had managed to sneak up on her.

"What are you doing here?" She asks in a monotone as usual while crossing her arms over her chest and wondering if he's some kind of stalker.

"Well, I heard you guys were throwing a party and just decided to drop by. Thought you could use some company." Naruto says with a simple smile and leaning against the Veranda. Raven, arms still crossed, gives him a suspicious look before asking him a question.

"Did Beast Boy ask you to come?" She asks, somehow unable to get past the ironclad defenses surrounding his mind. _'How is his mind defended like this?'_ Naruto himself is sweating a little. While still knowing she is unable to read his mind because of Kyuubi's meddling, she can obviously see signs like the thin coating of sweat on his throat, and the subtle changes in his stance.

"No. Just thought it would be kind of cool if I met the rest of your team." He says, trying to hide the truth, apparently, Raven buys it, with the shrug of her shoulder and sweep of her cloak; she turns to look back at the city. Naruto walks up beside her, also looking out at the city lights. "So, why aren't you even trying to enjoy the party?" he asks her, slipping his hands into his pockets. Raven looks at him before giving the only explanation she can give him, which is ironically the truth.

"I don't socialize easily. I never have. I was raised in a temple by a group of monks. I spent all of my time either training or studying. Other kids didn't let me play with them. They called me Ghost Girl and other things, said I was haunting the temple or something… The adults seldom even let me near their kids anyways, called me other things I'd rather not mention …" Raven explained and didn't see Naruto's eye flash crimson for a second before they returned back to normal.

"I guess that, whenever we go to parties, that fear of being hated still follows me… besides… I'm not really all that pretty…" She explains then says, showing Naruto that they had similar childhoods. He looks at her, her beautifully pale skin, deep violet eyes, silky dark hair, and smiles… she's pretty, gorgeous actually… maybe she just needs someone to actually tell her that…

"You know, the thing my father did, he was actually considered a hero for it." Naruto said suddenly and Raven looked at him strangely. "But for the same thing, I was beaten, shunned, and picked on. Everyone called me all kinds of names, and I always had this fear that I would never be truly accepted unless I made something great of myself…" Naruto explained while keeping some things to himself, wouldn't do to take away all the mystery after all…

"I held onto that hope for so long, that when that future was taken from me, when everything I thought I had turned out to be nothing more than a lie, I ran away. Then, I ended up here, and I found that it didn't matter what I did, I would always be seen as somewhat of an outcast." As Naruto tells her this and as she looks up at him, a slow song comes over the speakers, Tiny Dancer by Elton John. With a smile, Naruto quickly takes hold of her hand.

"Come on. Dance with me." He says, leading her over to the dance floor.

"I don't really know how to dance." Raven says while also trying to tell him she doesn't want to. With a smile, he puts a hand gently on her shoulder.

"Then I'll show you how." He tells her, but still she tries to leave the edge of the dance floor, but his hand on her shoulder holds her still. Then, the next thing he says pulls her attention back to him. "Don't you trust me?" He asks, holding out his hand as she turns around. And the strangest thing is, for some reason even she doesn't full understand she does trust him. She doesn't know why, but she feels more calm and happy around him than anybody else from either Azar or Earth.

"Yes, I do." She says slowly before taking his hand as he wraps it and her other hand around his neck and put his other hand onto her hip. They start to move in a very slow circle, almost completely absorbed into each other's eyes. _'I could get used to this… it's nice and calm…'_ Naruto thinks with a slight smile, Raven's thoughts mirroring his as they calmly sway with the music, at least until a shrill shout shoots over the music.

"Ino-pig, get back here!" Sakura yells playfully as the platinum blonde runs away from her, carrying a large cup of coke.

"NEVER!" Ino shouts back to the Pinkete, only to stop running before she suddenly meets eyes with a familiar blonde wearing a flak jacket and a bucket hat. _'I'd now those eyes anywhere. Naruto?'_ then she notices he's dancing with Raven of all people. _'Holy shit! Doesn't he know who she is?'_ As this thought runs through her head, and as the song ends, Sakura apears beside her, following her line of sight until she too sees one Uzumaki Naruto.

'_Naruto? Why is he dancing with emo-girl?'_ She says to inner-Sakura, only for her inner persona to start shouting about a slut of a Goth stealing her man. Back with Naruto and Raven, the blonde ninja himself has stopped moving and has made eye contact with the two girls. Raven follows his line of sight, and sees the way the three ninja are glaring at each other.

"Naruto, Do you know those two?" she asks, only for him to shake his head and start to speak, but he is cut off when a voice came over the speakers.

"Ladies and gentlemen, starting now, we are going to have Karaoke for a dollar a song, now, if any of you wish to come up here and sing a song, come on up." Nobody moves, then, Naruto raises his hand and walks towards the stage.

"I'll sing." He says simply before jumping up and onto the stage. As Naruto gets up on stage and hands the man three dollars out of his pocket, the man asks him his name. "Naruto. My name is Uzumaki Naruto. But for tonight, just call me the Kyuubi no Kitsune!" He says loudly into the microphone, and immediately, Raven, Ino, and Sakura, head for the edge of the stage, wondering what he would do now. As Naruto picks out three songs, he speaks into the microphone again.

"Also, if Yamanka Ino and Haruno Sakura are here at this party, which I know they are, then I would appreciate it if they listen to the words of an old friend one last time." After that, the music starts out with an ascending guitar sound followed by drums and a bit of rough picking over the speakers as Naruto starts to sing.

"It's all the same, only the names have changed. Everyday, it seems we're wasting away. Another place, where the faces are so cold. I'd drive all night, Just to get back home." Here, Naruto raises his fist slightly with eyes closed and head tilted up a bit. His voice itself is haunting to the three girls, spelling out his current predicament.

"I'm a cowboy, on a steel horse I ride. I'm wanted, dead or alive. Wanted, dead or alive." The guitar plays the same tune over the speakers, but this time getting louder and just a little faster. "Sometimes I sleep, sometimes just not for days. And the people I meet always go their separate ways. Sometimes you tell the days, by the bottle that you drink, sometimes when you're alone, all you do is think." These words hit everyone a little hard. For some people, it's because they know the song, but have never seen anybody sing it with such emotion. For the three that now this blonde, they can tell exactly what he's talking about. "I'm a cowboy, on a steel horse I ride, I'm wanted (wanted) dead or alive. Wanted (wanted) dead or alive. OH AND I RIDE!!!" after that slight yell, a guitar solo starts over the speakers, as Naruto himself bobs his low hung head to the very erratic sounds of the stringed instrument.

"OH and I'm a cowboy, and I'm wanted dead or alive! And I walk these streets, a loaded six-string on my back. I play it for keeps, cause I might not make it back. I've been everywhere, still I'm standing tall, I've seen a million faces, and I've rocked them all." At this point Naruto still has his eyes closed, and is leaning back a little bit before picking up the mike stand and then slamming it back, base down, and continuing.

"Cause I'm a cowboy, on a steel horse I ride, and I'm wanted dead or alive." As the song ends, everyone claps, only for another song to star. This one with light drum and symbols before leading into a quick note with a guitar, at which point Naruto bangs his head with it. Every time the song does this, he does the same. Then, as the song builds to a beginning, crescendo, he shouts.

"YEAH!" The music continues with an alternative sound, including a heavy background accompaniment of a guitar, base, and drums. Then, as the Naruto kicks the mike stand to the side and takes the mike in hand, he starts to sing.

"I know what darkness means. (And the void you left for me.) The isolation stings. (So I think it wants to bleed.) The echoes in my Brain. (Of the things you said to me.) You took my everything. (NOW I'm COMING FOR YOU!)" Naruto shouts the final part, banging his head again, and the continuing. "I won't back down. I will not bow! I've come to bring you hell. And I can't forget, the things you did. I've come to bring you hell." Here Ino and Sakura start to get a bit scared at what he's saying. They clearly get the message. The only thing they can really do is try to talk to him calmly. He starts to sing again. This time, he's glaring directly at the two of them, who are standing right next to Raven.

"The shadows that you see. (In the places that you sleep) are memories of me! (You better pray your soul to keep) the truth behind your eyes! (You know that place you ever see.) Your darkest little lies, are coming for you!" Naruto shouts again, Raven can obviously tell that he does know the two girls next to her. She would have to find out about this. Moreover, he seems to be royally pissed at the two of them for some reason. She sighs as he starts on the chorus again.

"I won't back down. I will not bow! I've come to bring you hell. And I can't forget, the things you did. I've come to bring you hell. All the scars that will not heal, all the wounds that will not seal. I will not forget the day, these memories never fall!" Naruto keeps singing with a lot of emotion, as the song goes into a quick solo with the guitar before he finishes the song with a repeat of the chorus. And ending with a single phrase. "I've come to bring you hell." Then, the next song begins, going completely alternative with a very heavy combination of drums, bass, and guitar. Then Naruto starts to sing once more.

"Circling your, circling you head, contemplating everything you ever said. Now I see the truth, I got a doubt. A different motive in your eyes and now I'm out. See you later. I see your fantasy; you want to make it a reality, paved in gold see inside, inside of our heads. (Yeah) well, now that's over. I see you motive inside, decisions to hide." At the end of this opening, he jumps up and then leaps over as he hits the ground, head hanging over the teens that ad been partying and dancing harder than before, since the beginning of the second song.

"Back off, I'll take you on. Headstrong, I'll take on anyone. I know that you are wrong. Headstrong, we're headstrong. Back off, I'll take you on, headstrong to take on anyone. I know that you are wrong, and this is not where you belong. I can't give everything away. I won't give everything away." As Naruto finishes the first chorus, Ino and Sakura get it into their heads that Naruto is only bluffing about taking them all on… while Naruto himself is fairly confident he could take them all on, after all, he'd never used Sage Mode to fight them before… With a look and a nod to each other, Sakura and Ino agree to put his words to the test after he leaves.

"Conclusions manifest, first impressions got to be your very best. I see your full of shit, and that's all right. That's how you play; I guess you'll get through every night. Well now that's over, I see your fantasy; you want to make it a reality. Paved in gold, see inside, inside of our heads. Well now that over. I see your motives inside, decisions to hide." With a few more continuations of the chorus, Naruto finishes the song, and, breathing heavily looks up, blinking when some call for an encore and looks to the manager.

"Aw what the hell, go ahead kid, give 'em one for the road." He says to Naruto with a grin, which Naruto returns and looks for a song before grinning as he finds one he likes. As he picks it a slow song seems to start with a strange kind of techno beat to it.

"It starts with (One). One thing, I don't know why. It doesn't even matter how hard you try, keep that in mind. I designed this rhyme, to explain in due time." Naruto sang while thinking of the Ninja searching for him, standing under the lights and looking down on the Konoha-Nin coldly… Both Ino and Sakura looked to one another briefly, wondering what the blond was doing now.

"All I know. Time is a valuable thing. Watch it fly by as the pendulum swings. Watch it count down to the end of the day. The clock ticks life away. Its so unreal." The blond sang out before taking a breath of air to continue. "Didn't look out below. Watch the time go right out the window. Trying to hold on. But didn't even know. Wasted it all just to watch you go." Naruto sang out loud, thinking of how he found Sakura and Sasuke together before he left them that day… how he had wasted all those years of trying to get Sakura, only for him to toss him away at the first chance she got…

"I kept everything inside and even though I tried so hard. It all fell apart. What it meant to me will eventually, be a memory, of a time when (I tried so hard)." Naruto sang out before taking a quick breath and going on, knowing he'd also forget about his old home and former love for himself… "I tried so hard and got so far. But in the end, it doesn't even matter. I had to fall to lose it all. But in the end, it doesn't even matter." Naruto sang out loudly, while moving animatedly over the stage a grin crossing his lips as that part reminded him of how he had to betray Konoha, in order to lose his feelings for Sakura… then again… it didn't matter anymore…

"One thing, I don't know why. Doesn't even matter how hard you try. Keep that in mind, I designed this rhyme, to remind myself how I tried so hard." Naruto sang in a slightly softer voice with his shadowed eyes glaring out towards a slightly frightened Sakura and Ino. "In spite of the way you were mocking me. Acting like I was a part of your property. Remembering all the times you fought with me, I'm surprised. It got so (far)." Naruto sang out softly while thinking of how Sakura would hit and yell at him all the time even after he saved her numerous times…

"Things aren't the way they were before. You wouldn't even recognize me anymore. Not that you knew me back then. But it all comes back to me. In the end." Naruto called out loudly, rearing his head back as he remembered how he wasn't Naruto Uzumaki, the kid who had a crush on her and always forgave her. No, he was someone else… Someone who wouldn't forgive her or even think of her that way ever again…

"You kept everything inside and even though I tried, it all fell apart. What it meant to me, will eventually, be a memory, of a time when (I tried so hard). I tried so hard, and got so far! But in the end, it doesn't even matter. I had to fall to lose it all. But in the end, it doesn't even matter." The blond called out walking across the stage then pointing directly at Sakura with a frown nearly visible on his face if looked at from the front row of people.

"I put my trust in you. Pushed as far as I can go. For all this, there's only one thing you should know." Naruto sang out softly, thinking of everything he'd ever done for the girl, before a snarl made it's way to his face and he clenched his outstretched hand into a fist. "I put my trust in you! Pushed as far as I can go! For all this, there's only one thing you should know!" Naruto called out in a much harsher voice, remembering what he got for all that work, namely her cheating on him with Sasuke… As he did the blond slowly brought his arm to his side and sent it up above his head as he finished the song.

"I tried so hard. And got so far. But in the end, it doesn't even matter. I had to fall to lose it all. But in the end, it doesn't even matter." Naruto finished loudly before slowly his head lowered as the ending part of the song played, a single blood red eye with a slit pupil glowing from the shadows of his hat and over to Sakura's field of vision. As it did and the crowd cheered and clapped, the Nin ignored the noise only to see a predatory grin form over the blonds lips creeping out both Sakura and Ino neither of whom ever saw that look on the blond before…

As soon as he is finished with his glare to both Sakura and Ino, the blond boy gives a grand bow to the cheering teens below. Quickly retrieving the Mike Stand and replacing both it and the Mike, Naruto then jumps down from the stage and finds BB immediately in front of him.

"Dude! That was so totally awesome!" BB calls out and Naruto shrugs before inching over to Raven who gives him a look.

"You don't seem to like those two girls much…" She said flatly and Naruto twitched only once before giving a shrug.

"What can I say, they piss me off…" Naruto offered with a semi-sly look and Robin and the others also came over, Robin blinking then smirking upon seeing who the blond he'd met a couple days ago was.

"So you're Raven's mysterious new friend, you could have said something." Rob joked and Naruto blinked then chuckled lightly.

"Where's the fun in that?" Naruto questioned and saw Robin roll his eyes while Cy patted the blond on the shoulder.

"Man that was pretty damn good, I haven't heard anyone sing those songs with that much emotion save… well… the guys who wrote them." Cy says and Naruto scoffs before having a death hug from Star and inwardly groans.

"Hello Friend of Friend-Raven! I am Starfire, and I am so happy to meet you!!" Starfire calls out happily and Naruto twitches while trying to get out of the happy red haired aliens grasp and Raven takes pity on him.

"He needs to breath Starfire…" She offers and Star drops the blond with a gasp.

"Oh I am so sorry Friend, I am sometimes forgetting my own strength!" Starfire says to the blond quickly and Naruto gives her a pained grin. _'Damn, Lee's the only person who has ever hugged me that hard, but thankfully that was MUCH more pleasant than the one's from Lee… he he…'_ Naruto thought to himself then leaned over to Raven.

"I think your friends like me." He quipped and Raven rolled her eyes, smirking slightly despite herself.

"They just don't know you well yet." She said simply and Naruto chuckled.

"Neither do you Karasu-Chan." He replied and Raven looked at him oddly for the nickname, as it seemed to becoming more common for some reason.

"Dude! You speak Japanese?!" BB asked excitedly and Naruto nodded his head. "Cool! Then do you know what Dokuro means?" BB asked and Naruto blinked before scratching his head and wondering why the green jester was asking.

"Skull…" He said simply and BB nodded his head before turning to his large titanium plated friend.

"Told you that was why Dokuro's called that in Cyborg Shinobi Showdown Cy!" BB stated and Cy crossed his arms.

"Just cause the dude wore a Skull mask don't mean that's why his name was Dokuro…" Cy stated and Naruto decided to add his own two scents into the conversation.

"Actually, if you're talking about Shinobi then it does. Shinobi tended to use Code names based on animals for missions with masks to go with them. A Skull mask would actually go well with a high level Assassination Shinobi." Naruto explained and Raven gave him a strange look.

"You know a lot about Ninja…" She said flatly and Naruto rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"I had a little Ninjutsu training back home and did a little research on past ninja and their habits…" He said with a shrug and Robin blinked before looking intrigued.

"Really? Cool, one of my teachers taught me a form of it, but he more conformed to the Samurai code of Bushido than the Ninja's kill or be killed methods." Robin explained and a frown crossed over Naruto's lips.

"You seem to forget that Samurai were often very brutal, while Ninja were a bit more covert. Samurai would brutally punish anyone for even the smallest infraction to their honor while Ninja could care less about personal honor and more for they wellbeing of the country they protected. Ninja lived in the shadows in order to serve a lord of some form, they would kill, they would steal, and they would spy in order to protect their home and country. That was the way of the Shinobi. Samurai were all well known, all rich, and all pompous dicks as apposed to Shinobi…" Naruto explained and saw Robin cup his chin while the other Titans looked at both confused.

"Dude, I don't even know what you two are talking about anymore…" BB said flatly and both boys looked at him, then one another and shrugged.

"Yeah, well I still think you knowing Ninjutsu is cool. Maybe we could spar sometime if you're free." Robin offered and Naruto shrugged before covertly looking around and noting Sakura and Ino were leaning against a wall glaring at him.

"Maybe, but I really better get home, my roommates get really angry when I'm out for too long." Naruto said while saying goodbye to the Titans and taking his leave, Raven watching him leave narrowed her eyes and discreetly followed him seeing the two girls from before following him. Naruto himself is walking down the street before quickly turning into a dark alley, knowing that his two Academy classmates are definitely behind him.

"Naruto!" He stops with a smirk hearing this and slowly turns around and sees Sakura and Ino standing behind him. His smirk widens as they walk towards him, both with absolutely livid expressions on their faces.

"Can I help you ladies with anything?" He asks while stuffing his hands into his pockets again. At hearing the blonds words, Ino twitches once before trying to smack him, only for the other blond to dodge with a smirk while she puts her hands on her hips.

"Don't even try to act innocent. You broke up with Sakura, attacked Sasuke, failed, left the village, dragged us here, and now you just publicly insulted us." She yells, getting a very hearty laugh from her fellow blonde.

"Is that what the bitch next to you said. And while I did publicly humiliate SOMEONE… Let me tell you the truth about what's going on here." He starts, only for Sakura to lunge at him, fist flying. He catches her arm and bends it behind her back, holding her immobile. "Not now, Sakura. I'm telling Ino-chan here's why I left. I left because the village didn't need its big hero anymore, hell, no one wanted me there in the first place. Your Hokage Tsunade never bothered to tell me about numerous inheritances I was supposed to get. The council tried to STEAL those as well!" Naruto said angrily while Ino looked at him in shock, obviously none of them knew the facts of why he left, and right now felt like a good time to enlighten them.

"And before I forget, I also left because I caught this pink-haired little harlot, who was supposed to be my girlfriend at the time, cheating on me with Sasuke, my supposed brother, without thought or care of me." He says before pulling on Sakura's arm a little making her grimace in pain. "So, I took the scrolls and clan items that were rightfully mine in the first fucking place and I left that Kami-Forsaken shit hole behind me." After that, he let go of the girl's arm, shoving her forward to Ino as he makes a quick decision.

"What do you say, we all get together and fight it out. No restrictions. No rules. If I win you back off for a while, you won't bother me, and I won't bother looking for your Asses. You win, and I come along quietly…" Ino gives him a look as she helps Sakura with her arm, inwardly however she figures with all of them it would be a synch to take Naruto down, thus ending this charade of a mission at last.

"Just say when, asshole." She finally responds, flipping him the bird with one hand and pulling her eyelid down with her tongue out with the other. Naruto just chuckles before giving them a location and time, after that, the two girls walk back in to the party. Naruto turns, only for a wall of Black energy to get in the way. He smiles before turning around and spotting none other than the dark titan herself behind him, outstretched hand glowing with the same black energy.

"Hey Karasu-chan. How much of that did you hear exactly?" He asks the girl with a sheepish grin and rubbing the back of his neck, only for the energy behind him to wrap itself around his body, holding him in place. "Aw crap…" he mutters to himself while Raven walks towards him, still holding the energy in place.

"Everything." She says, hand clenching into a fist as the black substance holds him tighter, however suddenly it disappears, almost seeming to be drawn into his stomach somehow. This alone surprises her, as she's never seen anything actually start absorbing HER energy without some kind of ill affect…

"Okay… that was new…" Naruto murmured though decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth while brushing himself off. "That conversation is something I would prefer if you kept to yourself. Now if you don't mind, I have to go get ready." He tells her, walking away.

Raven stands there, a puzzled and quizzical look on her face. _'Just who are you, Naruto Uzumaki?'_ she wondered to herself with a frown before teleporting back to the tower.

--

TBC…

--

AN: DONE! As a final disclaimer, we don't own any of the Songs used or mentioned in this chapter. Ciao!

By:

26 Lord Pain…

And…

Master XIII…


	15. The Nightmare Reborn

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

Chapter 14: The Nightmare Reborn…

--

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

--

(HIVE HQ…)

The blond teen was moving from Scroll to Scroll, placing those he was finished with into his duffle bag all day. At the moment he was sitting in the middle of the room looking at several scrolls all at once. _'Alright, It's high time I deal with the Nitwit Nin Brigade… obviously even if I do win and they back off they'll keep trying to capture me at some point in the foreseeable future… but I can't kill them, that just isn't my style… besides, I'd be no better than Sasuke if I actually killed them…'_ Naruto thought to himself while frowning then heard someone knock on his door.

"Who is it?" He asked from his spot without turning away from the scrolls.

"Jinx." The girls voice came simply, though she sounded like she had a migraine, and Naruto turned an eye to the door and let out a soft sigh.

"Come on in Jinx." He said and the door opened, the girl entering and looking around the teen's finally furnished and decorated room for the first time. The room was of average size, with a simple gray carpet over the floor, the walls were painted black, due only because Naruto hated the idea of white walls because they made him think of Hospitals, red just didn't look right, and any other color he had access too was stupid. He had a row of shelves placed on one wall with numerous trinkets and photo's covering them, an average bed off to the side with a couple plain sheets, a door to her left led to a private bathroom, and he had a closet to her right where he stored his clothes, while near his bed was a dresser where he put his Ninja gear, and a device gizmo made was the last thing in the room, which was a container for the X-Suit when it wasn't in use…

At the moment however the room was covered by dozens of scrolls lying everywhere around it, Naruto smack dab in the middle. "What's up?" Naruto asked from his spot while still looking over the scrolls and the girl looked around, noting the dozens of scrolls lying around and that he was reading one of them while sitting cross-legged on the floor.

"Uh… do I want to know what your doing with this place?" She questioned and Naruto shook his head no with an amused smirk on his lips. "Alright then I won't bother asking… but how was your trip last night Temp?" Jinx questioned and Naruto blinked before a smirk came to his lips.

"Interesting…" Was all he said before returning to his scrolls and Jinx huffed before looking at the scrolls once more.

"What are you doing in here anyways?" Jinx asked while flipping onto the teen's bed and looking over his shoulder.

"I thought you weren't going to ask… but if you really must know I'm checking some of my mom's old family scrolls…" He said simply while rolling one up before tossing it into his Duffle bag.

"What for?" Jinx then questioned, one hand holding her head up while the rest of her body was straight out on his bed.

"Checking on some of the tricks I use, a few of them I only have a basic knowledge of, most Jutsu are pretty complex so I'm making sure I haven't missed something important about any of them…" Naruto said simply while looking at one about the Chakra claws, noting that it had a big brother in terms of power that let you push wind into the claws to allow them to stretch out for a wider range of attack… _'Might have to try that one…'_ Naruto mused to himself then rolled that scroll up and put it into his nightstand to read up on the technique later.

"Why haven't you done that before, Temp?" She questioned while leaning forward, her chin resting on his shoulder.

"Because I didn't feel like it. Besides that, at the time I didn't have to worry about Sasuke-Teme…" Naruto grumbled angrily while Jinx giggled at the nickname for her friend's former best friend.

"Don't worry Tempest, he ever comes around here, you got all of us to help you deal with him!" Jinx said with a smile and a fist in the air, Naruto chuckling with a shake of his head at her own antics. Hearing the confidence in her voice made Naruto briefly consider telling Jinx about his upcoming battle with the Konoha Flunkies and asking for her help he but shook the idea off. _'This is my problem, I can't let her or the others get involved with things from my past… or let them get hurt because of them…'_ The blond thought to himself before looking to his side with a frown.

"Yeah, I know…" Naruto said then took a thoughtful expression while looking at his X-Suit. "Speaking of which…" With that Naruto got up, Jinx falling face first from his bed and glaring at the teen's back before quickly closing her legs and flipping forward to her feet, thankful the blond hadn't been able to see her with her skirt hanging down again… "I need to get Gizmo to cheek this thing, that fight with Blackfire really did a number on the helmet…" Naruto said then muttered the end while walking out of the room while seemingly ignoring the fact Jinx wasn't on the bed anymore.

Jinx let out a quick breath once the blond was gone, only to yelp when he stuck his head back inside. "Also, Black panties today? What's the occasion?" Naruto asked with a grin before ducking out of the room, as Jinx blushed bright red before turning around and saw a mirror near the X-Suit…

"I hate it when he does that…" She muttered while crossing her arms. "I really need to stop wearing skirts around that boy…" She then muttered to herself before getting up and brushing her skirt down before walking out of the room and off to find something to do while most of the boys were out…

Meanwhile, Naruto walked down the halls of their HQ and then into Gizmo's little workshop, which was a room packed with numerous computers, work stations, and machines for creating and managing his equipment. Looking around for a moment, Naruto walked in with the X-Suit and noticed that the bald midget was working on a pair of gauntlets… "Something new for me Giz?" Naruto questioned and Gizmo very nearly jumped out of his skin before turning to look at the blond with a snarl.

"Don't sneak up on me like that fuck face!!" The tiny terror shouted and Naruto chuckled lightly.

"I'm a ninja remember." Naruto quipped in response and Gizmo just let out a sigh before holding out one of the gauntlets.

"These are new models for your suit, I've been playing some more Cyborg Shinobi Chronicles recently and saw a new upgrade that would be up your alley." Gizmo said and Naruto put the X-Suit down onto a nearby table before looking at these.

"They don't look all that new…" Naruto muttered with a frown and saw Gizmo glare at him.

"These are designed more for combat than armor, they also have a few other special features. Besides that I haven't finished them yet." Gizmo said angrily and Naruto held up his wrists in a placating manner.

"Calm down Giz, you know I don't mean anything by it." Naruto said and Gizmo muttered under his breath before turning back to work on the new gauntlets. "Hey, where are Mammoth and the others?" Naruto then questioned and Gizmo rolled his eyes.

"Mammoth, Private HIVE, Kid, and Seemore all went out to a baseball game." Gizmo stated and Naruto blinked rapidly.

"How can they do that? We're all wanted after all…" Naruto questioned and then reminded and Gizmo gave the blond a grin.

"Some of us actually have secret identities for a reason Temp, as for Mammoth and Kid however, I managed to rig a Hologram for Mammoth so he looks like a big guy, and Kid looks like a Goth." Gizmo explained while continuing his work and Naruto nodded his head slowly before looking at the X-Suit.

"Alright, then could you do a check and upgrade on the whole suit while you're at it. It's kind of hard to see in the "Thermal" mode seeing as everything's different shades of red, and same with Night Vision only green, they both just don't look right." Naruto said simply and Gizmo frowned before walking over to the suit and looking at the helmet.

"I knew I should have used that new equipment, but no, I had to save money…" Gizmo muttered to himself while Naruto leaned back into one of his many workstations.

"I'm heading out Giz, see you later…" Naruto said and Gizmo gave him a slight wave while he pulled the Skull off the front of the helmet and looked at it with a frown before his eyes started to light up and a grin came to his face. With Naruto however, the blond was wondering why Gizmo was always making him this stuff, before a thought came to mind.

'_He make's things for Jinx and Mammoth too, but they don't use them as much as I do, and Jinx's stuff is all to make sure her room and electronics don't blow up… Maybe he likes making these things and just doesn't have allot of people to use them like I do…'_ Naruto figured and nodded to himself; after all, in a world with so many diverse super powers it wasn't likely someone with brains like Gizmo would find his gadgets in use by anyone other than himself very often.

Ignoring that actually depressing thought Naruto frowned when he remembered he still had to deal with the Konoha Nin and walked into his room. "Seeing as Red-X is on the sidelines for the night, look's like "Tempest" is making another show…" Naruto mused with a smirk as he walked over to his closet and pulled out his old costume.

First he got out of his Civvies, then he pulled on the tight black AnBu shirt with the mask up, he then pulled on his black Shinobi-Pants with his Kunai case placed on his right thigh, then his old studded belt around his waist with his two equipment pouches at his lower back. Stretching some the blond then pulled his red T-shirt with the black spiral on the right shoulder over that, his black fingerless gloves were next, he then pulled on his "Robin Like" steel plated combat boots, and then his black headband with the red spiral at his forehead. Last Naruto pulled on his black Shin-guards and Gauntlets, and finally he pulled his black body armor on, zipping it up the front then snapping the two sets of buckles together to hold it on tightly.

Naruto then reached into his closet once more and pulled out his old Ninjatou, similar in design to his current one, only with his old sheath having a y shaped harness over his chest to stay on tightly. Checking the blade the blond then sheathed it with a click and nodded his head while pulling the straps together at his chest with a nod. "Going somewhere Tempest?" Jinx's voice came and Naruto turned his head to see the girl leaning against the doorframe with a frown.

"Uh, why are you in here again?" Naruto questioned and Jinx frowned once more.

"I wanted to see if you wanted to do something, it's boring around here with all the guys out tonight." She stated before walking over to the blond who inwardly cursed his luck as she then poked him in the chest. "Now, care to explain what the hell you're doing dressed up in full Ninja gear?" She questioned with an edge to her tone, pink eyes narrowed on the blond Nin dangerously.

"Just taking a stroll…" Naruto offered with a shrug and saw Jinx frown while fixing him with a disbelieving look.

"Your going to fight someone dangerous, aren't you…" She stated while crossing her arms and Naruto hung his head with a groan.

"How can you tell?" Naruto questioned and Jinx smirked.

"One, your dressed in full Ninja gear. Two, you were researching your techniques all morning long, even skipping lunch and dinner. Three, as far back as I've known you; you never stay in your room all day. Four, you just told me." Jinx explained with a cat-like smirk over her lips and Naruto could swear the girl only needed cat ears and could pass off as one… "So, why weren't you going to tell the rest of us about this?" Jinx questioned with a frown and Naruto let out a sigh of breath.

"It's my problem, I don't want the rest of you getting hurt in one of my fights." Naruto said simply and Jinx gave him a look before sighing.

"Just please, be careful Tempest." She said and before Naruto could come up with a witty retort the girl had grabbed him, pulled his mask down and given him another kiss directly on the lips… The boy was still as Jinx then released him and smiled at the stunned blond. "For luck." She said simply before walking off with a sway to her hips while Naruto merely looked after her in shock before shaking his head and pulling his mask back up over his lower face.

'_Why are girls all so confusing? I mean, I like Raven and yet here Jinx is kissing me at every chance she can! What is with my luck with women lately!? I mean I like Jinx, but do I really like her like that?'_ Naruto started to think before shaking his head furiously and frowning to himself. _'Alright Naruto, let's get back to the problem with Konoha's flunkies and then worry about your Love Life… wait a second, what am I thinking! Raven and I are just friends! Same with Jinx and me there's nothing-romantic going on between us! Well, Jinx did kiss me, twice now, and she is… ARGH!! What the hell is wrong with me!? Why can't I fucking focus!?'_ Naruto inwardly demanded while wondering why his thoughts were such a jumble while rubbing his temples.

Taking his mind away from those confusing thoughts and looking at his reflection in his mirror the blond couldn't help a frown that crossed over his features. "Something's missing…" He muttered then looked at a scroll he'd had with him since before he found out about Konoha's betrayal… "Look's like I'm going to be reviving Konoha's worst nightmare…" Naruto whispered while walking over to the scroll, picking it up he shivered seeing it was an ominous black color, with a red cloud printed onto the front…

--

(Titans Tower…)

Raven was frowning to herself as she looked in a book on demons. The reason she was even bothering to look was because of the name Naruto had used. _'Kyuubi no Kitsune, lord of the Fifth layer of Hell, representing the Sin of Wrath, and leader of the Nine Tailed Beasts known as Bijuu in the mortal world… Not much is known of the beast other than it is a large Fox with nine tails, said to be able to cause Tsunamis, Hurricanes, and Earthquakes with a few flicks of it's tails…'_ Raven read to herself with a frown while looking at a picture of a massive rust red fox with black around it's eyes that curled into it's long ears and almost hand shaped frontal paws.

Closing the book with a frown Raven wondered why anyone would want to use the name Kyuubi no Kitsune… Lying back with a sigh Raven looked over what she knew about the odd boy known to her as Naruto. He was sarcastic at times, fun when you really got to know him, knowledgeable in many things, didn't seem very serious, and most surprising he didn't mind her company and she didn't mind his… _'Why am I so worked up over this guy, he's… he's just another civilian anyways…'_ She thought to herself then frowned remembering the blonds talk with those two girls from before.

'_Even as a civilian, I can't believe that one girl could willingly cheat on him, I mean yeah he can be annoying when he wants to be, but he's really nice otherwise…'_ She thought then blushed as she shook her head and groaned to herself. _'As if falling for that damn dragon Malchior wasn't bad enough, now I can't get a guy off my mind. But he does grow on you… yeah… like a fungus…'_ Raven thought and inwardly she could hear "Happy" laughing at the joke she had made. Groaning, as now she couldn't think with her happy self all giddy Raven looked at a clock in her room and frowned. She then remembered that Naruto had set up a meeting to fight with those two girls, possibly they were ninja as well and they could also have help…

'_I… I could probably go and check out what he's doing… maybe see how much of a Ninja this boy actually is. Besides, if he gets into some kind of trouble he'll need some help… right?'_ Raven wondered to herself, but shuddered once as an ominous feeling overtook her body entirely. "Somehow, I doubt I'll be needed to help him… but I'm still going…" She stated then got up and walked over to her window, then flew out of it to go to the place Naruto would be meeting with his pursuers…

--

(??)

The desert was fairly cool with a nice breeze; the breeze blew by as five figures walked out into the Desert, soon slowing down as they approached their target. Raven appeared at that moment, and quickly ducked down into a ridge, just high enough to where she could watch the ensuing fight. First however she quickly took note of the five Ninja who were already present, at least she guessed they were ninja from the odd clothing that they were wearing.

First at the front was a man with gravity defying gray hair, a headband with a metal plate covering his left eye and a facemask like Tempest's below that, over his upper body he had a dark blue shirt with red swirls on the biceps, a pair of fingerless gloves with metal plates at the back, and a green flak-jacket of some kind, the rest was a pair of dark blue sandals, with wrappings around his shins, and a pair of black pants with a "Kunai case" at his right thigh.

Next to him was a girl with short bubblegum pink hair that could easily pass off as Jinx's sister! She had bright green eyes however with a red headband holding her hair back with a metal plate on it, a red zip up top, gray elbow pads, black leather gloves, tight black shorts, a strange skirt over the shorts that was a light pink color with straps around it and had slits at the sides, and a pair of shin high sandals, with a Kunai case placed on her own right thigh and a "Tanto" placed at her lower back next to a pouch.

Then was another boy, this one was fairly good looking, with long dark hair, but his creepy white eyes put her on edge. He wore a headband like the others with a white robe like top and pants, a black cloth wrapped around his waist and black sandals like the rest of them. He seemed to wear traditional garb if Jinx could place the type of outfit that the strange young man was wearing.

Then came a platinum blond whose hair covered one eye that looked like a duplicate of that Terra girl who used to be on the Titans team. She wore a purple button up tank top that left her midriff bare, a purple skirt that had only one button done in the front with a black skirt under it, with mesh covering her elbows, knees, and under her skirt, a pair of black sandals like the rest of them and a Kunai case on her right thigh while it seemed she didn't have the headband that the rest of them wore.

Last was a girl with a bluish hue to her long hair, and light lavender eyes, she wore a baggy purple and white jacket that barely hid he well endowed chest, a mesh shirt visible where it was left slightly open, a headband around her neck instead of on her head, her pants were a bluish color and her sandals were different than the rest of the groups, and had a Kunai case on her right thigh like them.

Meanwhile behind her ridge and cloaked in Shadows, Raven saw the Ninja and frowned noting that one was dressed in similar garb to that "Sasuke" guy. _'Does that mean they work together? If so then this is more serious than I thought it was, that Sasuke character was ruthless and Naruto is taking on a group of them while he's all alone…'_ Raven thought with a shudder while the Ninja were looking around, probably for Naruto himself.

"Where is that baka?" The pink haired one, Sakura if Raven remembered correctly, questioned and the violet-eyed sorceress twitched. _'Somehow, I know she just insulted him and I don't like that…'_ She thought to herself with narrowed eyes while the gray haired man was looking at an erotica book of all things… _'Pervert…'_ Raven thought with a frown while narrowing her eyes towards the man.

"Calm down Sakura-chan, he'll be along… eventually…" Kakashi started then looked up and stopped, his single eye going wide as it took in a figure whose back was to the full moon out.

"Kakashi Taichou what's…" The blond, Ino, started only to look up and gasp, the rest of the ninja and Raven looking to what had them so freaked out. Raven recognized them as well as a HIVE Students she had seen, but he was now wearing ten rings with Kanji on them, one placed on each finger with a long tattered black cloak with a hood and red on the inside of it, the cloak having a single red cloud at the front of his chest while an orange spiral mask covered his face from view, leaving a single eye hole to stare out at them ominously on the right.

"He looks like Madara…" Kakashi whispered as Naruto sat cross-legged with his arms crossed, the rings of the Akatsuki still plainly visible. _'How did he recover the Akatsuki's rings!? Better yet, WHY did he recover their rings?'_ Kakashi couldn't help but wonder while looking up towards the ominous figure sitting above them.

"I see you didn't bring Sasuke-Teme with you…" Naruto stated simply and Raven blinked then groaned to herself. _'Alright, so they are Sasuke's allies… this could get more messy than I thought…'_ She thought to herself while "Kakashi" as she heard it shrugged his shoulders for a moment.

"Sasuke's still healing from his last battle, he needs to learn a lesson and we felt it would be better for him to be left out of this fight… besides, we need you alive and he'd have killed you on the spot." Kakashi said simply and Raven twitched once more, wondering why she was getting so mad. Naruto however merely rolled his eyes while placing his hands onto his knee's, the colored gems of the ten rings on his fingers glowing ominously in the moonlight.

"Kakashi, I'll tell all of you Konoha flunkies one last time…" Naruto said darkly while rising to his feet and Kakashi and the other Nin quickly moved into defensive positions. "Leave me the fuck alone and I won't have to hurt you…" Naruto said darkly and Kakashi shivered before narrowing his eye.

"Sorry Naruto, we can't do that and you know it. You're at least an S-Class Missing Nin, and normally I wouldn't go anywhere near someone with that amount of skill, but Hokage-Sama wants you returned to the village alive and I'll do as Hokage-Sama wants." Kakashi said simply and Naruto frowned behind Madara's old mask while looking down at them.

"Then you leave me no choice, but to revive Konoha's worst nightmare tonight…" The blond said before vanishing, Kakashi's eyes wide as the blond now stood beside him and Neji… **"Shadow Claw Taijutsu, Style Two… the Art of the Shadow Dance…"** With that said Naruto lashed out, sending both Kakashi and Neji flying to the sides while the boy seemingly vanished once more. However, after looking around Raven spotted Naruto running at amazing speeds for a "Civilian" as he then ducked under Kakashi and kicked upward sending the man flying up into the sky above. _'He's fast!'_ Was all Raven could think as Naruto then jumped up into the air, grabbing Kakashi by his throat. As they came down Naruto plunged his fist into the man's face driving him deep into the ground as they landed.

Sakura attacked at that moment with a swing of her fist, but the blond teen easily evaded her as her fist hit the ground breaking it apart. _'She's stronger than Star!'_ Raven thought with shock as Naruto then grabbed Sakura by her wrist. "I'm through allowing you to hit me Haruno!" With that Naruto spun on in the air and judo tossed the pinkette from his shoulder and straight into the side of a nearby cliff, Raven grimacing at the sight as the cliff fell down. _'He doesn't know the meaning of holding back with her does he?'_ She thought to herself while Naruto shimmered for a second when an orb of energy seemed to hit him in the back.

"Got him!" "Naruto" then said while Ino fell over and Raven was surprised to see someone shoot her Soul Self out of his or her own body and into that of another person. _'Okay, so maybe he does know people weirder than I am…'_ She allowed then saw that "Kakashi" guy slowly get up with a groan while rubbing his throat and face.

"Impressive Ino-Chan, but I don't think you got the right person…" "Kakashi" said with a light chuckle and Naruto's body poofed into a plume of smoke, becoming Kakashi's body instead while Kakashi shimmered into Naruto's form. "I think you got your Taichou instead…" Naruto said darkly before crouching and lunging forward with a fist to Kakashi's gut, sending him and the girl presently possessing his body flying back into her real body.

Neji decided to attack at that moment, throwing his palms out towards the boy in a Jyuuken strike, but the Ex-Nin deftly dodged and rolled to the side. **"Shadow Claw Taijutsu, Style four… The art of the Open Palm!"** Naruto suddenly said while taking a strange stance as Neji came at him, only for the blond to spin around him and push him to the ground with an open palm. Neji quickly got back to his feet and into a Jyuuken stance before lunging at the blond haired nin, only to be shocked when Naruto moved his palms into an intricate pattern, diverting everyone of his strikes before then slamming his palm into Neji's chest and sending him flying back into Sakura as the girl was getting back up.

Kakashi and Ino then got up but Naruto lashed out quickly, tossing several Kunai towards them. The two evaded them but went wide-eyed seeing the explosive notes wrapped around the handles. "Boom." Naruto said darkly and the tags exploded, sending both flying away as he turned his back to the flames and stalked towards Neji and Sakura. "Art is a bang…" Naruto said with a dark chuckle as he formed a Rasengan into his left hand. "Wouldn't you two say so!?" With that the blond jumped into the air and slammed his Rasengan into the ground, sending a shockwave rippling through the ground and creating a massive spiral shaped crater around them.

'_Note to self, do not allow the others to piss Naruto off unless they have some kind of deep seated need to have their Asses kicked…'_ Raven thought to herself dryly with a nearly gaping jaw as the blond stood with his back to the flames of the explosion where Kakashi and Ino had been, painting an ominous picture as his entire form was cloaked in shadow. Neji however groaned as he got back to his feet and stared at the form of Naruto in the center of the new crater around them.

'_Throughout this entire fight he's limited himself to Tai and Kenjutsu… the only Ninjutsu he's used besides a Kawamari and Henge is his Rasengan! He's not even using his Shadow Clones and he's tearing us apart, although he hasn't given us time to let us try any of our own Jutsu… this is still very troubling, at this rate we'll NEED to kill him just to survive…'_ Neji thought while panting and Sakura groaned, her head still ringing from being slammed into a hill and then having Neji slammed into her also.

"_**Still think Naruto-Kun is weak?"**_ I.S. quipped dryly and Sakura muttered a simple Shut up under her breath while looking at the blond with a frown.

"If you give up now, I won't have to go full force and critically harm you…" Naruto then said simply while he looked to his left to see Hinata was staring at him from the ground.

"W-we can't…" The girl said with a stutter and Naruto shook his head, then turned it when he noticed Kakashi getting up finally pull his Hittai-ate up.

"Then I'm sorry… but I cannot allow myself to loose to any of you tonight…" Naruto said darkly moving quickly and chopped at the girl's neck, knocking her out and catching her before she hit to place her down gently. _'Nighty night Hinata… sweet dreams…'_ He thought to himself while turning towards Kakashi. The man growled and quickly began to form hand seals for a Jutsu, but Naruto's eyes narrowed.

"And if that means I have to beat you all to within an inch of your lives, then I sadly have no other option…" Naruto said while reaching to his shoulder and pulled his sword free from the hole he'd made in his cloak for its hilt. "But to fight you all like I would my true enemies!" With that Naruto crouched and swung his sword sending a bust of wind from its blade that knocked Kakashi onto his back.

"Sealless Wind Jutsu!" Kakashi said mostly to himself then cursed as a blade of wind came towards him from the blade of his former student. _'This is bad, Wind Jutsu are perfect for attacking long range by extending the reach of his sword or even using them to knock us back, with Naruto using them seallessly we have to worry about what Jutsu he's going to use next! Not to mention the fact Naruto has ungodly stamina and otherworldly stores of Chakra… no wonder he killed Madara…'_ Kakashi thought to himself while watching the blond haired boy spin on his heels then lash out at Neji, sending him flying back before spinning gracefully and lashing out with another burst of wind to Sakura, knocking he off her feet.

"He controls the wind?" Raven questioned while watching the blond suddenly vanish once more, only to reappear a distance from the group of Ninja. "Didn't Red-X control the wind? And that thing, Rasengan wasn't it… X used that on Cyborg…" Raven mused to herself with narrowed eyed on the blond haired teen. _'Just who are you?'_ She wondered to herself silently.

"Naruto, we can't lose tonight either…" Kakashi said as his eye changed and Naruto instantly tensed, he hated that fucking Mangekyo. "So I'm sorry but…" With that Kakashi tried to use his Dimensional rift on the blond's left arm, hoping to stop the boy from using any truly dangerous Jutsu, only to miss when Naruto moved at the last second, taking his sword apart instead. The blond landed in a crouch and breathed a silent relieved sigh while looking at his swords hilt and tossed it to one side.

"So I have to deal with that fucking Mangekyo Sharingan of yours too then?" Naruto mused with a frown and Raven frowned, Sharingan was something Sasuke had, and since this gray haired guy had it, wouldn't that mean they're somehow related or working together? Also, Red-X had mentioned the Sharingan, that would mean that not only was Naruto an actual ninja from the look of it… but Red-X as well…

"I didn't want to have to use it Naruto, but we must return you to Konoha immediately." Kakashi stated and Naruto frowned darkly beneath his mask before crouching down further.

"Well then Kakashi Baka, looks like I have to deal with you like I would Sasuke or Madara…" Naruto said darkly and Kakashi inwardly grimaced while quickly pulling a Kunai from his thigh and held it at the ready. However Naruto quickly shimmered out of existence as he had many times before, appearing behind the man whose eyes widened. Before the man could react Naruto had already moved, grabbing him by the neck the teen then tossed him over his shoulder and formed a swirling sphere in his hand. **"Rasengan!"** He called out as he slammed the sphere into the old man's gut, sending him flying back and into the side of a cliff where the Rasengan shredded his flak jacket and left him falling forward, only to poof out of existence.

"Kage Bunshin… that's my thing…" Naruto said mostly to himself then quickly turned when he saw Kakashi finish with several seals. _'Shit!'_ He thought until Kakashi quickly placed his hands to the ground.

"**Kuchiyose: Tsuiga no Jutsu!"** Kakashi called out as his Nin dogs appeared and moved forward quickly, latching onto Naruto as the blond grunted in pain. _'Damn… so this is how Zabuza felt all those years ago… it sucks man…'_ Naruto thought to himself while Kakashi gave a sigh of relief. "Now then. Seeing as I've finally got you Naruto you're still coming with us…" Kakashi stated while looking at the blond only to hear a chuckle come from him before a red glow escaped the singular eyehole of his orange spiral mask…

"Fool… I still have an ace in the hole…" Naruto said darkly while expelling his Chakra from his body and concentrating. **"One Thousand Blades Jutsu!"** He called out as thousands of blades of wind lashed out at the dogs holding onto him, all of the summons disappearing out of existence as he did so. Kakashi looked on in shock at this before groaning lightly, as Naruto's red-eyed stare seemed to abate, leaving the dark hole of his mask completely black once more.

'_We don't seem to have to worry about him using Kyuubi… that would be overkill at this point…'_ Kakashi thought then looked at the others and saw that the least damaged of them all was an unconscious Hinata, Ino behind her, with Sakura having taken a harsher physical beating than the other girls.

However, before Kakashi could think more on this matter he noted Naruto sway before falling to one side and disappearing in a plume of smoke. Kakashi's eyes widened seeing this and looking to the sword that he had cut in half he saw it also poof out of existence… "Kage Bunshin… but how?" Kakashi questioned with disbelief obvious in his tone and heard clapping, turning quickly he saw Naruto, still dressed like Madara, clapping his hands while leaning back into a cliff wall.

"Kage Bunshin is an amusing little Jutsu, it takes a person's Chakra and splits it evenly between the original and his copies. The Kage Bunshin also has the unique trait of sending all of its experiences back to the Original as well, making it perfect for scouting missions and for training… In essence I could train for a year by only training a day in real time by using a couple hundred of them…" Naruto explained before pushing off of the side of the cliff with his arms crossing.

"However, this is a waist of a powerful Jutsu… making a physical clone with half of one's power should be much more useful than a one-shot that is dispelled with even the slightest damage… However, by allowing it half of my Chakra it obviously had more than enough power to weaken you all down for me…" Naruto mused to himself and Kakashi plainly stared at the blond with wide eyes before quickly taking a stance.

"Now now Kakashi. Your too quick to anger… but then again, that actually explains where Sasuke-Teme gets it…" Naruto mused and saw Kakashi twitch angrily while Ino, Sakura and Neji all got up and stood behind the older Nin. "Hmm. So you have four fighters able and willing. Not good odds…" Naruto mused before forming three hand seals much to Kakashi's shock. "For you… **Chidori!"** Naruto said darkly then exclaimed while holding his lightning coated fist at his side.

"But… how? I never taught you the Chidori!" Kakashi said with obvious shock and very thinly hidden anger in his voice making Naruto chuckle.

"I have a Wind and Lightning affinity Kakashi-Baka. I am not only well versed in Wind Jutsu, but Lightning as well… there merely more destructive than my wind Jutsu so I don't tend to use them too often. As for how I know Chidori however…" Naruto explained then started with obvious annoyance. "I've had a Chidori rammed through both sides of my chest, through my gut, through my heart and very nearly my head! I fucking remember what it felt like, that was the first part of recreating it. Then add to the fact I've seen it more than a half dozen times and actually have a Photographic Memory… it was pretty easy to learn in the end!" Naruto said simply with a grin hidden behind his mask.

"So you're going to use that against me?" Kakashi questioned and Naruto scoffed.

"No. I wouldn't use your own attack against you, I want to show you how I improved it however…" Naruto said darkly as he held the Chidori up and began to weave the lightning Chakra… forming an electrified Rasengan… **"Chidori no Rasengan! (Swirling Sphere of the One thousand Birds!)"** Naruto said shocking Kakashi before the blond then lunged forward, and then slammed the new attack into Kakashi's gut, sending the man screaming back. The attack also ripped the ground around Kakashi apart, bolts of lightning spreading out before the Rasengan dug into his body as he hit the side of another cliff with an explosion…

"Kakashi Sensei!" Sakura called out before rushing over to help the man while Naruto looked at Ino and then Neji.

"Do you really think you stand half a chance?" He questioned and both looked to one another and slowly went to pick up Hinata.

"If you think we'll be gone for good, don't count on it! We'll be back even stronger next time!" Ino said quickly before she and Neji both moved over to Sakura and Kakashi, all three Shunshin-ing out of the area while Naruto merely watched, a grin crawling over his lips as he did. _'I'm counting on it… I can always use a good work out here and there after all…'_ Naruto said before turning and shaking his head.

"Karasu-Chan, you can both stop hiding now…" He said with a slightly amused tone as Raven appeared out of the shadows with a frown on her face.

"How long did you know I was there?" The violet-eyed empathy questioned and Naruto chuckled.

"Since the beginning… did you like the show?" Naruto said then questioned and Raven frowned once more.

"You could have killed them." Raven said flatly while crossing her arms and Naruto nodded his head in agreement.

"I could have, but then again, they could have killed me as well if I hadn't known them all so well… Besides I'd be no better than Sasuke-Teme if I did kill them." Naruto stated rather plainly and watched as Raven grimaced while conceding his point.

"I also now know your at least a member of the HIVE, Tempest right?" Raven said then questioned and Naruto gave a curt bow before reaching up and pushing down his cloak's hood while removing his orange spiral mask.

"Yeah, I bet "Stone" told you huh?" Naruto questioned and Raven nodded her head slowly while crossing her arms.

"He said Tempest was some kind of a Wind Elemental Ninja… that was all he said other than he was probably going to break his legs for what happened between him and Jinx…" Raven said then mused and Naruto blinked before snickering.

"Oh yeah, I broke one of her boyfriends Legs for being a dick to her… After she broke up with him and gave me the okay at least… " Naruto mused and Raven looked at the blond before shuddering to herself.

"That's… a little on the psychotic side." She said and Naruto frowned.

"No body fucks with my friends so long as I got a say about it." He said simply and Raven couldn't help but admire that, she was the same way when it came to her own friends after all.

"So, what exactly have our meetings been about then?" Raven then asked with narrowed eyes and Naruto blinked before frowning. Honestly, he knew Raven would be on edge, who wouldn't be if they found out a new friend was also a part time criminal.

"I just like hanging out with you… and everything I told you was the truth, so I wasn't trying to get info on your friends or anything like that." Naruto stated simply while crossing his own arms and Raven frowned before sighing.

"So do you honestly expect me to lie to my friends about who you really are then?" Raven questioned and Naruto rubbed his chin.

"Well, you have no proof of anything beyond me being Tempest, and Tempest has never done anything beyond blow up the old HIVE Academy and beat up the accomplices to Sasuke-Teme… and even then it's only your word…" Naruto offered and saw an annoyed look on Raven's face.

"I hate technicalities…" She muttered and Naruto chuckled lightly.

"I love them." He said while walking off, Raven at his side.

"So what now?" She questioned and Naruto took a thoughtful expression.

"You free tomorrow?" He asked and Raven raised a brow while giving him a strange look. "Pending that no body threatens to destroy the city of course." Naruto then amended and Raven bit her lip before nodding. "Then how about I take you to catch a flick in town." Naruto offered with a smirk and Raven looked at him strangely once more before frowning.

"Why is it we seem to go on excursions that seem a little too much like dates when we're just, acquaintances?" Raven questioned of the blond haired boy who looked mock thoughtful for a few moments.

"Maybe we're not just acquaintances." He offered with a smirk and Raven twitched before crossing her arms and looking at him with one eye.

"I barely know you." She stated and Naruto scoffed.

"You know me better than my old friends knew me." He countered and Raven tried to think of a come back before stewing about it.

"You're a criminal, it would be…" Raven tried and Naruto scoffed.

"Oh brother, I'm a thief and a wise-ass, not really a criminal, Kara-Chan. I'm only dangerous to people who fuck with my friends and you kids are so…" Naruto would have said a couple things but thought better of it until Raven spoke up.

"You could tear most of us apart with only a minor effort…" She offered with a slight frown and Naruto rubbed the back of his neck.

"I wouldn't have put it so brutally but that's one of the things I like about you, Kara-Chan!" Naruto said with a smile and Raven blushed while looking away from the blond haired young man.

"So… what movies are out?" Raven questioned and Naruto frowned.

"I heard something called "Wicked Scary 2" came out recently…" He offered and Raven shivered, somehow she KNEW she wouldn't like that movie…

"How about something that doesn't involve a green creature with evil flailing tentacles and multiple mouths…" Raven asked and Naruto shrugged with a smirk on his face.

"We'll see when we get there then, if nothing good is out then we can always head to your Café and just enjoy each other's company, or even go to that book store and grab a good book…" Naruto mused and Raven blinked before nodding her head slowly to the blond. "Cool. Then I'll be seeing you later Kara-Chan…" With that Naruto vanished in a plume of smoke and Raven looked all around for him…

"And to think, he's more like me than I thought…" She mused with a slight frown before pulling the shadows from the ground to wrap around her as she went home as well… it was going to be interesting for her living in Jump City from know on, that was for sure…

--

TBC…

--


	16. The Date Pt 1

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

Chapter 15: The Date Pt 1…

--

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

--

(??)

Sakura sighed as she finished healing the extremely nasty wound on Kakashi, the older man groaning in pain even when she was done. On his gut and some of his chest was now a large ugly spiral shaped scar, even with her healing she'd been unable to repair the damage left by that attack of Naruto's… "To think… I thought Naruto could never learn Chidori…" Kakashi murmured before grunting in pain then passing out as Sakura got up and walked out of the room to see the other's nursing their own wounds, Hinata helping heal those she could while Ino was lying back with a headache.

"He totally beat the shit out of us!" Ino said while laying down then grimaced while holding her head.

"He was playing with us as well…" Neji reminded while Hinata finished with his wounds and moved over to heal Ino.

"And you said we shouldn't take Sasuke-Kun." Sakura reminded and then got glares from the rest of those in the room.

"You're an idiot I swear. He took all four of us out with only a Shadow Clone, what do you think Sasuke could have done to him that would have let us win?" Ino questioned and Sakura gaped before huffing and looking to the side while I.S. was mentioning the same thing making the pinkette more annoyed.

"M-maybe we should j-just concentrate on g-going home… If N-Naruto-kun wants to s-stay here he should be allowed t-to after all h-he's done for Konoha…" Hinata said timidly and Neji sighed while shaking his head.

"Even if we wanted too we can't, we don't have any clue how to use the technique Naruto used to get us here in the first place… thus no way for us to return home till we manage to capture him…" Neji said simply and Hinata nodded while still healing Ino's wounds.

"Not like it make's a difference, even if we somehow do catch him, it's not like he'll just happily make us a way home so we can drag him away…" Ino reminded and Neji nodded his head with a frown while Sakura rubbed her own injuries.

"What are all of you so worried about, that Baka was the worst in the academy, he isn't strong enough to…" Sakura started only for Ino to toss a Kunai that cut her on the cheekbone, surprising and scaring the girl.

"In the academy I couldn't aim a Kunai to save my life, if I had thrown that then you'd be missing an eye…" Ino said in a deadly tone while Sakura reached up and healed the wound on her cheek slowly. "If I can get better at that, then Naruto can get better than all of us…" Ino then said sagely while sitting up once her wounds had all been fully healed. "And lets not forget Sakura, he DID kill Uchiha Madara himself, though you like to forget that allot miss Cheater." Ino said angrily and Sakura winced while turning away and walking off.

"W-what was t-that about?" Hinata questioned and Ino debated whether or not to tell her of Sakura's adultery and decided against it… after all, she didn't need Hinata killing Sakura while she had first dibs on killing the pink haired bitch that she had once called her best friend. Naruto may have been annoying, but he had also been the single nicest guy in all of Konoha and one of her friends, and like Naruto, Ino didn't like it when anyone fucked with her friends, least of all her other supposed friends…

--

(Titans Tower…)

Raven yawned as she walked into the Titans Ops Center, more often referred to as the Common Room. The walls were all made from solid steel colored white with red near the floor of the room like the carpeting, with sliding doors that activated when someone neared them. It had an enormous TV at the end of the room with windows covering the rest of that wall and several miniature computers bellow the windows, a C shaped couch before the massive TV, while to the back right of the room was an area akin to a kitchen and dining room with a Table, and everything while to the back left was a normal couch with a table before it and a clock above it. Looking around she then noticed that BB and Cy were playing a video game at the large couch while Robin was sitting at the Dining table with a cup of coffee half finished.

"No argument today?" She questioned and Robin frowned towards the girl.

"Raven, Breakfast was several hours ago, you've been asleep all morning." Robin stated and Raven blinked then looked at the clock. She frowned seeing she had slept well passed when she normally would, hell; she had even somehow out slept Beast Boy…

"Sorry, I was up late last night…" Raven said while walking to get some herbal tea and didn't see Robin frown.

"Why were you late last night?" Robin questioned and Raven very nearly stiffened, but managed not to as she calmly pulled the tea from the cupboard.

"I was meeting Naruto late for a chat…" She said simply, leaving out the parts about him unleashing true hell onto a bunch of Ninja for pissing him off.

"Dude! You and that Naruto guy sure hang out allot!" BB called out from his spot and then grinned. "Raven's got a…" He started only for Cyborg to place a hand onto the green teens face and nudge towards said dark Titan. BB paled seeing as she was looking at him with a one eyed death glare, but black tendrils were hovering just under her cloak.

"Finish that sentence and I promise, you will pay dearly." Raven said darkly and BB nodded before turning back to his game shakily, Cyborg snickering as he did so. Ignoring them and the fact it looked like the game had Ninja in cyborg armor, Raven went back to her tea and was pleased when it was finally done. Unfortunately, Starfire choose that time to enter the room and hug the dark titan, annoying her until Star let go and went on to her next "Victim" of her death hugs, Robin.

"Is it not a most glorious morning friends!?" Sarfire asked in her usual cheery tone and Raven rolled her eyes.

"It's about average…" She said and Robin gave her a look that said not to spoil the alien girl's day.

"Even so, the sun is shining brightly, the bird's are making their wonderful songs of chirping, and the sky is clear of the storm clouds! Perhaps we could have an outing on this most glorious day my friends?" Starfire questioned and Raven frowned.

"Pass…" With that the dark Titan walked out of the room while Star blinked then looked to BB and Cy, both looking to one another before ducking down.

"Sorry Star, we're busy…" BB said and Cy took over for the green teen.

"Yeah, I need to fix up the T-Car today." Cy said and Star turned to look at Robin with a pair of bright eyes and the poor leader of the Titans couldn't help but give in.

"Alright Star, where would you like to…" Before he could finish, a happy Starfire had grabbed him and then flew off with the Boy-Wonder to parts unknown…

"Dude, he really needs to learn how to say no to Star." BB said and Cyborg nodded his head in agreement before both grinned and returned to their game, destroying evil Cyborg Ninja, with their own custom Cyborg Ninja!

Meanwhile Raven walked into her room and took another sip of her tea before blinking as a few memories from last night caught up with her and she twitched. "I… have a date." She said with some amount of shock while a couple books nearby went flying much to her embarrassment. "I just hope THAT doesn't happen tonight…" She murmured before putting her tea down and set about fixing the damage she had done to her room just because of the shock of actually having a date. Finishing with re-shelving the books Raven then looked around and picked her tea back up before sighing.

"If I even want to go, I have to make sure I don't loose control…" She said as she finished her tea, and then sent the cup into the sink via a small portal. With that done, Raven sat cross-legged a foot off the ground and closed her eyes with a breath. "Azerath, Metrion, Zinthos…" Raven began before chanting her mind and attempting to center herself…

--

(HIVE Base…)

Naruto walked into the Common room of his own home, dressed in his own Civvies. He had just got out of the shower after working out some in the gym. Looking around he saw Mammoth and Private were arm wrestling and shook his head. He then noticed that Jinx was looking at him strangely from her place on the couch and raised a brow to her. "Where are you going?" She asked with a raised brow and the blond teen blinked before smirking.

"Out into the city." He said simply, figuring that telling them he'd be on a date would end up with them either following him, or trying to figure out who his date was with and he didn't need that… Jinx shrugged her shoulders after hearing his answer however and the blond smirked as he turned and walked out of the building, wondering what new adventure today was going to bring…

--

(Titans Tower…)

Raven had managed to center herself, at least she hoped she had as she felt calm yet nervous at the same time. She had even taken a shower in order to relax but she was still slightly nervous about the concept of a date. The closest thing to a date she'd ever been on had been when Malchior had tricked her into freeing him after all… Shaking her head Raven looked at her reflection in the mirror of her private bathroom and frowned… "I'm too recognizable…" She said to herself as the entire team had a problem with their fans coming for autographs when they went to public places.

This wasn't a problem at the Café or at the bookstore because everyone who frequented them had either gotten used to her, or plain old didn't want to know her and went about their daily lives. Thus they tended to ignore her while others in Jump City actively liked talking to the "Heroes" of the city and get autographs and what not to show and brag about to their friends. Shaking her head Raven stopped looking at herself with a sigh, a thought of being too pale to be normal going through her mind for the millionth time in her life it seemed.

Walking back into her room she went to her closet and twitched upon seeing almost nothing but her usual outfit within… "I need a wider wardrobe…" She mumbled while reaching into the closet and moving the clothes here and there, she found one outfit that wasn't Azarian in descent. Instead it was something that Starfire had convinced her to get as she said it suited her, while looking less heroic when they had been at the mall for one of her usual shopping marathons. Looking at the outfit Raven was silently thankful she had indeed gotten it as otherwise she'd kind of feel… foolish…

Unwrapping the blue towel from around herself Raven first got her underwear on, then pulled on the pair of black "Hip-hugger" jeans Starfire had got for her, shaking her head Raven then pulled on a simple black T-shirt, her chain belt was then placed around her hips and she pulled on a pair of blue sneakers Starfire got for her. Somehow, Raven wasn't sure this would work, then turned to look at her bathroom mirror and frowned remembering her hair and the jewel at her forehead were both highly recognizable. Walking back to her closet the girl reached in and sifted through it before finding a zip up blue hooded jacket and blinked several times…

"Why haven't I worn this yet?" She wondered to herself before shrugging and pulling it on and walking to her bathroom and looking at herself. Pulling the hood up Raven was pleased that she looked just different enough from herself to fool the usual fans, and her skin could easily passed off as her being a Goth or something. Knowing Naruto was a Ninja meant she wouldn't have to worry about him not recognizing her, as she supposed he had to be pretty observant, plus he seemed to know where she was no matter what at times.

Pulling the hood back down Raven walked out of her room and went to tell the others she was going out so their "Fearless Leader" wouldn't freak out. Walking into the Common Room it was Beast Boy who saw her first and gaped from his spot on the couch. "What?" Raven asked and BB pointed at her, Robin looked from where he and Cyborg were on the C shaped couch and Starfire moved her head from behind the fridge to see what was going on.

"Raven! You look… Normal!" He called out and Raven frowned while giving him an annoyed glare.

"And what do I normally look like?" She asked with a twitch and was suddenly grabbed by Starfire into another hug. _'I thought I told her to limit herself to only one hugs per person?'_ Raven wondered to herself while Starfire then placed her down and held her by her shoulders.

"You look most wonderful friend Raven! I am pleased to see you are finally wearing the attire I found for you at the Mall of Shopping!" Star said happily and Raven rolled her eyes, did it really have to be such a big deal when she changed her clothes?

"Whoa, what's the occasion for the change, Rae?" Cy asked and Raven mentally thanked her Titanium friend.

"I'm heading out into town, figured you guys should know before I left." Raven said simply and Robin frowned with his arms crossed.

"Where are you going that requires you to be out of Uniform Rae?" He questioned and Raven gave him a cross look.

"Out with Naruto to a Movie…" She said simply and Robin's eyes shot wide open in surprise while Starfire squealed and hugged the girl tightly once more. _'Seriously I thought we all agreed that she could only hug us once per day ever since that incident where our bones started breaking!'_ Raven thought and was finally released by the girl who was speaking rapidly, and she then had BB grinning as he realized what was going on in his head.

_'Dude! Raven has a date! This I gotta see!!'_ BB said before turning into a mouse and scampering off to change into some Civvies as well.

"Friend Raven, I am so happy you have finally decided to seek friendship outside of the Tower!" Starfire said before taking a thoughtful expression and grinning. "Maybe we could even have the "Girl Talk" once you return about how your date went?!" Starfire questioned hopefully while Cyborg snickered from his spot.

"Uh, that's really not my thing, Starfire…" Raven said with a blush starting to form before pulling the hood of her jacket up.

"Well Raven, do you at least have your communicator with you?" Robin questioned and Raven nodded her head.

"Its set on vibration." She said simply and Robin nodded his head.

"Then have a good time Rae, I got some work to do in the lab." Robin said while getting up and then walked passed her, making Raven narrow her eyes and wonder what he was up to.

"Well Rae, think you should get going? It's getting late." Cyborg then said and Raven pulls a shadow around herself and vanishes. Cyborg then looks around and frowns when he notices a certain someone is missing. "Where's BB?" He asked and Starfire looked around before shrugging her shoulders. "C'mon Star, go get some Civvies, knowing BB he'll be following Raven to heckle her with blackmail or something." Cyborg said with a frown and Starfire rushed off to get herself some of the "Civvies" so she could follow with Cyborg into the city…

--

(Jump City Streets…)

Raven appeared in an alley of Jump City before walking out and down the streets, her hands in her coat pockets she looked around and sighed when no one seemed to notice her. _'I might actually get used to this…'_ She thought to herself while wondering what Naruto and she would see, praying he didn't want to see "Wicked Scary 2". _'I was terrified of the first one, if he takes me to that I'll probably end up embarrassing myself…'_ She thought to herself with a grimace as she reached the theater and noticed nothing was playing yet.

_'Looks like I'm a bit early for once…'_ She mused then realized Naruto's hideout could be anywhere in the city, it could take him awhile to find her and…

"Yo, Kara-Chan!" Said blond said from behind scaring the girl nearly out of her skin, as she didn't sense him. Turning she gave the blond an annoyed glare and noted he had on a black and red striped bucket hat today, hair still covering his cheeks, with his flak-jacket over his red shirt and the rest of his usual attire. "What? Was it something I said?" Naruto questioned and Raven rolled her eyes.

"How do you do that?" She questioned and Naruto chuckled.

"Ninja, Remember." He said simply then walked with her over to look at what was playing. "So, what ya want to see Kara-Chan?" Naruto questioned and Raven looked up at him with a raised brow.

"Why are you calling me that?" She questioned and Naruto chuckled.

"Using your real name might draw attention to ourselves Kara-Chan. That name or even Karasu work great on the streets because no one knows you under that alias." Naruto explained and Raven was mildly impressed he had thought this through that far ahead of time.

"What if someone Japanese hears you say that?" Raven qountered and Naruto rolled his eyes.

"How many Asian people do you honestly expect to find in this city?" He countered back and Raven conceded his pint before looking at the posters on the theater and saw two or three movies she'd like to see…

"Underworld." She said simply and Naruto smirked despite himself.

"Never heard of it, but it sounds interesting from what Jinx told me about the first and second ones." Naruto admitted while reaching into his jacket to pull out a wallet and checked how much money he had left and Raven rolled her eyes.

"It's a prequel to the first one, so you're kind of in luck." She said and Naruto scratched his head with a frown on his face.

"Never understood prequels personally. If you want to make something before the original, why not make it first?" Naruto mumbled and Raven smirked before rolling her eyes as they got to the box-office. "Two for Underworld." Naruto said to the teen behind the booth, a Goth kid who looked really really bored.

"Twelve dollars please…" He said dully and Naruto tilted his head down to Raven.

"Do you know this guy?" He asked and Raven frowned then nodded her head.

"I talked to him once while the others were at a dance, he's kind of weird even by my standards." She said simply and Naruto slowly nodded his head before pulling some money out to pay for his tickets. The Goth kid then slid them their tickets while sighing and looking either bored or possibly trying to look apathetic.

"Okay, what was with that kid?" Naruto wondered and Raven shrugged her shoulders in response.

"Guys like him are the reason I say I'm not Gothic. I just like dark things." Raven said and Naruto nodded his head in agreement with his date as they entered into the main theater. Behind them a shadow jumped from a tree and onto the roof of the theater, slowly crawling up the building and to a vent, which the figure then crawled within.

"Want anything before the movie starts?" Naruto questioned and Raven shook her head only for her stomach to protest with a low growl and the girl blushed lightly. Inwardly however she was also cursing about forgetting to have something before she left the tower. "I'll get us some popcorn…" Naruto then said with a shake of his head and Raven followed after him while glaring at her stomach and wondering why it had to betray her.

Behind the two however a boy wearing sunglasses sat with a grin, on his head was an old fedora hat, with a tan colored trench coat covering the rest of him with a brown backpack slung over his shoulders. "BB!" Came a voice as the person was lifted up and found himself being glared at by a bald African American teen with a black muscle shirt, red letterman jacket, jeans, and black running shoes holding him up into the air.

"Uhh… who are you?" BB questioned with a nervous grin and saw the teens left eye glow red. "Cy…" BB started only for Cyborg to place a hand over his mouth. "Dude! You look normal Cy!" BB said quietly after pulling Cyborg's hand from his mouth.

"Yeah, I fixed those Hologram rings up to show me as Victor Stone, who I was before the metal. Now what the hell are you doing here dressed like one of the Ninja Turtles!?" Cy demanded in a harsh whisper to his green friend and BB grinned nervously.

"I uh… I like the Ninja Turtles…" He offered and Cy gave him a look. "Alright, I couldn't think of anything else for a disguise! And I really DO like the Ninja Turtles!" BB said then added and Cyborg rolled his eyes, somehow, that didn't surprise him. "Question is Cy, why are YOU here!?" BB demanded while pointing at Cyborg and the Titanium Teen turned his head to make sure neither Raven nor Naruto had noticed them and saw Naruto getting some pop-corn before handing the bucket to Raven.

"I'm here to stop you from spying on them!" Cy said in a whisper once more and then they both saw Starfire was hiding behind something and following Raven and Naruto. Satrfire was dressed in a Purple Crop-top as usual, with a purple mini-skit as usual, only with silver bracelets around her wrists, her long red hair pulled into a ponytail with a yellow ribbon and braided, a simple silver chain pelt was around her own waist, with white socks coming from a pair of purple slip on shoes.

"What's Star doing here?" BB questioned and Cyborg closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Looks like she wants to spy on them as well…" He muttered and BB managed to get free from Cy and ducked next to Starfire who looked at him surprised for only a moment till she saw the green fur.

"Friend Beast Boy, are you worried for Friend Raven also?" Starfire whispered and got a strange look from BB while Cy picked them both up and placed them on their feet so no one else would notice them.

"Guy's act natural, we don't need the whole town to know our civvies!" Cy said lowly and both BB and Star nodded at that, they very rarely used them but when they did they enjoyed the privacy they got.

"What do you mean worried for Raven, Star? She can take care of herself." BB said and Starfire rung her hands together worriedly.

"I… It is just that ever since the Malchior betrayed her, Friend Raven as been more withdrawn than normal. I do not wish to see her new friend hurt her as he did and wish to ensure he is not some bad person out to do harm to her…" Starfire explained and Cyborg frowned, having considered that a possibility as well…

"Well… I got tickets for the movie their seeing, let's tail them!" BB said holding up the tickets with a grin and Cyborg frowned.

"Why did you get more than one of these BB?" Cy questioned and BB rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"I kind of figured you guys might join me…" He replied and Cyborg sighed before they all walked into the theater to spy on Raven and her Date.

Meanwhile in their theater Naruto and Raven had found a pair of seats near the middle row and sat down. The previews for upcoming films were still showing so they had no worries about time at the least. "You know, your friends were following us… Right?" Naruto said then questioned with a smirk and Raven nodded her head while munching on the popcorn slowly.

"BB wanted to spy on my first date. Starfire's worried you're a villain. And Cyborg came to stop BB but wants to help Star." Raven said simply and Naruto chuckled while leaning back in his seat.

"I would LOVE to have had you around on my information retrieval missions Kara-Chan." Naruto said with a smirk and Raven shrugged her shoulders before looking at him strangely.

"Speaking of friends, you mentioned Jinx earlier." She said and Naruto nodded his head to her. "Are you two friends then?" Raven asked with a raised brow and Naruto rolled his eyes.

"More like Roommates, same with Mammoth, Gizmo, and some of the other HIVE kids'." Naruto said and Raven blinked before she saw him snicker. "In the HIVE they used to call me the "Anti-Robin" now that I think about it, Kara-Chan." Naruto then said and Raven rolled her eyes, but judging by the way he looked last night she could see why they would call him that.

"You still hang out with the HIVE? I thought you weren't a Criminal." Raven stated and Naruto shrugged his shoulders.

"There my friends, I won't abandon them just because they like to actively commit felonies on a daily basis. Besides I'm more of a Security Advisor, I even got them to lay off on Bird Brains birthday." Naruto said then admitted and Raven was slightly surprised he did that for Robin of all people.

"I guess I should thank you for that." Raven said and Naruto waved it off.

"No need, but lets make it a rule Kara-Chan, when we go out, we don't talk Shop. And by Shop I mean we leave our "Work Related Business" out of the conversation unless one of us brings it up." Naruto offered and Raven nodded her head, she could live with that agreement, it would make speaking with him less tense at least. "Alright, the movies starting Kara-Chan, we'll talk more later." Naruto offered and Raven nodded while munching on another piece of Popcorn.

Meanwhile a couple rows behind the two Cy, BB, and Star were all looking towards the two. "Dude why couldn't we get closer to them?" BB complained lowly and Cy frowned towards his green friend.

"Raven can sense aura's or something like that and Naruto admitted to having Ninja Training. Ninja are always aware of their surroundings man!" Cy said lowly as well and Star simply watched the two before shushing her two male friends.

"Please be silent friends, the movie of viewing is starting and I wish no to be thrown out. Also we need only watch for now, surely they will be silent in watching as well, we need only make sure he does nothing to harm friend Raven." Star said quietly and BB and Cy nodded while sitting back and watching the two…

Above them the entire silent figure dressed in black resided behind a vent cover and looked down on Raven and Naruto, also on Cy, BB, and Star and shook its head. The figure then pointed his pointer and middle fingers down towards Raven and Naruto while placing his other hand over his ear. As he did blue grooves formed over the tips of his pointer and middle fingers on his right hand and on the palm of his left, allowing him to use them like a directional microphone and listen in on their conversation if they had another one…

--

TBC…

--


	17. The Date Pt 2

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

Chapter 16: The Date Pt 2…

--

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

--

(Later…)

Cy, BB, and Star all sat watching as the movie ended, both Cy and BB had to admit that following Raven wasn't so bad thanks to the movie. However they then noticed Naruto and Raven getting up and all ducked down. Above them, the black clad figure narrowed his masked eyes on the two while keeping his fingers pointed towards them. "So what now Kara-Chan?" Naruto questioned and the figure raised a brow at the nickname for the girl.

"Want to go talk at the Café?" Raven ventured and Naruto nodded his head.

"Your friends are still following us." The blond then said and the black clad figure smirked while Raven groaned in annoyance.

"I don't really care, I'll expose them later… for now they haven't been bugging me so I'll leave them be…" Raven said and the black clad figure turned his microphone off then crawled out of the vents to follow the two. Back in the theater, as Raven and Naruto left BB, Cy, and Star all followed after them, trying to be sneaky but both Naruto and Raven noticed them.

"I swear Kara-Chan. Your friends are the most annoying kid's, I've ever had the displeasure of being followed by…" Naruto grumbled and Raven gave a slight smirk.

"What OTHER kids have ever followed you?" She quipped and Naruto smirked.

"There was the Grandson of my village leader and his two friends…" Naruto offered and Raven raised a brow before rolling her eyes. "You?" Naruto asked and Raven grimaced before slumping.

"I… wasn't well liked back home…" She said simply and Naruto reached out and patted her on the shoulder.

"I know that feeling. Sucks huh?" Naruto commented and Raven nodded her head to the blond in agreement. The two were in an amiable silence afterwards with Naruto trying not to turn his head to glare at Cy, BB, or Star when he suddenly felt like someone ELSE was watching him for some reason… "Kara-Chan, is it just me or does it feel like we're being watched?" Naruto questioned and Raven gave him a look.

"My friends are following us, remember." She stated and Naruto frowned.

"Not them, they don't put me on edge… someone ELSE is following us…" Naruto stated and Raven frowned before feeling out and frowning.

"Two of them." She stated and Naruto frowned darkly.

"I kind of forgot to bring my surveillance stuff Kara-chan, got anything?" Naruto questioned and Raven closed her eyes and frowned.

"One of them is non-hostile for certain, but I'm having trouble reading anything from the other one… I don't like this." Raven stated and Naruto nodded his head before checking his jacket and pulled a scroll from one of the pouches on the front.

"Okay, I've got a couple ninja tools with me… but that's about it." Naruto said before pushing the scroll back down into the pouch discreetly and Raven nodded.

"I've got my powers… wait or attack now?" Raven questioned and Naruto frowned to himself. The old him would have wanted to attack, but that would be foolish as they didn't know what the intentions of whomever was following them was…

"We wait. Let's see what cards our mysterious trackers have up their sleeves…" Naruto said while still walking and Raven nodded as they then turned into the Café and Naruto noted her friends were still following them. "Not very good at Stealth, are they?" Naruto questioned and Raven gave him a dry look.

"We normally don't need to use deception and stealth like Ninja do, Naruto." She stated and the blond Former-Nin shrugged his shoulders in response. The two then walked over to a table, Raven ordering her usual while Naruto got green tea and both noted one of the unknown pursuers was stationed at a window near the roof, the other seemed to have vanished entirely. Their three Known pursuers, Cy, BB, and Star, were currently at another table and trying, but failing to hide behind a menu.

"So, anything on your mind Kara-Chan?" Naruto questioned and Raven nodded.

"I was actually wondering about that mask, those rings, and that cloak you had with you last night." She said with a curious tone and Naruto grinned in response.

"The mask and cloak belonged to a man named Uchiha Madara, Sasuke's… ancestor from eighty years in the past if I'm not mistaken." Naruto said while rubbing his chin and Raven blinked.

"And he's STILL alive?" The girl questioned and Naruto grimaced at that part.

"Well… no… Not anymore." Naruto admitted and Raven noticed how, odd, he was acting seeing as he wasn't being witty or playful.

"Then what about the rings?" Raven asked, she could tell he didn't want to talk about HOW this Madara guy was dead, though Raven had a few idea's…

"The rings are special in that they were once worn by the ten most dangerous Ninja where I'm from. The group was formally known as the "Red-Dawn Organization" or simply the "Akatsuki"." Naruto explained before their tea was brought to them and both he and Raven took a quick sip.

"So, you were a Ninja before coming to Jump City, right?" Raven questioned and Naruto nodded his head to her. "What was it like?" Raven asked and Naruto placed his tea down and cupped his chin in thought, wondering how to explain to her…

"Well. At first when I went through the Academy, I always thought if I was a Ninja, no one would disrespect me or belittle me anymore…" Naruto admitted and Raven could guess why from his description of his past. "Unfortunately, that wasn't the case…" Naruto then said softly while leaning back and Raven blinked.

"How so?" She asked and Naruto flinched while looking down.

"No matter what I did, no matter how strong I got, everyone always called me a weakling or a loser… No matter how many times I saved someone with a brilliant idea or when I learned something no one my age should, they would always just call me an idiot, a Dobe or a Baka… Then, when I thought someone actually loved me… well… you know…" Naruto said while looking to the side and Raven tried to think of something to say, one of her emotions saying "Awkward" and she couldn't help but agree. _'I really shouldn't have asked… he seems depressed now…'_ She thought then was surprised when he let out a light chuckle.

"But, that's all history now, I have friends who like and trust me, and I think I'm starting to fall for a girl with eye's that are too cute." Naruto then said with a smile and Raven blushed while seeming to shrink into her hoodie.

"M-my eyes aren't that special." She said and Naruto leaned forward with another smile on his face.

"I've seen Jade, Amber, Ruby, Diamond, Sapphire, Onix, and even Ivory colored eyes before Kara-Chan, but I like your rare Amethyst eyes the most." He said and saw the girl blush once more while fiddling with her mug.

"T-thanks…" She offered and Naruto raised a brow. _'Is it me, or does she channel Hinata when she's embarrassed?'_ Naruto wondered to himself while Raven took a deep breath and then calmed herself down.

"N-naruto, could you possibly tell me something about your past?" Raven questioned and Naruto leaned back, taking a sip from his tea once more.

"Like?" He asked and Raven noted the Titans around the room and inwardly twitched and promised to send at least Cy and Star to a Nightmare world. BB at least knew she could take care of herself and wasn't doubting her in any way… it was sad to realize he was the one who trusted her judgment the most…

"Well. Could you tell me about your mother?" Raven questioned and saw a look on Naruto's face and she grimaced. "I-I'm sorry, I forgot about that." She offered and Naruto waved it off while leaning back.

"Nah, it's alright Kara-chan… My mom…" Naruto started then stopped to collect his thoughts and gave a small true smile in remembrance. " My mom, her name was Uzumaki Kushina, she was a beautiful woman with a kind heart. She… she always made me feel special, like I was the most important person in the world. Whenever I was with mom, she'd always say for me not to start fights, to make friends so she wouldn't have to worry about me… I guess I still start fights, but I do make friends now." Naruto said then mused with a slight smile on his face and Raven blinked several times.

"Wow… Do you have a picture?" Raven asked and Naruto nodded, reaching into a pocket he fished out his Wallet then flipped it open to show his mom holding him in a hug when he was still only five. _'She really looks like Starfire, an older Starfire at least.'_ Raven mused while Naruto then pulled his wallet back to have a final look at his mom before putting it back into his pocket.

"Well, what about your mom Kara-chan?" Naruto asked and Raven flinched before looking down into her tea as old wounds started to surface.

"My mom… her name was Arella Roth. She… she let some monks take care of me because of my powers. I didn't get to see her often, she was always keeping away so I wouldn't loose focus but…" Raven explained and Naruto flinched while mentally kicking himself.

"Sorry Kara-chan." He offered and Raven gave a slight smile.

"It's alright, I know it's uncomfortable for you to talk about your mom as well." She offered and Naruto nodded her head and Raven suddenly had an idea. "Let's leave our… Father's out of this conversation entirely." She offered while mentally wishing her father would rot in hell and Naruto remembered the Kyuubi so quickly agreed. "How about we try something else we both like." Raven offered and Naruto smirked.

"Books?" He offered and Raven smiled for once, fully and Naruto grinned inwardly. _'She's much prettier when she smiles…'_ He noted idly while Raven asked if he had any good ones on legends and the like. Naruto grinned at this and mentioned having a few on his land's legends, as well as stories which Raven got into…

Meanwhile Cyborg was listening intently as well as Naruto explained his past as a Ninja. "Dude really doesn't seem to be a villain if all he's talking about is books…" Cyborg murmured to himself while BB was trying to listen in by pointing his ear towards where the two were and failing miserably.

"Dude, I can't hear anything!" BB complained and Cy grimaced while grasping an ear then glared at the little green dude with a frown.

"Quiet BB, I wont be able to listen in on them if you talk too much!" Cy said in a harsh whisper and BB pouted while crossing his arms.

"Friend-Beast Boy why is it you wish to listen to the conversation between Friend-Raven and her own Friend?" Starfire questioned and BB scratched the back of his head with a nervous grin on his face.

"I uh… Never mind…" BB said quickly and Cy smirked while Naruto was getting to the part of his story where he met with the androgynous boy "Haku".

"Well I can say one thing, Raven's friend is thus far just that, Raven's friend. He like's books, has some emotional baggage with his past, and even seems to have a few hidden secrets like Rae. Hell the only difference between them besides blond hair and is that he can cut loose and enjoy life when he wants too." Cy said thoughtfully while rubbing his chin and BB gawked.

"Boring! Why can't Raven have any interesting friends, like maybe a cool Super Ninja or something like Red-X!" BB demanded then nearly shouted but somehow managed to keep himself down while Cy rolled his eyes. He idly wondered why Beast Boy's imagination was so overactive but decided he didn't care. Above them at the window a familiar figure in black was also listening in and couldn't help a smile upon realizing it looked like Raven had found a friend. However he narrowed his eyes wondering what was going on with him, when he saw a frown on the blonds face before looking around.

"Something wrong Naruto?" Raven questioned and Naruto looked around the room with a frown on his face and a bad feeling in his gut.

"Someone's in the room, and whomever it is they're starting to annoy and creep me out…" Naruto stated simply while looking around and couldn't seem to spot anything out of the ordinary, at least ordinary with this world.

"That hard to ignore?" Raven quipped and Naruto slowly nodded his head while Raven concentrated then her eyes bolted open as a flash of a familiar half black and half copper mask seemed to flash before her vision for a single seconds. "We need to go, now!" She said lowly but with an urgent edge to her tone and Naruto nodded his head and both got up.

"Where?" Naruto questioned and Raven looked all around before frowning.

"Can't tell, too many people around." She said simply and Naruto started to tilt his eyes all around the room for a while with a frown obvious on his face.

"Whoever it is I can't feel them out at all, not one of the Ninja after me but I can still tell that someone's following us." Naruto stated and Raven raised a brow for only a second before deciding she didn't want to know how he felt people out of a large crowd.

"Whoever it is also doesn't have any form of Aura I can trace, so unless we're dealing with a Robot or a Zombie I don't know what it is." Raven stated while walking quickly beside of Naruto who nodded his head having fought Zombies before at least… though that was a story for another day…

"He's still following us isn't he?" Naruto asked as they turned down an alley and Raven nodded her head. "Why hasn't he attacked yet?" Naruto questioned and Raven frowned to herself.

"I don't know, and I really don't like it. None of our usual rogues are this patient nor are any of them this stealthy." Raven said and Naruto resisted the urge to laugh, as he knew just how true that was from living with just a couple of them. However he dismissed those thoughts as he and Raven then turned down another alley and finally into an old construction site.

"Alright, we know your following us so just come out already!" Naruto called out and Raven gave him a look. "Gets him out faster than trying to find him, he knows we know he's around so he'll either abandon stealth or just leave. Either way it gets rid of him or allows us to deal with him in a more proactive manner." Naruto explained and Raven blinked before nodding her head then felt a cold shiver go up her spine until she heard BB, Cy, and Star all fall out behind them.

"Dude's I didn't have anything to do with this, it was all their idea!" BB called out while pointing to Cy and Star, Cyborg gaping while Starfire looked hurt.

"Us! You're the one who came out to spy on them!" Cyborg shouted and would have continued had black fields not covered all their mouths.

"Shut up, he didn't mean any of you." Raven said in a low monotone while looking around and saw a shadowed leaning against one of the beams ahead of them, veiled completely in the shadows.

"Hmm, and to think I thought I could elude detection for a little while longer…" Came a voice that made Raven's heart nearly stop and her eyes widen while taking a step back in fear. The shadow then got up from leaning and turned towards the group, his arms folded behind his back while looking towards them with a single gray eye piercing through the darkness around him.

"Kara-Chan you okay?" Naruto questioned and Raven looked to see him looking towards the figure with a serious frown and nary a hint of fear on his face.

"Ah, Titans, it's been quite some time… and you have a new little friend with you as well…" The cold monotonous voice called out while a figure walked out of the shadows and Raven's breath hitched in her throat, Starfire gasped, Cy gawked, and BB surprisingly snarled in the direction of the man…

The man looked to be around 6.5 feet at the very least, with an obvious muscular build, and a single cold gray eye visible. He wore an all black suit of what looked like the same material used in the X-Suit, with a gray band around his waist and both his elbows, a gray bandoleer around his upper torso, a gray utility belt around his waist made of pouches rather than the plates the X-suit and Robin used, his hands covered by gray gloves. Armor was placed onto his suit as well however, over each bicep, both forearms, thighs, knees, and shins, his shoulders were covered by the same form of apparatus as Starfire's only his had studs over it, with armor placed onto his boots, over his toes, heels and the soles of the thick combat boots.

Last was his mask, a strange mask made from solid steel that was black on the right half, copper on the left half with a single eye hole with a strange black mark around the eye that curled upwards at the side of his eye, pads placed over each of his ears while black steel covered the back of his head and neck from view.

"Hello Titans, remember me?" The man questioned in that same chilling Monotone that made Naruto shiver with a combination of fear and anger… he knew that tone of voice from only ONE person after all…

"Who ARE you?" Naruto questioned while taking a crouched stance and the man looked at him as if disinterested for a few moments.

"I am Slade." The man, now known as Slade, said simply and Naruto shivered ever so slightly, he'd heard about this maniac while he was in the HIVE from the Troika, he knew his type from his days as a Ninja however…

"No way! You CAN'T be Slade! He fell into a pit of molten lava! No one could've survived that!" Cyborg called out and Naruto had to nod his head in agreement, he didn't know anyone thus far at least as he'd certainly never try.

"Poor Cyborg, still thinking in rudimentary two-dimensional ways I see…" Slade commented and Cy slammed his fists together, the Holo-Rings he was wearing turning off to reveal the normal Cyborg as he pointed his Sonic Cannon towards the man. BB threw his disguise off at that and crouched down quickly, Starfire powered up a couple Starbolts and Raven began to gather obsidian energy at her fingertips.

"Let's just see if you can match up to the REAL Slade then! Teen Titans, GO!" Cy called out as he and the rest of the Titans lunged forward, Naruto muttering under his breath as he then lunged forward after them, holding his hat down as he did. Behind them all and still unseen the black clad figure jumped into the building as well.

Cy was the first to attack, lashing out with a quick right hook towards Slade with his Sonic Cannon. The man easily dodged however and then spun on his heel sending the titanium teen flying back into a beam. "Still as rash as ever I see…" Slade said coldly before holding his gauntlets up as several Starbolts came his way from Starfire. "This should be amusing…" He said coldly while crouching down then jumped up and grabbed Starfire by her throat before slamming her into the ground.

"Azarath, Metrion, ZINTHOS!" Raven called out while grabbing Slade then slamming the man into a beam, then another before throwing him into the ground.

"Remind me NOT to get on your bad side." Naruto said mostly to himself and Raven actually smirked, till a Naruto pushed her to the ground and ducked as an exploding disk nearly took their heads off…

"You shouldn't allow yourself to become too distracted my dear…" Slade said coldly then grunted as BB in the form of an elephant rammed into him. The man narrowed his single eye however and quickly flipped onto BB's back, then used a device to shock the green teen, knocking him out cold while Slade kicked off of his back and into a stance on the ground.

"Alright, this fuckers all mine now!" Naruto said and before Raven could protest the blond had already moved forward and jumped into a double kick to Slade's chest, sending him onto his back while Naruto rolled into a crouch.

"Hmm… perhaps your not just a friend of Raven's after all…" Slade mused and Naruto smirked despite himself.

"Alright Candy-Corn face, Catch me if you can!" Naruto challenged before jumping up and then making his way up towards the top of the still under construction building. Slade narrowed his cold gray eye at this before chuckling as he gave pursuit of the blond, following him to the very top where Naruto pulled his scroll out of his flak jacket and then held it in both hands with them in a ram seal.

"What's this then?" Slade questioned and Naruto grinned as he then throw the scroll open and placed a glowing hand onto it, a plume of smoke appearing as a gray utility belt appeared. His had four Kunai-Cases on the front, two at the front of each hip, with five pouches beside and behind his hips all around the belt.

"Now that I've got a few weapons, lets start Candy-Corn face!" Naruto said while placing the belt around his waist then pulling a Kunai from it and holding it before himself with a smirk on his lips. Slade merely hmmed at the blond's words before then reaching into his own Utility-Belt and producing a cylinder which then stretched to form into a staff. "What is with you people and overly simplifying even the most basic of god damned weapons?" Naruto questioned slightly annoyed and heard a light chuckle from Slade in response.

"I believe you wanted to fight me just a second ago…" Slade stated while crouching into a stance and Naruto quickly pulled a chain from one of his own pouches and attached it to his Kunai, then pulled a second Kunai out and attached it to the end of the chain and held it by the chain.

"Yeah, now let's see what you got!" Naruto called out before jumping into the air and spinning the chain, then threw it at Slade who used his Staff to catch it and pull the blond down. _'Shinobi Rule Number three: Deception is Key to even the easiest Mission.'_ Naruto thought with a smirk, inwardly thinking Iruka, as he then moved in the air to kick Slade in the face, then pulled on his own end of the Chain, pulling Slade's upper torso forward and making him slam into the ground face first while dropping his staff.

"I should have seen that coming…" Slade grunted out before flipping to his feet only to find Naruto swinging his Kunai down at him and blocked with one of his gauntlets. "So you don't play to knock someone out hmm?" Slade quipped and saw a nasty look cross over Naruto's face.

"I'm no Killer if that's what you mean candy-corn face…" Naruto said with a deadly tone before kicking Slade in the chest knocking him back long enough for the blond to spin his chain once more and then spin it into Slade's mask, knocking him to the side where he quickly righted himself.

"Come now boy, I see it in your eyes, you've stained your hands with blood more than once." Slade stated coldly and Naruto snarled before lunging at the man once more, jumping into a spinning roundhouse kick.

--

(Below…)

The Titans were slowly getting back to there feet only to roll out of the way as several blasts came at them. "Oh shit, it's the Slade-Drones!" Cy called out as several figures dropped to the ground below and aimed strange weapons on them. Each of these things had a black mask with a copper spot in the center and white reflective eyes, their suits were full black, with a metallic collar around their necks, metallic gauntlets, and a metallic utility belt around each of their waists. They had metal shin guards with two metal rings around each of their biceps and thighs, and black boots with steel along the sole's alone.

"Dude! Does this mean Slade really IS back?!" BB questioned while the Slade-Bots crept towards them from the darkness, dropping down from the many beams and Cy grit his teeth and aimed his Sonic Cannon.

"It doesn't matter if he is, or if he isn't, these things are a real threat at the moment!" Cy called out then lunged into the robot's pulling his cannon back then slammed it into the ground before the Robots, scattering them back while Raven frowned and looked upwards.

"Be safe Naruto…" She whispered then formed her ebony energy around her hands. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" She called out while swiping her hands, forming an ebony blade and cutting through several of the Drones. Meanwhile Starfire was tossing Starbolts into the drones when she saw a shadowed figure dropkick one then spin on his heel and slam the back of his heel into another.

"Who are you?" Starfire questioned and the person looked at her with a pair of narrow masked eyes.

"You know who I am." With that simple message, the person flipped back onto a robot then slammed his foot into its head before seeming to vanish as the robot exploded. Leaving a very confused Starfire to wonder what had just happened and who that person was. However, she quickly returned to the battle at hand as the Drones fired on her once more, frowning the Alien-Princess's eyes began to glow as she let out a battle cry and attacked the minions of Slade…

--

(Back with Naruto…)

Naruto panted while looking up from his spot towards Slade, the man had a cut or two in his suit and his armor and mask had cracks forming. But the bastard just didn't seem to tire or ware out even a slight bit! Gritting his teeth in frustration Naruto flipped back to his feet with his "Twin Kunai-With-Chain" in hand and took a quick stance. "Honestly boy, stop hiding that bloodlust, you have to hold back your own urge to just tear my head off, I can see it in your every move…" Slade commented darkly while looking down at the blond who snarled while clenching his fists tightly.

"Would you just shut the fucking hell up already!" Naruto screamed before lunging at Slade once more with a roar, spinning into a Roundhouse kick then slamming his fist into Slade's jaw.

"Anger, yes, you know true rage… but lets see just how far you can give into it." Slade commented darkly and Naruto growled angrily once more before rushing forward, slamming his fist into Slade's mask only for the man to flip him over his shoulder. "You should learn to always watch for your enemies to exploit your weaknesses you know." Slade commented while turning to the boy and Naruto grit his teeth before then quickly wrapping his Kunai with Chain around his waist then lunged at Slade, throwing a fist at the man which Slade deftly dodged then slammed a fist into the blond boy's gut.

"Alright, no more mister nice Ninja…" Naruto said darkly while pulling his hat off and placed it into his belt. Simultaneously the blond haired boy pulled out several explosive notes.

"That's it, show me what your true power is." Slade said darkly while taking a stance and Naruto lunged at the man, slamming a fist into his face while also deftly dodging the counterstrike. Maneuvering in and out of the man's attacks just by the skin of his teeth as he soon flipped back and away from Slade. "Tiring out already?" Slade commented and Naruto smirked before looking at his work, an explosive note on every piece of the man's armor…

"No. But I do have one last word." Naruto said while standing up and then retrieving his hat from his belt. "Boom." With that Slade was pelted with several explosions over his armor before Naruto then jumped into a roundhouse kick and knocked Slade back and down to the ground thirty stories below. Tilting an ear to listen he actually smirked when he heard the man hit the ground with a loud crash. "Ouch, bet he feels that in the morning." Naruto commented before then rushing back down to see how the Titans were doing below.

He instantly noticed the several dozen Drones all over the place, with the Titans starting to pick them down. However upon flipping to the ground he saw Slade was somehow slowly getting back to his feet and growled. "Oh c'mon! Don't you EVER just stay down?!" The blond demanded before lunging forward, grabbing Slade by the front of his collar then slammed the back of the man's his head into a steel beam. "Alright now buddy, I've had about enough of this shit as I can take, so just who the hell are you!?" Naruto demanded while reaching forward and pulling the front of Slade's mask off, the Titans coming to see what was revealed as well…

"It's… a… a robot?" Cyborg said with disbelief while beyond Slade's mask was what looked like a robot with a TV screen inside its head…

"Jeez, Giz would love this… still pisses me off to no end though." Naruto mumbled under his breath then took a step back as the screen in the robots head crackled to life. Now on the screen was a shadowed figure with only her right eye exposed.

"Hello Titans, it's nice to finally meet the one's who murdered my father." The voice was young, it was feminine and it was calm, cool, and collected… basically it sounded like a young and somehow female Slade's voice to all those present.

"What the hell are you talking about, we've never killed anyone!" Cy stated and the eye narrowed on screen.

"Oh? Weren't you the one who said he fell into a "Pit of Lava" not too long ago." The girl commented and Cyborg's eye's widened while the other Titans looked to the screen in shock. "Ah, now you seem to get it." The girl commented and Naruto frowned.

"Why the hell did you send this bucket of bolts down here?" He questioned with an edge to his tone and the girl on screen chuckled darkly.

"Quite simple really mister Uzumaki. I wanted to see if my father's files on the Titans were still accurate while also assessing the danger you yourself may pose to my future plans." The girl explained and the Titans instantly KNEW that this was Slade's daughter all right.

"Got a name Sladette?" Cyborg mocked and the girl nodded her head.

"From now on Titans, you may call me Ravager…" "Ravager" seemed to give a bow and Naruto couldn't help a slight shiver as the name somehow made him think of Karin… what happened to her anyways?

"Well then Ravager, what the hell are you doing this for?" Raven demanded and saw Ravager's single gray eye narrow on her angrily.

"You and your friends took my only family from me… I'll make sure all of you pay, and pay dearly for it." Ravager stated darkly and Naruto frowned. "But, until next we meet Titans, I leave you a little gift…" With that a 0:20 appeared on the screen and began to count down.

"I hate it when they do that…" Naruto said before rushing out of the area, Cyborg and the others quickly following and jumping down as the Slade-Bot in the construction site went off, causing the building to fall in on itself while the five teens watched… "I am SO not paying for that!" Naruto said and got looks from the Titans before nodding their heads in agreement with him on not paying for the damages to the still only quarter finished building…

--

(Titans Tower, Later…)

Raven and the other Titans all made it back to the tower with Naruto there to say good night to his date. Raven and Naruto were up front at the moment, Raven's friends behind them as she walked up to the door, and then turned to face Naruto with an apologetic expression on her face. "Sorry about the date going bad, I was actually having fun before that Robot showed up to spoil it…" Raven said while turning to the blond only to see a grin form on Naruto's face.

"Are you kidding me? Even WITH the freaky robot I had a blast, Kara-Chan." Naruto said with his arms crossed behind his head and Raven managed a tiny smile before they then noticed Cy, Star, and BB were all still watching them. "Seeing as the peanut gallery is still around I should probably head on home myself Kara-Chan, see you again for tea tomorrow though." Naruto said while giving a hug to Raven who blushed while attempting to reciprocate without embarrassing herself too much. Once that was done Naruto turned around, waved to Cy, BB and Star then walked off seeming to vanish into the shadows surrounding the Tower…

"How did he do that?" Cyborg questioned while scratching his head and BB plainly gawked while thinking "Ninja!" in his head for the millionth time. Seeing the two as they were, Raven couldn't help it as she smirked, it seemed he truly was a "Maverick Showstopper" after all…

"Raven, guys, where have you all been? It's nearly midnight and we have to be ready for anything." Robin questioned then stated after opening the door to the tower and Cyborg gave a long groaning sigh.

"Long story man… REAL long… I'll explain it all in the morning." He stated while walking into the building with Star and BB tagging along behind him with tired expressions on their faces. Robin merely blinked before looking to Raven who frowned slightly while crossing her arms.

"They followed me on my date for one thing or another." She stated with an annoyed tone and Robin frowned while shaking his head.

"I'll get on their cases about your privacy tomorrow Rae, head on to bed and get some sleep. Something tells me you've earned it." Robin then said and Raven yawned before walking into the Tower herself and heading for the elevator while Robin let out a relieved breath and picked up a briefcase beside the door. The briefcase looked simple enough, being silver with Robin's symbol placed on top of it. The Boy-Wonder then walked up the steps and soon reached the level of the tower where his room was located. Walking to his room the Boy-wonder entered and then walked over to have a seat and smirked as he opened up the case.

Within was a pair of black gloves with metal plates at the back of each fist, Gun-metal-gray wrist-protecting forearm-guards located at the back of the case side by side, a pair of black boots with steel soles and toes like his normal ones, a Domino mask in a more V like shape, a gray utility belt like Slade's but with a strange buckle at the front that looked like an energy core of some form, and finally a solid black suit made of the same material as Red-X's suit but with a blue firebird symbol on the front.

"Sorry to invade your privacy and your love life Rae, but I can't let my team be endangered by anything. But now at least I know to at least give you some more space with Naruto…" Robin mused then smirked as he looked at the suit within the case for a few more moments. "And I've got to admit, the field test for my new "Nightwing" uniform went better than I ever expected." Robin said before he then closed the case…

--

(??)

"So what did you think of that boy Wintergreen?" Ravager questioned of her butler and the man rubbed his chin.

"As you said he is quite skilled miss Rose, but I wonder if he could actually take over for your father, he seems quite loyal to his friends." Wintergreen wondered and Ravager merely waved a hand at that with a frown on her face.

"Perhaps… but what of the Titans. Have they changed since last you saw them?" Ravager mused then questioned and Wintergreen shook his head. "Hmm… then perhaps I don't need to focus on the Titans. This Uzumaki boy intrigues me to no end. His skills, his apparent powers, and his knowledge all combine to make him something akin to a force of nature…" Ravager mused while slowly walking over to the back of the room, Wintergreen at her side.

The two walked over to a table bathed in light, on the table lay none other than Blackfire strapped down, her breathing steady and calm, as she seemed almost asleep. "Have you kept her properly drugged Wintergreen? We don't need her waking up yet after all." Ravager questioned and her Butler gave a simple stiff nod before replying.

"We are lucky she revealed some of her faults when she fought with Starfire and Red-X miss Rose, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to take precautions to ensure her health during her stay with us." Wintergreen said and Ravager nodded her own head in agreement, thankful for the man's quick thinking. Reaching down Ravager then pulled the gem from the collar Blackfire wore and chuckled lightly.

"To think this simple thing is what stores all her power…" She mused looking at the gem before then tucking it into the girls belt, she wouldn't steal it from her, though it seemed intriguing it would hamper her future plans to have her or Red-X come and try and take it back from her. "Do you have the modified version ready yet Wintergreen?" Ravager then questioned and the Butler nodded his head once more while pulling a similar jewel, only red as blood from his pocket and handing it to her.

"This version shall overload her Miss Rose, she will go on a rampage as soon as she awakens. Destroying anyone, and anything that stands in her way. Add onto that that this new version will also at least triple her combat abilities and she should be more than a match for Red-X even at his best." Wintergreen said simply while Ravager smirked, then placed the jewel onto the collar like device in place of the old one and saw Blackfire grimace in her sleep.

"She'll be a regular "Black-Inferno" then…" Ravager quipped with a light chuckle while Wintergreen nodded his head.

"Shall I have her placed to attack those HIVE children's HQ then Miss Rose?" Wintergreen questioned and Ravager chuckled while looking down at the girl as a smirk made it's way to her pale lips.

"No… we'll wait until the Titans are gone… then we'll have her attack the city to lure out the fox to see if he's as dangerous as he seems… After all Wintergreen, pawns are more useful to see what your enemy will do next, not to attack with directly…" Ravager stated while looking at Blackfire with a dark glint in her dark-gray gaze…

--

TBC…

--


	18. BlackInferno!

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

Chapter 17: Black-Inferno!!!

--

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

--

(HIVE HQ…)

It has been a couple weeks after Naruto's first date with Raven. The two had been on a couple more, thankfully without the spies, and Naruto and Raven were able to share a little more with one another. Currently they've been on about four dates in the past few weeks, with them sometimes bumping into one another at the bookstore. Once the HIVE gang found out Mammoth and Gizmo tried to squeeze whom it was out of him. He also seemed to find Jinx more annoyed than she normally was around the base usually saying something about oblivious blonds. At the moment however, Naruto was asleep, dreaming dreams as he normally does, mostly of him kicking the Konoha Nin's Asses…

However when the first few beams of sunlight filtered through his window shades and into his eyes the blond Ex-Shinobi groaned. Naruto rolled out of bed once more and groaned as he sat up, mumbling about not being a morning person for what felt like the millionth time. Cracking his neck Naruto then performed his morning rituals and then walked out of his room with one eye open and more than half asleep. However when a shadow then formed out of the floor and turned into Raven, his eyes shot straight open and he looked around, before quickly pulling her into his room.

"What are you doing here Kara-Chan, have you forgotten my friends are your enemies?" Naruto questioned lowly and Raven rolled her eyes towards the worried blond.

"One, I can take care of myself. Two, I needed your help and guessed the HIVE don't wake up this early." Raven stated and Naruto blinked before scratching his head.

"Actually Kara-Chan they wake up earlier than me…" Naruto said and Raven was slightly surprised by this.

"Oh… Well anyways I need you to do me a tiny favor." Raven said and Naruto gave her a look, Raven didn't ask for "Tiny" favors as far as he knew, no, the only kind of favors she asked for were the one's that could get a person mauled.

"What?" He asked suspiciously and Raven breathed out a sigh.

"Me and the others are heading out into the ocean, I told Robin that I'd try and find someone to watch the Tower. I may have mentioned that you have "Ninja" contacts who could do the job for us…" Raven explained and Naruto frowned towards his girlfriend of three weeks with a look.

"You want me, a known thief, to watch the city?" He asked and Raven nodded her head then pulled her hood down and gave him a look. Her eyes somehow seemed even brighter as she did and Naruto tried to block the look with his arms. "Ah shit, Kara-chan! You and those damn eyes!!" He said while Raven smirked towards the blond who hung his head and gave her an amused glare. "Your going to be the death of me Kara-Chan, I swear." He stated while shaking his head and Raven chuckled.

"Really, I thought the great Prince of Thieves wasn't afraid of Death." She quipped and then found Naruto pulling her close to him, her face turning crimson as he did so and then leaned down to smile at her.

"Now did I say it was going to be a BAD way to die?" He quipped with a smirk and Raven lightly swatted him on the arm making him chuckle. "So what's got you kids heading off to sea?" Naruto questioned and Raven looked around before sighing.

"Brother Blood is trying to build another HIVE School. Only this one is being put underwater for some reason. We're going out there to take him down… or so Robin says." Raven explains and sees a frown form on Naruto's face which then splits into a wide wicked grin.

"PLEASE beat the hell out of him for me Kara-Chan, I really don't like that bastard… also he, had a window into the Girls locker room in the old school…" Naruto said then mused and saw Raven twitch before frowning.

"I'll make sure he feels the full fury of myself, and every female who he's spied on…" She said and Naruto chuckled before being surprised, yet not at all annoyed, when Raven reached up to hug him around the neck. "Also… Thank you, Naruto." She said and then gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek before vanishing into the shadows.

"My girlfriend is as shy as I am outgoing… I guess Opposites really do attract…" Naruto said while shaking his head and giving a chuckle. "Oh well, might as well go and get some chow before I head out… Wonder if the X-Suit is finished…" Naruto said then wondered aloud as he walked out of his room and down the halls until he walked into Gizmo's workshop. "Hey Giz." He said and the Tiny Terror jumped out of his seat then turned to the blond with a snarl.

"STOP THAT!!" He shouted and Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Is the X-Suit ready?" He asked and Gizmo blinked before grinning and nodding his head enthusiastically, pulling a briefcase from under his desk he sat it down and opened it to reveal the helmet.

"It's ready all right, I went with a full on overhaul and took the suit as far as I could!" Gizmo said while Naruto picked up the helmet and noted that it was made from a strange material now, with the Skull more or less the same at least. "I renovated the Helmet big time, I took out allot of crap and then redesigned it to have most of the old features while making them all smaller." Gizmo said proudly while Naruto messed with the Helmet, trying to get a feel for where everything was on it.

"What about the rest of the suit?" Naruto questioned while putting the battery back into the helmet and then fingering the helm for a bit, finding buttons on a few points of the helmet, one at the lower jaw, one at each ear, one at each temple…

"The Suit is now made of a special light weight bullet proof and fireproof material while being insulated for electrical shocks and of course it protects against rain and other waters from getting into it as well. It also has a special coating that dampens body heat so your practically invisible when your using Stealth mode. However anyone with Sonar Tracking will still be able to find you, I think the Tin-Head-Titan has this kind of rig up in his Sonic Cannon." Gizmo explained while Naruto nodded his head silently, still looking over the helmet as he then pressed down on the buttons at the ears and with a popping sound he then moved the skull up to the top of the head. In side he saw there was a "Mask" over where his lower face would be that had a strange design to it…

"The Helmet now has Inferred, Ultraviolet, and Scope settings, but they only work with the Skull brought down, it functions as a Visor even though I've updated it. The Mouthpiece holds a Synthesizer for your voice and a Rebreather just incase you ever fall into an ocean or something and need to hide. It also protects most poison gasses, including Smilex incase you ever run into that Clown Freak the Joker." Gizmo explained while Naruto nodded his head and noticed that the Skull of the mask looked somewhat robotic now.

"Also check these out." Gizmo then said while pulling out what looked like his old gauntlets. However, after reluctantly putting the Helmet down, upon further inspection Naruto saw that these gauntlets had three "Scallops" on the sides in a similar fashion to the legendary Batman, only they were retracted into the gauntlets themselves. The gauntlets were mostly black, with a ash-gray trim, the plate for the back of his hand having a jagged red X on it while a groove ran the length of the back of the forearm plate, a thick gray bangle was around the wrist, and then another was placed at mid forearm, both having a section at the back cut off.

"You really need to stop playing that Cyborg Ninja game Giz, you're getting them on the brain…" Naruto said while looking over the gauntlets with a critical eye. Pulling it on he then found a button and the Scallops came from the sides of the gauntlets. "Okay, why do I have Batman's things on my gauntlets?" He questioned with a raised brow and Gizmo snorted.

"Those Scallops are razor sharp Temp, they can cut through solid steel and deflect bullets easily. I figured you'd want something that has both defensive and offensive capabilities. Plus those would be handy if you completely drain the suit of Chakra and need a weapon to fight with." Gizmo quipped and Naruto nodded his head before finding the way to retract the Scallops and watched them fold down. "The gauntlets also have the same electrical knuckle function as before for fist fighting." Gizmo then added and Naruto nodded before placing the Gauntlet down onto the ground as the tiny terror picked up one of the two grieves and put it onto the table.

This new version were basically exactly like the old ones. These were black and reached up to cover the knee with a single plate, the covered the front of his shins like before, while they had thick black straps curving around the front of the armor then wrapping around the back where another section of the armor was located for maximum protection, around them for holding them on now, a plate looked to also be for the top of the foot with the straps coming down from it, a jagged red X placed on that plate with straps coming down to curve around his feet.

"These like the old Grieves have the same electric function, primarily however they are just armor. I did however add protection up to your knees this time in case someone tried to blow your legs out from under you. They also have a special stabilizer and bracer systems in place with the gauntlets to help you land from high places without breaking your legs in the process." Gizmo explained and Naruto actually whistled, he had to admit he was more and more impressed with Gizmo's work.

"Last we have the new Belt!" Gizmo said as he grinned and pulled the said object out, which like the last two items, looked almost exactly like the old one. This Belt was ash-gray, with a circular gray buckle with a tiny red X in the middle of a black field, four prongs extended from the buckle and latched onto the individual plates that made up the belt, a strange plate was on one side however, it has a upward slot with a panel showing several switches.

"Nice, the Belt looks the same as well…" Naruto said with a grin and Gizmo gave him a glare for the crack. Gizmo then reached into the belt and pulled out several straps, two coming out of the two, two from the bottom and looked at Naruto with a smirk seeing his confused expression.

"I remembered when you said it was annoying how Robin just pulled your belt off of the original suit. These were added to prevent such an occurrence from ever being repeated. They go around your hips and thighs like a military belt has, hell that's where I got the idea." Gizmo said then admitted with a frown and Naruto blinked then rubbed the back of his neck.

"Er. Thanks Giz that'll really help…" He said and Gizmo then pulled out his shoulder guards, which also looked the same as they had before. They were designed to have straps curve around his shoulders and under his arms; the armor itself was made from a thick black flexible material that offered some extra protection, the guards themselves were black with a dark gray trim, extra pads curving down from under them over his upper arms where they had a pair of straps for going around his biceps.

"These truly are no different than the old armor, just added some Nano-circuitry into them so they'll repair themselves like the rest of the armor does when you wear it… I have GOT to figure out how you do that at some point." Gizmo explained then added and Naruto shrugged his shoulders before placing all of the gear into the case and picking it up. "Why'd you need the suit anyways?" Gizmo then asked and Naruto smirked.

"I just wanted to head through town in style… After I get something to eat of course." And with that Naruto left a confused Gizmo in his wake as he then set off for the kitchen and some food. Upon entering the kitchen he found Jinx sulking and looking into a glass of orange juice with a small frown and a sad look before sighing.

"Okay, what's wrong?" Naruto asked seeing the girl who looked up then looked away from him.

"Nothing…" She offered weakly and Naruto rolled his eyes then walked over to sit in front of her, placing the case with the new X-Suit down.

"Nuhuh. You've been moody for the past two weeks and snapping at everyone Jinx. What the hell is wrong?" Naruto said then questioned and Jinx merely looked down and anywhere but at him. Looking back five minutes later she saw he still hadn't left and glared at him. "I can wait here all day Jinx…" He stated and the pink haired girl frowned before letting out a sigh.

"Alright, I like this guy…" She started and Naruto held up a hand then walked over to the fridge and got himself something to munch on. Sitting back down he motioned for her to continue and she gave him a slightly amused smirk. "Alright, I like this guy, he's really smart, but positively clueless no matter how many signals I send him. He also recently started dating this girl, I don't even know who she is and I already don't like her. So now I'm trying to think of what I should do…" Jinx offered and Naruto hummed in thought while leaning back in his seat.

"Does he love her?" He asked and Jinx bit her lip before answering.

"I don't really know, they've only been going out a couple weeks but he says they have allot in common." Jinx explained vaguely and Naruto rubbed his chin while taking another bite out of his apple. Thinking for a few seconds then swallowing Naruto finally answered her.

"I got nothing…" He said with a smirk and Jinx nearly burst into laughter and tears at the same time… she also had to wonder why he was so dense… "Alright, seeing as I'm not good with girls." Naruto started and Jinx held back a sarcastic comment. "I'd say meet this chick he's dating and talk with her and try and work something or another out, according to my old Sensei Jiraiya, you girls are better at helping each other than we guys ever were." Naruto said then frowned slightly as he realized what he had just said. "Wait… my old Sensei was a pervert who wrote smut for a living… what would he know?" Naruto said mostly to himself and Jinx blinked then gaped at the blond boy.

"Your Sensei was a Perverted old Ninja? Who wrote smut for a living!?!" She demanded loudly and Naruto nodded his causing the girl to snicker then start laughing hysterically. "Oh dear god, why didn't you tell me before? A Ninja who writes Smut for a living, that's priceless!!" She asked then exclaimed while trying to keep from laughing too hard and Naruto grinned sheepishly.

"Well… because he kind of forced me to write a perverted Novel while he was training me for one…" Naruto mused and Jinx stopped laughing and looked at him strangely before a grin spread over her face.

"This I have GOT to see." She stated enthusiastically, probably expecting it to be really, really bad, and Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Written in Japanese, remember." He stated and Jinx smirked before speaking in Japanese and he blinked. "Why didn't you tell me you spoke Japanese?" He asked and the girl shrugged her shoulders before grinning.

"I can also read and write in Japanese too. Cheshire taught me and to answer your question with one of my own… Why didn't you tell me your Sensei was a Lech?" She offered back and Naruto gave her a look.

"Because most girls would instantly assume I'm a pervert… besides that, so was Brother Blood, he had a fucking window to the girls Locker Room for Kami's sake." The blond said and Jinx stopped grinning only to snarl and clench her fist tightly.

"I'm going to KILL that man when I see him again!" She called out angrily and Naruto rolled his eyes, finishing his apple he then headed off to his room. "Hey, wait up! I need to see this try at smut you wrote." She said with a grin and Naruto grunted, having hoped she'd forget he ever mentioned that… Now he was going to have to find that damn book Jiraiya forced him to write all that time ago…

--

(??)

"Miss Rose, Mister Blood has drawn the attention of the Titans as per your request." Winter Green informed while looking to the back of a large throne. Sitting in the throne is Ravager who then opened her single eye and smirked with one elbow on an armrest and her fist in one cheek.

"Then did, Raven go to him as we suspected she would?" She questioned and Wintergreen nodded his head while standing behind her.

"It seems he is going out as Red-X rather than Tempest this time Madam. At least from what our surveillance drones were able to gleam when he exited the building as Red-X. Are you sure you don't wish to wait for a time when he will use his real skills over that suit and its functions?" Wintergreen questioned and Ravager briefly considered it before shaking her head from side to side.

"No. We have seen that he tends only to use his full skills when he's behind a mask. Now will be the best time to see more of his power…" Ravager said before typing rapidly on some buttons located on the arm rests of her chair. "As we saw last night he held back due to the Titans being nearby and possibly exposing himself to them as Red-X or Tempest, a thief in one case and a HIVE member in the other." Ravager said while replaying data from the fight last night, noting he'd only needed to use his bare fists and those "Explosive Notes" to defeat the robot, which had been made to be almost as skilled as her father was in real life.

"True Madam. Forgive me but I merely thought it would be prudent to wait until we could learn of his full skills." Wintergreen said with a bow of his head and Ravager smirked towards the old man who had raised her for so long.

"Don't worry. We'll learn more about him soon enough Winter-Green…" She said darkly while she then typed on the armrests once more. "Lets start a fire and drive the animals from their homes…" She said mostly to herself while Wintergreen nodded his head, as he understood what she meant.

--

(??)

A flashing light illuminates a dark area, a pair of glowing red eyes open as their owner roars out in fury and bursts out of her tomb. Blackfire growls angrily as her glowing red eyes glare out around her at the building she found herself in. The alien girl then suddenly grits her teeth for a second, bringing her hands to her head as pain consumes her mind. As she falls to her knees for a second her eyes glow dims before she slams her hands into the ground her eyes now brighter than ever. Roaring out loudly the girl starts throwing Darkbolts all over the building, blasting hole after hole out of it before looking towards the roof and firing a power beam attack upwards.

Grinning almost insanely then girl then flies up through the new hole she's made while scanning around the city. As she looked around one might have noticed the small receivers placed into her ears with a jagged black S on them. "He's to your left Blackfire. The one who attacked you is that way, the one who kept you from you vengeance…" A voice said and Blackfire didn't care who it was as she growled and then flew off in the direction specified by it…

--

(Jump City Rooftops…)

Naruto rushed across the many roofs of Jump City, a grin on his face as he flipped in the air and came down on top of a building with great ease. "I hate being out in the middle of the day, but shit this test run is going great!" Naruto said to himself as he'd been testing the bracer/stabilizer system in his gauntlets and grieves all this time. "Now if only I had something to test the other new features on…" Naruto then mused before looking around and frowning when he saw smoke and heard sirens in the distance. "Ugh, Kara-Chan you owe me big for this shit…" Naruto said lowly then rushed over towards the edge of the building and leaped off, landing in a roll before he rushed towards the smoke and looked down with a frown seeing several cops behind a car firing stun weapons at a familiar alien girl.

'_Blackfire? What the hell is she doing here?'_ Naruto wondered then saw Blackfire lift a car and easily before throwing it towards the cops, most of the ducking out of the way when he saw Officer Connors down there… "How does that old guy get himself into all of this trouble…?" Naruto wondered to himself before flipping off the building to land beside of Officer Connors, the brown haired man aiming what looked like an M4 Assault Carbine at him.

"Whoa! What's with the heavy artillery?!" Naruto questioned while raising his hands and Jack grunted while firing at Blackfire, the girl protecting her head with her arms as the bullets bounced off her armor.

"That chick is wearing some kind of flexible Body Armor, when we tried Stun Weaponry they didn't even ding her." Jack said simply with an annoyed look and Naruto nodded his head slowly.

"Jeez Old Guy, where'd you get that thing?" Naruto questioned while Jack then turned back to shooting at Blackfire, drawing her attention to them. Seeing her power up a Darkbolt Naruto quickly rolled out of the way while bringing Jack with him. "What the hell are you doing?! Her armor is too tough for your damn bullets to pierce!" Naruto shouted and Jack rolled his eyes.

"Actually I was drawing her attention to us so the others can get the injured out of here." Jack said simply and Naruto then noted the numerous cops dragging wounded officers and civilians out of the area while Blackfire was now rushing towards them.

"You wouldn't happen to have a missile handy would you?!" Naruto questioned and Jack grunted before firing a grenade from his M4, the grenade detonating before Blackfire and sending her flying back.

"No, my Stinger Missile Launcher is currently in my car…" Jack said and Naruto blinked then looked at him strangely, before ducking when Blackfire tossed a car at them. Both ducked down as the car then slammed through a building behind them before exploding and Jack sighed. "And that was my car…" Jack grunted out while Naruto then watched as Blackfire stalked towards them once more. "Someone is seriously PMSing… This is almost as bad as the time Jinx got pissed off at me for being late to visit her." Jack mused and Naruto blinked.

"Almost?" He asked incredulously of the man who nodded then rolled behind another Car, Naruto following as Blackfire blew the car they had been behind away with her super charged eyebeams.

"When Jill Manx is PMSing, things blow up, when she's in a really bad mood she starts bringing buildings down on top of you, and on her birthday, weird shit happens… yet somehow through all of that I survived by hiding under a Cardboard Box…" Jack said then mused while Naruto made a mental note not to seriously piss off Jinx anytime soon. However both then rolled back as Blackfire slammed her fist into the ground where they had been, breaking the road up under them and knocking Jack onto his ass.

"Something is seriously wrong with her…" Naruto said mostly to himself then flipped forward with a kick, knocking Blackfire back into a car. "Hey Old Guy. Get out of here while I deal with the pissed off Princess!" Naruto called over his shoulder and Jack grunted while getting to his feet.

"My name isn't Old Guy! It's Jack, and if you don't like that then just call me, Snake!" Jack called out then rolled behind a car and stealthily made his way out of the area while Naruto smirked.

"Finally, a Snake I don't hate!" Naruto quipped to himself then turned his eyes to Blackfire as she pulled herself out of the car. "C'mon…" Naruto said while crouching back into a stance and the furious Blackfire rushed forward with a roar. Dodging her first right hook Naruto slammed his elbow into her gut, only for her to spin in midair and nail him in the head, sending him flying into and through the front of a building. "Ouch… That hurt more than last time…" Naruto mused then got up in time for Blackfire to ram into him then fly through several walls and then the ceilings of the building until they came up onto the roof.

She then threw him off of herself and landed on the ground, her arms hanging low, hair frazzled and seeming to make spikes at the ends, and her lips twisted into an enraged snarl. Seeing all this Naruto narrowed his eyes and then stood up while Blackfire rushed at him, only for the teen to quickly throw her over and into the next building. "Something's wrong with her… this isn't like the last time I fought with her, she's angrier and her powers are stronger somehow…" Naruto said mostly to himself while a roaring Blackfire flew out of the building he tossed her into then lunged down at him and plowed him through the building once more, and into the street in front of it.

"I don't know if this town can take much more of this…" Naruto muttered then kicked Blackfire off of himself before flipping back to his face, inwardly marveling at the fact he hadn't been knocked out buy that last attack. Narrowing his eyes as a growling and snarling Blackfire got back up Naruto released the Scallops and the electrode knuckles on his gauntlets, the X's on his Grieves sparking as well. _'Alright Blackfire, lets see if I can't knock you out myself…'_ Naruto said while Blackfire rushed towards him with a punch he blocked with his gauntlet, grimacing only slightly when he feels the force behind the attack then slams his electrified fist into the girls gut.

Blackfire grimaced in pain at this and was sent flying back while sparks arched over her body. X was somewhat surprised when the girl sparked red for a second then got back up and growled towards him, the jewel on her collar armor glowing. "Alright, something screwed up is going on here." Naruto said mostly to himself while Blackfire lunged forward with a roar punching and kicking at him wildly while he blocked and evaded the strikes. Kicking the girl in the head with an electrified roundhouse sent Blackfire to the side, only for her to get up once more and growl once more.

'_This is something like what the others said I act like in my Kyuubi State. Angry, relentless, and driven to destroy… What the hell has happened to you Blackfire?'_ Naruto wondered to himself while Blackfire then flew towards him and he flipped up only to spin into a Roundhouse punch to her spine that sent her straight into the ground. The girl growled yet again however and got back to her feet, much to the blonds annoyance and confusion as she then lunged at him with a roundhouse but he ducked under it then slammed his fist into her jaw sending her flying back.

'_It's like her body is on autopilot or something, everything she's doing is getting more and more violent as she goes.'_ Naruto thought then frowned when Blackfire got up again, then grabbed a car and then spun, throwing the vehicle at Naruto who crouched. **"One-Thousand Blades Jutsu!"** Naruto called out as hundreds of blades of wind surrounded him, ripping the car apart while Blackfire growled angrily. The girl then charged her eyebeams with a manic grin and Naruto cursed before throwing his arms up to block the beam that hit him and plowed him through two buildings before he stopped.

"That chick is on power Steroids…" Naruto muttered while getting back to his feet and noting Kyuubi's Chakra suddenly seeped into his half melted gauntlets, repairing them easily before vanishing. "I have GOT to figure out how Kyuubi's doing that…" Naruto said to himself then jumped out of the rubble of the wall he'd been plowed through and ran back to where Blackfire had been. Looking around he frowned then turned on his Inferred Vision setting and saw a brightly glowing form flying overhead.

Turning his Inferred off Naruto then teleported above Blackfire and fell down on her, plowing her down into the ground with an enormous crash while Naruto flipped out of the dust none the worse for wear. Turning around however he was surprised when yet again Blackfire started to get up, only he instantly noticed the jewel on her collar was sparking as if damaged. _'Something about that gem must be causing her to go berserk…'_ Naruto thought while also noting the clothes that Blackfire wore over her armor were now thoroughly torn to shreds.

The girl didn't seem to care as she then lunged at Naruto with a roar, throwing Darkbolts at the blond wildly. Naruto breathed out as he blocked each of the Darkbolts with his gauntlets, effortlessly knocking them out of the way before taking a stance and looking at Blackfire. Not allowing her time to try another attack Naruto lunged forward and then quickly dropped into a sweep kick Blackfire jumped over only for Naruto to place his hands onto the ground and kick up into her gut, sending her flying high up into the air while Naruto flipped onto his feet.

The Alien Princess managed to right herself in the air but Naruto appeared and slammed his fist's down into her head, sending her flying down into the ground. Landing Naruto watched as Blackfire got up again, bleeding, panting, and looked more than worse for wear and yet she was STILL getting up for more. "I've got to put an end to this before I kill her…" He said to himself before lunging forward, swinging his arms Blackfire blocked the scallops with her armor only for the sharp weapons to dig into her armor. Naruto then slammed his head into hers, disorientating the girl and he quickly kicked the gem on her collar, sending her flying back.

Naruto then teleported behind her and caught her, quickly ripping the gem off her collar he watched her eyes dim. Soon her normal Violet returned and she looked up at him and gave a weak smile. "Thank you…" She managed before passing out and Naruto quickly used some Healing Jutsu on the girl then picked her up and placed her over one shoulder before looking all around and narrowed his eyes.

"Someone is pulling strings, and I hate it when people pull strings." He said then looked at the gem he'd pulled off of Blackfire's armor before putting that into his belt. He then noticed something in her ears and pulled those out as well, showing miniature headphones with a jagged black S on the front of each of them. "Ravager." The blond boy growled out before vanishing with his X-Suit's teleportation function…

--

(??)

Ravager smirked as she added the fight between Blackfire onto the screen, playing on screen was Naruto's fights with Sasuke, the Konoha Nin, the Titans, his days in the HIVE as Tempest, and his earlier fight with Blackfire… Beside this screen however a computer compiles the techniques and abilities that the Ex-Shinobi has used thus far… The List thus far has: Rasengan, Oodama Rasengan, Chidori no Rasengan, Kage Bunshin, Bunshin Bakuha, One-Thousand Blades Jutsu, Fuuton: Makyou Kaiten, a strange "Sealing" Ability, Wind Element Manipulation, Natural Healing abilities, Skilled Swordsman/Tactician, Expert use of Kunai/Shuriken, and master of various "Shadow-Claw" Fighting Styles.

"His powers are all quite impressive…" Ravager mused while Wintergreen nodded his head from her side.

"Did you expect anything less from him Madam? He has interested you for weeks on end after all. And this is possibly only the tip of the iceberg as it were…" Wintergreen commented and Ravager nodded her head with a grin on her face as she watched Naruto as he faced and then dispatched his various opponents on screen.

"Yes. He is very intriguing indeed wintergreen… But I feel more of an evaluation of his skills is needed before I make my first move against him." Ravager mused and Wintergreen nodded his head with a hum while the girl then stilled the screens of Naruto in his various costumes and gear. "Quite the odd one… lets see how you fair against someone who can read the future…" Ravager quipped mostly to herself darkly while the screens cut off…

--

(HIVE HQ…)

Naruto landed inside and quickly rushed to the Infirmary, placing Blacfire down on a medical bed as soon as he arrived. He then did a cursory evaluation of the girl's health and found besides a possible concussion, severe bruising, and the damage done to her armor that the black haired alien would be just fine. Sighing in relief Naruto then reached up and pressed down on the buttons at his ears, the skull part lifting up as he then rubbed his eyes.

"Holy shit!" Gizmo called out while looking at Blackfire and Naruto rolled his eyes in slight annoyance. "What happened to her Tempest?" Gizmo demanded and Naruto crossed his arms.

"We had a little tussle…" He said and Gizmo gave him a look.

"She looks like she was dragged behind a train for a week!" He shouted and Naruto pinched the bridge of his nose before tossing the weird Gem that had been on Blackfire's collar to the diminutive genius.

"That thing had some kind of mind altering affect on her, while she had it on she was going berserk through down town. I stopped her from destroying everything and brought her here because she obviously wasn't in the right of mind." Naruto explained and Gizmo frowned while looking over the gem.

"I'll be able to tell you what this sucker did by tomorrow, Temp." Gizmo said and Naruto nodded before cupping his chin.

"When she wakes up, I want you to try and fix up Blackfire's armor as well, Giz. Also tell the other's she's my guest until she make's a full recovery… As for me, I'm heading to my room to relax a bit…" With that and a shake of his head Naruto walked out of the room with Gizmo nodding absently as he walked down the halls to find the others and Naruto then turned down the hall to his room. Walking inside he was surprised to find Jinx still there, and still reading the book he wrote with wide eyes.

"Whoa… is that even possible?" The girl wondered and Naruto chuckled lightly. The girl yelped hearing him and blushed as she quickly closed the book and gave him a sheepish expression. "T-Tempest! Your back so soon?" She asked and Naruto looked to a clock and frowned at the girl.

"It's been three hours…" He stated flatly and Jinx blinked before chuckling nervously while rubbing the back of her head. "And yes, the things in that book are possible… at least according to Ero-Sennin they are…" Naruto said then mused and Jinx snickered, figuring he meant his Perverted Sensei. The girl then got up off of Naruto's bed and smoothed out her skirt before walking towards the exit. "Jinx…" He said and the girl stopped giving him an innocent look. "Book…" He stated holding out his hand and the pink haired girl nervously handed the book she had held behind her back to him.

"It's actually not that bad… it DOES have some smut in it but not half as much as I originally expected…" Jinx offered and Naruto rolled his eyes before taking the book and tossing it onto his bed. "So what happened while you were out?" Jinx questioned and Naruto groaned lightly.

"I had a run in with a girl named Blackfire, she was under some weird mind control or something as far as I can tell… Looks like this one freaky looking jewel on her armor was causing it. I'd appreciate it if you would head over to the Infirmary and see if I missed anything, I did a preliminary check up but I didn't think it would be ethical for me to check for anything else." Naruto explained while detaching his shoulder armor and sheath, allowing them to fall to the floor.

"Oh, okay Tempest. But, I was kind of wondering…" Jinx said then started and Naruto looked at her while taking his gauntlets off. "When do you think we're going to be meeting with your girlfriend?" She asked with a forced smile and Naruto blinked before chuckling and rubbing the back of his neck.

"Whenever she feels comfortable meeting with you guys I guess…" Naruto said and Jinx blinked several times.

"You actually told her your from the HIVE?!" She asked incredulously and Naruto nodded his head. "Why?!" She demanded and Naruto rolled his eyes to his only real female friend besides his "Girlfriend".

"Because I don't like keeping secrets from her. If we're going to have any kind of a relationship we actually have to talk about who we are Jinx." Naruto stated flatly and Jinx opened her mouth to say something, then closed it and finally sighed.

"Alright Temp, I'll go check on this, Blackfire Chick for you… Anything I should know before hand?" Jinx said then questioned and Naruto cupped his chin in thought.

"She's Tammeranien, but she has an extremely weak Immune System according to something she said when we last fought." Naruto offered and Jinx raised a brow before nodding her head and walking out of the room. Once the door was closed behind her and she had made it out of earshot of Naruto's room the girl twitched.

"Why are all the cute and nice guys all completely clueless!" She wondered aloud while stomping down the halls to the Infirmary while grumbling about the blond haired boy under her breath. "When I DO meet this mysterious Girlfriend of his I'm going to "talk" to her alright…" Jinx then said with an evil grin and pink energy spiraling around her left hand…

--

(Downtown…)

Jack groaned while he walked with several other officers, helping wounded get into ambulances. _'Just another ordinary day in Jump-City…'_ He thought to himself before rubbing his eyes and then calling out to an officer and having him head into and check out a building. "What happened?!" A voice called out as Robin the boy wonder rushed over to him and Jack grunted under his breath.

"Orange chick with black hair and powers like Starfire… mean anything to you?" Jack questioned and Robin frowned to himself.

"Blackfire." He said and Jack rolled his shoulders, producing several pops while the other Titans made it.

"Whoa Dude, someone went berserk on downtown!" BB said while looking around and Jack reached into his pocket and pulled out his smokes.

"Literally, the guy who stopped her seemed to say she wasn't acting right. And personally the red eyes and nonstop growling also kind of tipped me off to that…" Jack offered while lighting his cig and saw Starfire look around with worry. "Guy who stopped her managed to rip this gem thing off her armor and she just kind of stopped. Well… after he beat the unholy hell out of her at least. She kind of passed out after that." Jack then offered and Starfire seemed even more worried while Robin frowned.

'_Who was it that Naruto got to watch town for us?'_ He wondered then was about to ask when Jack grunted and rushed over to a slab of rock and lifted it up, finding his M4 carbine he pulled it out and then checked on the gun.

"Uh… do you have a permit for that?" Cyborg questioned and Jack rolled his eyes before fishing something out of his pocket.

"Yeah, I also have a permit to live considering that the bulk of your enemies throw cops like me around like rag dolls." Jack offered while showing the permit and Cy checked it only to gawk.

"Whoa… You have a missile launcher?" He asked and Jack shrugged his shoulders.

"Some of us have to take Cinderblock down the hard way…" He offered and Robin pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Who was it that came down here and stopped Blackfire?" He asked and Jack shrugged his shoulders.

"To hell if I know… It was that freaky skull masked ninja from the station a month back. I swear, I got out of the military to get away from this Ninja shit…" Jack grunted while his weird mannerisms suddenly made some sense.

"X?" Robin questioned and Jack shrugged his shoulders.

"I guess that's him, he did have a big red X on his mask and chest." Jack offered while taking a drag from his cigarette and Robin frowned.

"How does Naruto know X?" He wondered to himself and Raven decided to add her own, fake, idea to the mix so that the Boy Wonder wouldn't get ideas. She had pretty much guessed Naruto and Red-X were the same person, an educated guess but still a guess. However, she didn't feel the need to try and track him down when he had nothing they could hold him for and would get them all into trouble more than anything.

"Maybe he's a mercenary…" She offered and Robin looked to her with a raised brow. "As far as we know, X has kept a low profile on us since he fought with that Sasuke guy. From what we can gather he went there to get Jinx out, maybe the HIVE kids hired him to bust her out. This time, he's appeared after I asked Naruto to find someone to watch over the city. Meaning more than likely, X is a kind of Mercenary for hire by whoever can pay him the most. It would also go with his, I only look out for number one, motto as he'd only be working for himself for the most part, for money." Raven offered and Robin cupped his chin in thought while frowning slightly, though the idea did have merit.

"Maybe… either way we have work to do. Titans, spread out and help whoever you can!" Robin ordered and the group of teens moved out on the leaders orders while Jack merely rolled his eyes.

"Maybe I should mention he's friends with Jill, er Jinx… Nah." Jack considered then scoffed at the idea as he walked off to help with the cleanup with his hands placed into his pockets.

--

TBC…

--


	19. Tartarus

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

Chapter 18: Tartarus…

--

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

--

(HIVE HQ…)

Naruto walked out of his room decked in full Red-X armor and then down to the infirmary to see a worried Jinx. She was looking down at a sleeping Blackfire, the alien princess was lightly snoring, but X noticed how pale she was, then thin sheen of sweat at her brow, and the dark rings around her eyes. "What's wrong?" Naruto questioned and Jinx walked over and pulled him into the hall.

"She's really sick." Jinx said and Naruto frowned while clenching his fists.

"How bad?" He asked of the girl who looked into the room before turning back to face him.

"Giz thinks her armor was helping her survive the brunt of whatever is affecting her, she's been this way for well over a month from what he can tell. Her armor isn't just used for her powers anymore… it was the only thing keeping her from dieing." She said cryptically and Naruto leaned back into a wall and frowned.

"Do we have the supplies necessary to help her?" He asked and Jinx bit her lip.

"No. But the stuff we need is easy enough to steal from Star Labs with you as a diversion for the Titans. They work with aliens like Superman so it's a pretty safe bet that they'd have the equipment needed to help Blackfire. But the real problem is we have no way or helping Blackfire. We don't know what she's got or how an antidote would affect her unless we had another Tameranian around." Jinx said then reminded and you could see Naruto knitting his brow together deep in thought.

"Starfire is her Sister… could she help?" Naruto questioned and Jinx blinked then nodded her head.

"Close Relatives often have the same blood type and she and Blackfire are near identical physically so yeah. But how are we going to contact her when we need you to be a diversion for the Titans so we can get the equipment?" Jinx questioned and Naruto nodded his head, then tilted to one side to look at Blackfire and narrowed his eyes.

"I'm the one who beat the shit out of her, I'm probably the one who really damaged her armor, and I'll figure something out even if it kills me." He said firmly while Jinx gave him a look.

"You didn't cause this, Temp. Her armor was nothing but a crutch this still would have happened to her eventually whether you beat her up or not." Jinx stated with a frown while poking Naruto in the chest.

"Alright… But still we need to help her." Naruto stated and Jinx nodded her head in agreement with the blond boy. "Did Giz find anything with those earphones or that gem I gave him?" Naruto then asked and Jinx bit her lower lip.

"I never went to check on those things." She said and Naruto walked down the halls with Jinx at his side. "What happened to her anyways?" Jinx asked and Naruto narrowed his eyes.

"Someone by the name of Ravager was using her to attack the city. For what I don't know seeing as the Titans were out of town at the time." Naruto explained and Jinx frowned in thought.

"Ravager… why is that name is so familiar?" Jinx mumbled before shaking her head. "Do you think we'll be able to get her some help?" Jinx asked and Naruto frowned beneath his skull mask before looking to her.

"If we don't help her, who will? The Titans don't exactly have the equipment to help her, nor does any hospital in the city…" He asked then explained to the girl plainly and Jinx frowned.

"The Titans have connections with Star Labs though, they could get help for her easier than we could." She offered and Naruto nodded his head.

"And then throw her in jail, she's biologically to frail to be in a germy environment like that for too long, Jinx. The only one who would fight for her freedom would be Starfire and maybe Raven. The other three wouldn't understand how much of a handy cap a weak immune system really is for her." Naruto explained and Jinx let out a sigh before agreeing with the masked boy.

"Heroes never really think about what their doing do they?" She commented and Naruto shrugged his shoulders.

"They don't until they see who they've caught. Sometimes the run of the mill thief they throw in jail is a father trying to feed his family… What do you do when you find a criminal who can't do anything else but be a criminal? That's one of the reasons that I'm not a hero anymore, too many morals and rules you have to follow." Naruto explained and Jinx blinked a couple times before looking at him strangely.

"YOU were a Hero?" She asked and Naruto nodded his head. "When?" She asked and Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Before you or the others met me. I was always trying to be a hero, to save people and protect the ones I loved… Came to find out they were all lying to me, or in my ex-girlfriends case, cheating on me with that Teme Sasuke…" Naruto explained and Jinx plainly gawked at him for a moment.

"Someone would willingly cheat on you, for that… that pretty boy bastard?" She asked incredulously and Naruto nodded his head with a smirk at Sasuke's expense… He really liked Jinx. "Who? Maybe I can hex her into outer space." Jinx offered with a grin and Naruto formed a Shadow clone. "Okay, why did you make two of you?" Jinx asked and Naruto looked to the clone that groaned.

"Do I have too, Bosu?" He questioned and Naruto crossed his arms.

"Yeah, I'd rather not head all the way back to my room for a picture." He stated and the Clone muttered under his breath for a few moments before making a hand seal.

"**Kage-Henge no Jutsu!"** The clone called out before a recreation of Sakura now stood before a surprised Jinx. "I hate this…" The clone said with her voice while Jinx walked up to the clone and then looked it over.

"She could pass off as my fucking Sister maybe even my twin!" Jinx said with obvious surprise and Naruto actually looked between them and blinked. Jinx and Sakura both had a scarily identical frame, height, and build; Jinx's face was also nearly identical save her slanted cat like pink eyes and the pink triangles under her eyes and the fact her forehead wasn't as large as Sakura's, Jinx also kept her hair up in horns and covering her brow but it was obviously near the same length as Sakura's own, Jinx's hair was also a couple shades darker than Sakura's, and last the only defining feature that separated them beyond clothes was Jinx's light gray skin.

"I… never really noticed that before…" Naruto lied while rubbing the back of his neck having noticed when he first met Jinx but never thought it wise to bring it up. Jinx however was looking at the Clone disguised as his former girlfriend with annoyance. _'I bet he did notice and that's why he doesn't notice that I like him… When I meet her for real I'll send that cheating no good pink haired… wait, I have pink hair. I bet she dyes hers…'_ Jinx thought to herself with obvious annoyance and Naruto cleared his throat to get her attention.

"Let's head on to see Giz now." He said before nodding to the clone that gave a relieved sigh before poofing out of existence.

"How do you shape shift like that?" Jinx asked and Naruto chuckled nervously.

"It's called a "Kage-Henge" or Shadow Transformation because like Kage Bunshin, the Transformation is solid. It's the only way I know how to do it, I actually recreated the technique on my own without even knowing it." Naruto explained and Jinx made an Oh with her mouth before walking with him into Gizmo's lab to see the tiny terror dissecting the earphones.

"I've got good news and bad news…" He said surprising the two until they saw him smirk and point up, looking up they saw a camera and Naruto frowned when he then noticed a screen in front of Gizmo.

"Hey, why do you have to ruin my fun, Giz?" He wuestioned with a frown and Gizmo snickered.

"Yeah well I don't need your ass sneaking up on me all the time." He countered then turned serious as he held up one of the earphones. "Anyways. These little babies are wired to a satellite link up and bounced through half a dozen of them so I can't find the damn source. I was able to figure out the frequency and found where that was coming from. I then had Kid go and check it out but it was a dead end as well." Gizmo explained before dropping the earphone then rubbed his face while Naruto frowned.

"What's the good news?" He asked and Gizmo snorted.

"That WAS the good news." He said and Jinx and Naruto looked to one another with worried expressions then to Gizmo as he picked up the jewel that Blackfire had been wearing. "This little sucker is the real bad news. It is a high power-focusing unit made to increase Blackfire's powers. But her armor wasn't designed for the amount this thing was putting out and pretty much fried it, hence her current condition." Gizmo explained and Naruto frowned to himself while re-crossing his arms, Jinx looked more than a bit concerned herself.

"Is there anyway to repair her armor then, Giz?" The pink haired luck charm questioned and Gizmo snorted once more.

"Not in time to save her health. We need a way to isolate the damn virus and we need some way of making sure nothing we give her will only make things worse. And as an added bonus, the only fucking place with any of the equipment I need is at Star Labs." He said cryptically and Naruto nodded his head with a frown.

"How long would it take you guys to get to Star Labs and back?" He asked and Gizmo frowned to himself.

"Half an hour give or take even with Kid's powers in use." He stated and Naruto nodded his head before cupping his chin and then narrowed his eyes.

"Alright. I'm going to head out to Wayne Inc. to draw the kids fire to me. That'll preoccupy them long enough for you guys to get the stuff, I'll just have to pull my punches more than I normally do if I want it to drag on that long." Naruto mused to himself with a frown and Jinx twitched slightly, it irked her that he was so tough but played with everyone in order to amuse himself…

"What if they try to split up?" Giz asked with a frown and Naruto rolled his eyes.

"The Titans won't be able to take you all on with limited members, so long as I can keep at least Robin and Raven off your backs you should do fine." Naruto said knowing if he could get Raven to stay near him for like a minute he could explain what the hell was really going on.

"Why Raven? I can understand Robin but is Raven really that much of a threat?" Jinx questioned and Naruto nodded his head to her.

"Raven isn't physically strong no, but her powers and keen mind more than make up for that. She's probably just as dangerous if not more so than Robin if you piss her off." Naruto explained then lowered his arms and looked to Gizmo. "How long do you need to get the others ready?" He asked the bald genius and Gizmo frowned in thought.

"I'd say ten minutes to get them ready and about a second for Kid to get us all there with his powers." Gizmo offered simply and Naruto nodded his head while calculating how long it'd take him to get to Wayne Inc. then draw the Titans over to him.

"Leave in twenty Giz, more than enough time for me to get into Wayne Inc. and draw the kids out while you and the others deal with Star Labs." Naruto said while Jinx looked at him incredulously.

"What about Starfire? How are you going to get her to willingly help us with Blackfire's condition? I didn't thin they were really on the best of terms…" The pink haired girl questioned then reminded the blond who merely smirked under his mask despite himself.

"I have my ways, besides blood is thicker than water, Starfire will help. But for now we should move out." Naruto said then started to leave when Gizmo called out to him. "What?" Naruto asked impatiently and Gizmo frowned towards him.

"Our team needs a Name, I know it's probably not the best time for this but seriously we need one! And a damn good one too!" The Tiny Terror stated then added and Naruto thought for all of ten seconds before nodding his head.

"What is a Titan?" He questioned and Gizmo looked at him weirdly.

"A Titan is an mythological Greek giant that is on par with a god in terms of strength." Jinx answered and then blushed at the look from Gizmo. "I took a couple ancient history classes…" She offered with a slight pout while crossing her arms over her chest and Naruto nodded his head.

"And where were some of those Titans banished too?" Naruto questioned having also taken that ancient history class and Jinx raised a brow in thought before frowning.

"They weren't all banished to the same place, one was under a mountain, one held up the sky, one was bound to a rock, and others were punished and moved to other places for other reasons." She said with an intellectual tone and Naruto nodded his head before chuckling.

"The most were sent to one place, however… Including the mighty Chronos himself." He said and Jinx still didn't get it making him sigh. "Tartarus." He said and Jinx made an "oh" with her mouth before blinking and grinning at the name.

"We're the darkness the Titans were banished too… the other half of the goody Teen Titans then…" She mused to herself and Naruto nodded his head with a light chuckle. "What do you think Giz? Tartarus work for you?" She asked and Gizmo nodded his head with a sly grin.

"Then I guess I only have one more thing to say…" Naruto offered before clenching a fist and smirking towards his two partners in crime. "Tartarus, Move out!"

--

(Wayne Inc…)

It was night time, the sky was clear of clouds while the moon hung in the sky above. However, inside of the Wayne Inc. building Naruto crawled through a vent of the building before dropping down, checking transmissions from Gizmo he noted they were on their way to Star Labs and rushed over to a guard and quickly knocked him out. Dragging him into a bathroom Naruto then rushed into the main computer room and hit the alarm, then ran out of the control room and down every hall so the Titans would notice him.

'_Well, if that doesn't get them here quicker than a Hiraishin no Jutsu, I'll be extremely surprised…'_ Naruto mused while running into an all white room and then turned to watch the door while lowering himself into a lotus position and folded his hands into his lap. _'Now I just have to play the waiting came…'_ Naruto thought to himself while closing his eyes, leaving himself fairly open to attack as he sat down waiting for the Titans. As he did he began to ponder how he was going to make this up to Raven, more over how he was going to get Starfire to believe him about Blackfire's condition.

'_Starfire is trusting, but she isn't a fool, she won't trust me even if I did help her with Blackfire… but she does Trust Raven, I need to get her to talk to Starfire…'_ Naruto mused silently then opened his eyes when he heard the door opening and saw the Titans before him. "It's about damn time Kid's, I was getting kind of bored just waiting for you to show up." A smirking Naruto quipped from his spot before then rising up to his feet and crossing his arms.

"Red-X." Robin gritted out while Raven frowned then closed her eyes and sent a mental message to the masked thief.

"_What are you doing? First you stop Blackfire, now your trying to rob Wayne Inc?"_ She asked and Naruto blinked before smirking to himself.

"Teen Titans, Go!" Robin called out in real time and the group lunged forward, Raven staying back for the most part.

'_So you figured me out huh Kara-Chan?'_ He quipped and heard a mental snort from the girl. Naruto then dropped low in real time, sweeping Robin's legs out from under him then throwing him over his shoulder before flipping up into a kick to Cyborg's chin and landing in a low crouch.

"_It wasn't that hard, who else calls me that? Beyond that Red-X and Tempest both use skills and abilities that the other has, you both carry swords, and lets not forget Red-X went out to stop Blackfire, not Tempest or Naruto."_ She reasoned and Naruto chuckled lightly over the mental link. Back in real time Naruto rolled out of the way as Starfire hurled numerous Starbolts at the Skull masked thief, though inwardly he noted it lacked any of the normal power and easily blocked them with his gauntlets.

'_All true, however, I have some seriously bad shit going down at my place. Blackfire is really sick.'_ Naruto said and Raven frowned visibly. BB then lunged at Naruto, the thief nearly groaning as all he had to do was roll under the green teen then fire a sticky X at the boy, holding him down before he tried to escape from the red goop.

"_How bad?"_ She asked while Naruto slowly lowered back into a fighting position with Robin lunging at him with a roar.

'_She might not make it…'_ He said and Raven's eyes bolted open in shock. Robin however was unaware of the chat as he pulled out a pair of birdarangs and then slammed them together forming them into a broadsword with two edges much to Naruto's shock.

"That's new…" Naruto commented and Robin smirked as eh swung the blade at the thief, only for him to quickly dodge then flip back.

"I made it after you last used that sword of yours! I figured it's best to be prepared for any situation." Robin said with a smirk while Naruto rolled out of the way of another slash while pulling his own sword from his back.

"Really? I'm flattered chuckles, you made that just to take on little old me?" Naruto quipped with an obvious smirk in his tone, angering Robin further and making Raven frown towards her boyfriend.

"_Are you trying to piss him off?"_ She questioned while looking around for something to throw at Naruto, noting he'd picked a room with little other than the floor tiles or walls around them she could try. Naruto wasn't able to answer her immediately as he blocked another slash from Robin and both held then blades firmly against the others.

'_When he gets angry, he gets sloppy.'_ Naruto reasoned and Raven blinked then rolled her eyes, wondering how everyone knew that but Robin. The girl then smirked to herself while reminding herself she couldn't appear to be staying out of the fight and held up both of her hands.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" Raven then called out while flinging several of the tiles from the floor towards Naruto. The blond cursed while rolling backwards, away from Robin as the tiles nearly hit him. Raven moved the tiles up quickly at this to avoid hitting Robin and then brought them down towards Naruto. The skull masked thief inwardly cursed while dodging the barrage of Tiles then lunged at Raven.

'_Sorry about this Kara-Chan.'_ He thought to himself as he moved his left hand in front of Raven and an X flew out to wrap around her head, making her glare at him.

"_I hope you know that I will get you for this…"_ She said to the blond thief while said thief flipped away from her, narrowly evading a shot from Cyborg's Sonic cannon as he then landed in another low crouch.

'_Yeah I know Kara-Chan. How about I give you a night on the town as payment? My treat!'_ Naruto offered and Raven rolled her eyes at her "Semi-boyfriend's" rather odd sense of humor. Said blond was currently evading a combo attack from Cyborg and Starfire, the girl was carrying the Tin-man as he rained down a barrage of sonic waves towards the thief. Naruto eventually came to a wall then smirked as he ran up the side of it, Cyborg gawking as he did so.

"Holy shit… He really is a Ninja!" He exclaimed just as Naruto flipped off the side of the wall and fired an X at him, the X wrapping around his arms before Naruto then spun into a Roundhouse to Starfire. This knocked Cyborg out of the alien princess's arms and to the ground while the girl herself spun in the air for a bit while Naruto landed in a crouch and looked towards a snarling Robin.

"_Hmm, while your offer sounds nice… how is that any different from our usual Saturdays?"_ Raven quipped while pretending to struggle with the X on her mouth. She knew it was essentially futile to try and remove it herself anyways seeing as it had a form of glue on the underside that hurt like hell when they peel if off. Naruto choose to wait to answer as he dodged a slash from Robin's "Birdasword" or whatever the hell he wanted to call it then fired an X at the boy wonder and flipped backwards at the same time. Robin merely rolled to the side to evade the X however and then looked at Naruto with thinly veiled fury.

'_Because usually I don't pay for everything and you get to choose what we do.'_ Naruto offered while Raven actually considered it. Back out side of their little conversation Robin frowned towards Naruto as the thief/Nuke-Nin rose up to his feet with a slight chuckle in his throat.

"_Should we really be talking like this in the middle of a battle?"_ Raven questioned seriously and Naruto thought about it while cracking his neck and holding his sword with both hands.

'_Probably not, but it make's things way more interesting.'_ He offered before lunging forward and swinging his sword at Robin the two teens blades coming together with a clang before then slashed, their swords grinding into one another as Naruto kicked out at Robin, the boy wonder flipping back to avoid his attack.

"_That it does… but your fighting me and my friends…"_ She admitted then reminded while Starfire flew down at Naruto and threw her fist at him with a powerful punch. Naruto quickly blocked the red haired girls attack however with his gauntlets, skidding back then spun into a roundhouse kick. Starfire was sent flying back and then found an X coming at her and attaching her to the wall making her pout as it happened to her yet again.

'_C'mon Kara-Chan, nothing about our lives is simple. Why should our relationship be any different?_' Naruto reminded and Raven reluctantly conceded to the masked thief's point on that front, and then decided to consider his offer for Saturday. However back in the fight between Naruto and the Titans Robin and he were the only two still able to move, let alone fight as they stared one another down.

"You're using more of the functions of your suit than your own abilities tonight… why?" The Boy-Wonder noted then questioned with a frown and Naruto merely shrugged his shoulders in response.

"Not everyone wants to show off their special little powers all the time, Kid. I've got to keep some things a surprise for you Titans or our little rendezvous will start to get boring." Naruto quipped and could easily see the scowl on Robin's face as he then lunged forward at Naruto, the blond grinning as he spun his sword and their blades locked together once more.

"A clash of swords? Somehow this seems appropriate…" Robin quipped and Naruto chuckled in his throat before spinning his blade to the side, knocking Robin off balance then quickly ducking into a sweep kick Robin had to roll to the side in order to evade.

"Really now… Why do you say that, Kid?" Naruto questioned while flipping the blunt side of his blade to lean against his shoulder.

"Not sure actually, it just seems like it." Robin said as he jumped into a slash, bringing his sword down on Naruto who easily blocked then shoved him back. The Boy-Wonder flipped in the air and landed in a crouch however, before lunging forward. The Boy-Wonder swung his sword once more as Naruto quickly used his left gauntlet to block the sword, then kicked him in the chest, knocking him back.

"This is getting old, chuckles …" Naruto commented seeing as it truly was, Robin's sword style was practically nonexistent after all, all he knew was to swing the damn thing, probably having less to no training with one. In response Robin got back to his feet and looked at Naruto with his eyes narrowing.

"Oh really? I'll just have to change that now then won't I…" Robin quipped right back at the thief, then actually smirked as he pulled a pair of black kneepads from his belt then put them on his knees and they shifted open, locking around his legs tightly. The boy wonder then pushed in on the buckle of his Utility belt and it started to glow brightly.

"What the hell?" Naruto wondered to himself as Robin then stabbed his sword into the ground for a moment while holding his arms to his sides as a glowing white circuit like pattern started to cover his boots, vest, cape, and mask.

"Like it? I figured since you added Armor to your suit, a little extra protection can really go a long way!" Robin said as plates of armor extended from his belt down his thighs, Dark-red plates then seemed to shift out of his vest and down his arms over his green sleeves to reach into his gloves, while black bands then reached up out of his cape and curved up over his lower face, the cape itself now having something of a Batman like look with the numerous jagged edges as it stretched slightly behind him.

"Copying dear old Batman now, kid?" Naruto quipped upon seeing the cape finish it's transformation, inwardly wondering how he did that. Robin's masked eyes narrowed at this, before he pulled his sword out of the ground and spun it in his hands before holding it with both hands and crouching down low to the ground.

"No…" Robin then said darkly before crouching down then lunging forward, jets activating on his boots while he used the cape as a glider much to Naruto's shock. _'Holy fucking shit! That is really new!'_ Naruto exclaimed in his mind while Robin then sliced with his two blades and the thief quickly evaded.

"I didn't think you ever used real weapons, Kid…" Naruto commented seriously and Robin turned a glare at him while slowly crouching down low with his sword held firmly in both hands at his side.

"I don't, this is designed to stun enemies with a short burst of electricity…" He said simply and Naruto inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. _'As far as obsession goes, Robin and Sasuke are pretty close to one another. But unlike Sasuke, Robin still keeps his morals intact…'_ The blond though to himself with a slight smirk on his lips.

"_Did you actually think Robin was going to go cut throat on you? And as for an answer to your earlier offer goes, yes, I expect to see you Saturday."_ Raven questioned then said and Naruto frowned while flipping his sword back and into its sheath.

'_No, but I did kind of think it was odd that the kid is using a bladed weapon. Also, I need you to bring Starfire to our usual meeting place tonight.'_ Naruto said while unlocking the scallops from the sides of his gauntlets and taking a stance.

"Now whose copying Batman?" Robin quipped and Naruto rolled his eyes.

"_What do you need Starfire for?"_ Raven questioned while Naruto and robin circled one another, the fully armored boy wonder glaring at the skull masked thief. The two then lunged forward, Robin swinging his blade while Naruto blocked and diverted the sword with the scallops of his gauntlets.

'_Blackfire needs help, she's got a pretty serious illness and we wanted to isolate the illness, then use the blood to see if any antidote we make will make her better or worse. We think that since Starfire and Blackfire are sisters it should work with them.'_ Naruto explained in his mind while Robin jumped into a kick, the skull masked thief rolling with the attack to the side and glaring towards the boy wonder.

"_Alright, I'll see what I can do Naruto…"_ Raven offered while Naruto inwardly nodded and kept checking his scanner for Gizmo's transmission that they had the equipment from STAR Labs.

"Your awfully quiet now X…" Robin said while looking at the skull-masked thief who chuckled lightly to himself.

"If I didn't know any better, kid. I'd almost think you like me insulting you." He quipped and Robin lunged forward with a roar, swinging his sword at the thief once more. Naruto used his Scallops to block the attacks easily then finished with a palm strike to the masked vigilante's chest sending him skidding back. "Kid I have got to admit, I'm impressed with the new addition to your suit but…" Naruto said with a shake of his head, then held up a finger and vanished. He then reappeared behind a surprised Robin who turned in time for Naruto to slam a fist into his face.

Robin gritted his teeth while skidding back, the thin armor taking the brunt of the damage before he flipped to his feet and glared at the thief. The Boy Wonder then activated his jet boots once more and spun into a rocket-powered roundhouse to Naruto's head sending him flying back and into a wall with a grunt, Raven visibly wincing. _"That had to hurt…"_ She noted and Naruto groaned while pulling himself out of the wall and thanking Kami that he wore a helmet.

'_What was your first clue?'_ Naruto quipped and Raven shook her head while Naruto held his arms out as Robin crouched.

"_Your not so badly wounded that your wit has dulled I see."_ She commented and Naruto chuckled lightly in his throat while Robin activated his jets once more, slamming into Naruto then flying up and through the roof. _'Ouch, that really had to hurt…'_ Raven thought to herself before running over to help Cyborg…

--

(The Roof…)

Robin and Naruto came through the roof with Naruto having taken the brunt of the blow groaning to himself. _'I REALLY need to thank Gizmo for making me a helmet for this suit…'_ He thought to himself while getting to his feet and glaring at Robin as the boy wonder got up as well. "Kid, you are seriously taking this too far." Naruto said while rubbing the back of his neck with a light groan and Robin frowned.

"Why did you stop Blackfire?" He questioned with a frown and Naruto rolled his eyes. _'NOW he asks me that?'_ He wondered to himself, idly wondering if Robin had an inferiority complex then turned serious.

"I was hired to do a Job. Shinobi Rule #4, never leave a job unfinished no matter what it is." Naruto stated simply with a smirk and Robin frowned to himself.

"And what is that supposed to mean? How is your job not finished?" Robin questioned and Naruto was silent, he didn't need the kid getting involved with him and the others, heroes weren't supposed to cavort with villains like them after all.

"Maybe I'll tell you some day, Chuckles." Naruto offered while getting into a crouch, which Robin then took as a sign to prepare and crouched with his sword held horizontally before him. "Hmm… this fight is taking way too long…" Naruto mused while the Scallops folded back into his gauntlets and the skull-masked thief took a few calming breaths.

"Give up and it wont take any longer, X." Robin quipped and Naruto chuckled before reaching into his Kunai case and pulled out four Three pronged Kunai.

"Nah, I have a special technique to end this fight Kid. And as luck would have it you'll be the first to feel this one since my dad died!" Naruto said before jumping into the air and throwing the Kunai, Robin easily evading them as they landed in a diamond shape around him.

"Was that it?" Robin questioned, clearly unimpressed and Naruto smirked.

"Not a chance…" He said then vanished with a low humming sound to Robin's shock. Soon the hum came back as X appeared behind him in a flash of yellow light. The thief slammed his foot into Robin's head quickly then vanished with another low hum, appearing in front of him he swung his foot upwards, knocking Robin back. X then vanished before appearing at the right above him where he slammed his fist into Robin's jaw. Vanishing once more X appeared at his left and flipped as he brought his foot down on Robin in an ax-kick… However, what was truly frightening to Robin was that all of this happened within a fraction of a second as he suddenly landed on the ground and Naruto flipped to the ground in a crouch.

Naruto then vanished once more with that same humming sound as he appeared above Robin and threw him into the air then tossed the four Kunai into the air and vanished with a hum once more. Appearing in the air with a flash of yellow, Naruto then moved like lightning, literally blurring into a wild flurry of attacks on Robin as the boy-wonder couldn't seem to keep up with his eyes. Soon however Naruto appeared above the boy and brought both fists down on his back sending him into the ground. Seemingly floating in the air for a moment, Naruto quickly gathered his Kunai, then threw one to the side and used his technique once more to appear above it.

"**Hiraishin no Jutsu!"** Naruto said as he picked up the last Kunai and placed all four into his Kunai case while Robin groaned in pain his sword having fell to the side while he looked up to glare towards Naruto. Standing up the blond thief crossed his arms and walked over to a glaring Robin. "Jeez kid, don't look at me like that too much or your face is going to freeze." Naruto commented and Robin gritted his teeth in pain as his whole body felt he had just been hit by a freight train.

"How… how did you do that?" Robin gritted out while trying to reach for his sword and Naruto chuckled lightly in his throat before crouching down and looking into his masked eyes.

"Everyone has their secrets kid… besides you should feel honored, that was only a trial run with that particular technique!" Naruto said with a humorous tone and Robin's eyes widened in disbelief.

"T-trial!? It's not even perfected yet!?" He demanded and then grimaced in pain while holding his sides and Naruto nodded his head.

"Unfortunately no. My dear old dad never figured a way around using those Kunai to use the Technique at all. I'm trying to figure out a way to use it without them in order to truly perfect it." Naruto explained then shook his head. "Maybe I could use you as a practice dummy for the real thing as well, kid…" He offered while Robin grit his teeth and growled at the thief, slowly pushing himself up. Naruto then noticed an "All Clear" message from Gizmo and chuckled lightly to himself.

"Looks like my work here is done kid, see you later." Naruto said with a mock salute as he pressed the button on his belt and vanished into thin air while Robin got shakily to his feet and gnashed his teeth together. _'We'll see about that X… next time I will bring you down…'_ Robin thought to himself then grunted as he walked away and into the building while holding his side with a pained grimace.

--

TBC…

--

AN: The Sword Robin used was the same one used in the episode with Malchior, and later against the fire demons in the Trigon Arc. Robin slamming two Birdarangs together forms it, the beaks lengthening into a long sword with a slim, double-edged blade. I figure it's a stun weapon because Robin doesn't carry lethal weapons.


	20. Calm Before the Storm

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

Chapter 19: Calm Before the Storm…

--

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

--

(Titans Tower…)

The Titans were within their Tower's common room, with Cyborg sulking as he played one of his games, BB sitting in the kitchen as Star had to cut his hair to get some of the X-Goop out of it, Robin on the computer looking for something, and last was Raven, sitting in a lotus position before the stairs and waiting for Star to be alone.

"Dude, X kicked our butts… AND he messed with my hairdo, AGAIN!" BB cried out in outrage while Starfire was cutting globs of red goop out of his hair. However Raven decided that BB was a little incorrect with his statement, so she decided to be fair to her boyfriend of three weeks and correct the Changeling.

"Technically, it was Robin who did it the first time…" Raven reminded with a slight smirk and BB blinked then glared at Robin who gave an apologetic look to the green changeling.

"True, but now the "New" Red-X has gone from minor thief, to serious threat." Robin said with a frown while rubbing his still sore ribs from the pounding he had personally obtained from the thief.

"Wasn't he always a threat?" Cyborg quipped from his place and Robin frowned.

"Before he didn't randomly attack us while the HIVE steals from Star Labs." Robin reminded and Cy cupped his chin.

"Yeah… but what do they need medical equipment for?" He questioned with obvious confusion and Robin blinked then frowned to himself.

"I don't know…" Robin admitted before trailing off and sighing. "I need some coffee…" He muttered while getting up, rubbing his temples with a frown and walking into the kitchen.

"Friend, Beast Boy please stop with the squirming! It is most difficult to be cutting this… sticky red stuff from your hair while you are not moving!" Starfire pleaded while holding the changeling's shoulders down.

"Star… I can't help it! You're taking my hairdo away! And it'll be weeks before it grows back!" BB said while Raven slapped her face and sighed before holding a hand towards the green bean and holding him down with her powers.

"Thank you friend, Raven." Star offered cheerfully and Robin smirked as BB pouted while his hair was cut apart. Meanwhile, Robin had finished his coffee and took a sip, watching his team while frowning to himself. _'X didn't even hurt any of them, only me and only because I took it seriously. With Raven he only had to cover her mouth, Cyborg wasn't going to be much help without his arms, Starfire was pinned to a wall, and Beast Boy was gooped to the floor first thing… X didn't bother trying to hurt them; he just wanted to distract us so the HIVE could steal that equipment… but why do they need that equipment in the first place?'_ Robin wondered to himself then walked back over to one of the main computers and opened up the consoles screen.

"There you are my friend, I hope I have managed to repair your damaged hair." Starfire said cheerfully and Cy, Rob, and Raven looked towards the changeling, seeing Starfire had managed to make a shorter version of his normal hair.

"Thanks, Stare…" BB said while looking in a mirror, then put it on the kitchen counter and walked off, passed Raven and into the tower.

"Little dude is taking this pretty hard." Cy said simply and Robin frowned.

"How would you feel knowing you were taken out first, and with the equivalent of gum no less?" Robin asked of his metallic friend who grimaced.

"Like a fly stuck to the bottom of someone's shoe…" He mused and Robin blinked, that was actually a very good description of what happened to BB. As the boys had this little chat, Raven stood up and walked over to where Starfire was cleaning the green hairs from the floor.

"Here." Raven sighed out, using her powers she easily cleaned the hairs up and Starfire smiled to her female friend.

"Thank you Raven." She said and Raven leaned close to the girl.

"We need to talk." She said and Starfire raised a brow, before Raven walked off and she floated after her friend out of the commons room.

"What is the matter Friend Raven? Did something happen between you and your friend who is a boy?" Starfire questioned innocently of the younger girl while they continued walking through the tower and Raven inwardly twitched.

"No. He and I are just fine Starfire." Raven said with a slight blush and Starfire smiled brightly to her friend.

"I am most joyous to hear that." Starfire replied and Raven frowned before looking around for someone, namely Beast Boy, to be listening and then sighed.

"X gave me a message…" She said and Starfire blinked.

"What? And why do you not give this message to friend Robin?" She asked of the violet-eyed sorceress and Raven frowned.

"It was a message for you about Blackfire… she's really sick." Raven said and Starfire's eyes bolted open and she began to shake. "Starfire?" Raven questioned and saw the unshed tears in the girl's eyes.

"M-my sister… she has… she has a weak immune system… if she is sick with even the lightest of illness's it could be dangerous to her." She said simply, shocking Raven who couldn't really believe that Blackfire, tough as nails "Queen of the Galaxy" could have that kind of weakness. However she decided it didn't matter while Starfire was obviously torn up about this.

"Starfire… is something else wrong?" Raven questioned and Starfire nodded her head while looking to her feet.

"I believe it may be my fault if she is sick… when we sent her to Centari prison I did not know of her condition, the Centari are brutal and ruthless law keepers… their prisoners are treated worse than slaves. But I had believed that since she was a Princess they might be easier on her, I fear that was not the case" Starfire reported softly and Raven's eyes widened in shock.

"Oh…" Raven said while inwardly grimacing, it wasn't just Starfire's fault in that case; it was the entire teams fault…

"Friend, why did the Red-X wish to tell me my sister was sick?" Starfire questioned and Raven sighed.

"The HIVE and he are trying to help her, that's the reason for the medical equipment they took. But they need a Healthy Tameranians blood in order to isolate what's making her sick and devise something to help her." Raven explained and Starfire made an Oh with her mouth.

"Then I will help! Blackfire's life has been most hurtful to her being what she is, I… I will not let my sister down! She is my family no matter how mean and cruel she acts!" Starfire said with one fist clenched and her eyes glowing brightly, Raven smiling at the alien princess's words.

"Then hang on Starfire…" Raven said while swinging her cloak, the two girls vanishing into the shadows as they did. The two soon reappeared on top of a bookstore, Raven looking around spotted Naruto leaning back into the entrance to the roof. "Sorry I'm late." Raven offered to the blond thief and Naruto frowned under his mask then stood up straight with his arms at his side.

"Blackfire took an abrupt turn for the worst, I had to use some of my healing techniques just to stabilize her. We need to move, now!" With that Naruto walked over to the two and placed his hands on their shoulders before they all vanished. The three then reappeared in Tartarus's Infirmary, Blackfire on a bed with her armor removed, her black clothing still on however. And as soon as Starfire saw how pale her older sister was she gasped.

"Sister!" Starfire called as she bolted over to the girl and held her older sisters hand in her own. "W-will she be alright?" Starfire asked with a trembling voice and Naruto frowned.

"We can't lie, we're not sure…" Naruto said then tapped on the door to the room behind them and it opened to show Jinx standing in the hallway with her arms crossed.

"I'll never know how you manage to arrange all this shit…" She said with a shake of her head while walking into the infirmary and Raven kept her mouth shut about her and he dating. She knew that if it got out to Starfire hell would be brought down onto her at the Tower. Either by a furious Robin, an annoyed Cyborg, a teasing Beast Boy, or even the ever-helpful Starfire wanting to "help" her with her dates or clothes or something… plainly she didn't want any of that.

"Jinx, where's Giz at?" Naruto asked and Jinx sighed.

"He'll be back soon, he's trying to see if he can cook up a way to fix her armor faster but it's not looking too good. Also, getting her out of that armor in the first place was a real bitch…" Jinx said then added before glaring at the thief who chuckled nervously. "You owe me big time for all this shit…" She then stated while poking the thief in the chest and Raven smirked at the two before turning serious.

"Exactly what's wrong with her?" Raven asked while walking over to look at Blackfire with Starfire.

"We're not sure exactly. Which is why you're here Starfire, we need to check your blood to see if we can isolate the virus then cook up an antivirus for her." Naruto explained while crossing his arms and the already frazzled nerves of Starfire seemed to fray even more as she bit her lower lip and began to twist the bed sheets in her hands. Jinx then cleared her throat and the Alien princess looked to the pink haired girl to see her motioning to a second bed.

"Starfire, could you lay down here so we can take the blood, you might feel a bit woozy after we take what we need." Jinx asked and Starfire nodded while walking over to the bed and lying down. "You do have the same blood type as Blackfire, right?" Jinx then questioned and Starfire nodded her head to the other girl.

"Most Tameranians do…" She offered and Jinx blinked then shook her head.

"I don't even want to know…" Jinx said while Naruto fished a couple of syringes out of one of the drawers in the room and handed them to Jinx and Raven.

"You don't want to do this?" Raven asked and Naruto shivered.

"Bad memories involving needles…" He said simply while thinking of Haku's Senbon mostly and Raven raised a brow before she and went to find a vein on Blackfire, Jinx doing the same. As they did Gizmo walked into the room with a scowl until he saw Starfire and gave a sigh of relief.

"I don't know how you do it, and I plainly don't care just get out of my way." Gizmo said while looking to Naruto whom merely shrugged then stepped to one side. Gizmo then saw Raven and Jinx finishing with their own work and walked over to them and held his hands out. "Alright, hand those over!" Gizmo ordered and Jinx and Raven both looked to one another then glare at Gizmo as they did. The Tiny Terror then walked over to a couple of machines to get to work, placing the blood into a pair of beakers and then taking some out of Blackfires and putting it into a microscope where he then looked inside of it. As the Tiny Terror did this, a very worried Starfire lay back with her hands wrenching her skirt.

"The bed was so she could try to relax, huh?" Raven asked Jinx lowly and the girl nodded her head while Naruto leaned into a wall. Raven saw this then looked at Blackfire with a frown before sighing. "We should get out of here, Gizmo needs to work." She said and Jinx nodded before both girls looked to Starfire.

"I… I wish to remain here and watch my sister, please…" The normally perky alien said softly while watching her sister. Jinx and Raven both looked to one another and nodded before walking over to Naruto, grabbing him by his arms and then dragging him out of the room.

"Hey! What the fuck?" He questioned and Raven slapped the back of his head.

"No swearing in front of or around Starfire… we have enough trouble with our waiter at Piano Pizza forgetting that…" She stated with a frown and Naruto twitched while Jinx opened the door and they left Gizmo to his own devices.

"Bout damn time those kludge heads left. I can't think right with so many people around…" Gizmo muttered under his breath while working on finding and isolating this Virus of Blackfire's. "Then again, I'm not trained for helping with this kind of shit, this is Seemore's gig…" Gizmo then muttered under his breath while blinking and slapping his face. Pulling out his HIVE Communicator he then tuned it to Seemores frequency with a frown.

"Hello?" Seemore questioned and Gizmo smirked.

"I need you to head to the Infirmary Seemore, Blackfire's still sick and you and Private were the only ones trained with any medicinal skills." Gizmo said quietly and Seemor agreed, sounding unusually serious as the connection cut and Gizmo gave a sigh of relief while rubbing his face… it looked like it was going to be a long day…

--

(Elsewhere…)

"Why are you two dragging me!?" Naruto demanded as his girlfriend and best friend dragged him down the halls of the base.

"So you don't get is Gizmo's way." They said at the same time, blinked, and then looked at one another strangely.

"I don't think we've ever been… properly introduced. I'm Jinx." Jinx offered and Raven nodded her head before answering.

"Raven." She said and both then dragged Naruto into the equivalent of a gym and Raven stopped to look around. The room was about teen feet high, and twenty feet all around and in the shape of a square. It had black tiles of some sort with green gridlines everywhere and different polls and bars at the sides. "Ok, why are we here?" Raven asked while looking around and Jinx smirked.

"Because this is Temp's favorite room besides his bedroom." Jinx offered to the other girl while Naruto rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

"Then is it me, or does Gizmo watch that Star-Trek show too much?" Raven asked while looking around and Jinx snickered.

"I said the same thing when I saw Temp's private training room for the first time." Jinx offered with a nod of her head and Naruto smirked to himself.

"Activate program Konoha-45H." He said and the room shimmered, Raven's eyes widening as the room changed shape to a strange room with wooden floors and walls, a large desk in front of them with tons of paper work on it, pictures on the walls with book cases and knickknacks, a couch to one side, a chair before and behind the desk as well as a large window, showing a mountain range with five faces cut into it.

"Where is this?" Raven asked while walking into the room, releasing X as she did with Jinx looking around with some confusion as well. X chuckled at this and extricated his arm from Jinx before walking over and sitting down on the chair behind the desk, smirking as he then lifted his legs and crossed them on the desk.

"This ladies, is the "Hokage's" office back home." Naruto announced and Raven made an Oh with her mouth while Jinx nodded, both knowing a little about his past.

'_So this is some of his home…'_ They both thought and Raven went over to the window and managed to open it, her eyes widening as she saw the village he was from, or rather how damn vast it was… _'This isn't a village, it's more like a city…'_ She thought to herself and Jinx then sat on the desk while watching the sorceress.

"So what do you think? Better than anything you Titans got?" Jinx questioned with a smirk and Raven turned to give the pink haired luck charm and annoyed frown.

"It's better for some scenarios like training to keep things from being destroyed…" Raven admitted, then thought they could really use one of those seeing as they did cause allot of collateral damage. "But what else is it good for?" Raven then asked and Naruto actually smirked under his mask.

"Computer. Activate program Madara-T78 and Pause." He said and the room shifted once more, changing to a dark cavern with Jinx falling from the desk and muttering under her breath only to look up and shiver. Standing before them was a man, as tall as X, and dressed in an all black outfit with armor over his arms, chest, and thighs, black gloves covering his hands with gray leg warmers over his shins and calves curving down under his black sandal boots. A ring was also placed onto one of his fingers, with a long black cloak over his shoulder with a red cloud on the front and black interior, the hood was drawn up concealing his hair while an orange spiral mask covered his face that left only the right eye to see though in shadow.

"Who is this guy?" Jinx asked with a shudder and Naruto frowned.

"One of the programs I spar with. The person is originally named Uchiha Madara, the original Uchiha clan leader…" Naruto said simply while glaring at the man even though it was technically only a program.

"So why did you make this thing?" Raven asked and Naruto shrugged.

"Basically, I wanted to show you how it can be useful for other situations. Like recreating past enemies so you can train to beat them, that's what I've been doing with Madara-Teme here for the past few weeks at least." Naruto offered and Jinx got up, then walked over to Madara and poked him, sighing when he didn't move.

"Is he really that dangerous?" She asked and Naruto took a grave tone.

"I've never beaten him without going all out and I usually have to pause the program before I damage the room…" Naruto admitted with a twitch and Jinx and Raven both looked at the program with wide eyes then shuddered.

"Remind me to never meet this guy in a dark alley…" Jinx murmured and Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Computer, Activate Program Chunin-32O and pause." Naruto then said and the room shimmered before changing once more. Now they were on a long wooden bridge over a massive gorge, a forest in front and behind them while the drop, while fake, made Jinx uneasy, with a snake like man before them.

The man was pale, so pale his skin almost seemed white as marble, he had long dark hair to contrast this however as it hung into his sharp face, with a pair of yellow eyes with thin slitted pupils like a snake, with sharp features and a smirk on his lips, purple tribal markings were around his eyes, curling up at the tips and then down at his nose, a pair of strange earrings just visible. The man wore a pair of black pants with the ankles and shins taped down into a pair of black sandals, a black under shirt with a scarf like collar, a short sleeved tan tunic like shirt over that that reached to his knees, and last was the thick purple rope he had tied around his waist.

'_He makes me look like I have a nice tan…'_ Both Jinx and Raven thought at the same time before shivering at the thought.

"Those eyes give me the creeps." Jinx said with a shiver and Raven raised a brow.

"You have the same eyes, only pink…" She stated and got an annoyed glare from the girl in response.

"It's not how they look, it's just… something about them is really unsettling…" Jinx said and didn't even mention how that little smirk the man had on his lips just seemed to really freak her out. Raven also looked and shivered at the eyes, they did have something unsettling about them, a hidden madness of some sort, the kind that was similar to people like the Joker, people who didn't care about anything but their own ambition, people who let nothing, not even morals stand in their way…

"Yeah, his eyes are kind of creepy…" Naruto admitted as he walked over to stand in front of the fake Orochimaru, and shivered when he could swear the smirk on his face widened just slightly even though the program was frozen.

"Can you change this? He's really starting to creep me out…" Jinx questioned then said with a shiver towards the man and Naruto nodded his head.

"Computer, activate Program Konoha-11H." Naruto said and the scene changed, they were now on the monument that Raven had seen earlier, with a clear view of all of Konoha, the sun slowly rising on the horizon, a forest behind them with a path back down to the ground over to the side.

"Whoa…" Jinx said and walked over to the edge of the monument and looked over the city. "This was your home?" She asked while turning to Naruto, the blond thief merely walking next to her to look out over the hologram village.

"Sort of…" He said softly while memories of how often he came to this spot returned, a smile coming to his lips as this was the only place in all of Konoha he ever truly felt safe and comfortable…

"Why'd you make this scene?" Raven asked and Naruto rubbed the back of his neck with one hand.

"I used to come up here as a kid…" He said then crossed his arms behind his head with a smile under his mask. "Whenever I was sad or confused I'd come up here just to think… it was the only place besides the Hokage's office or Ichiraku Ramen I ever felt wanted and safe…" Naruto admitted and Jinx gave him a look before sitting down with her legs crossed, enjoying a gentle breeze before blinking.

"There's even a breeze?" She asked and Naruto nodded with a chuckle before sitting down as well, Raven following him and admitting the spot on top of the monument was very calming in some way.

"Giz made this room, he's a perfectionist and had to make everything perfect, so when I wanted scenes of my home he had me describe them right down to the smell." Naruto explained and Jinx sniffed the air and grinned.

"Sakura blossoms?" She asked and Naruto pointed to one side and Jinx turned to see a large patch of Sakura Trees…

"It's calming… I kind of wish I had a place like this to meditate in the morning. The smell of the sea is nice and the tower is my home but…" Raven started and Naruto nodded his head, knowing what she meant.

"It's not the same as having a place all to yourself, with the Tower you have to share, with a place like this, you can be all alone or bring friends when you want to share the view…" Naruto explained and Jinx looked to Raven who nodded her head then sighed with her eyes closed.

"Think Blackfire's doing any better?" Jinx wondered and Naruto cupped his chin.

"With Giz helping her? I don't doubt it…" He said simply then looked to Raven who opened a single eye to look at him. _"What?"_ Raven questioned and Naruto gave her a look before speaking in his mind to her.

'_Don't you think we should be honest to at least MY friends about our relationship?'_ He questioned and Raven shifted uncomfortably as Jinx looked at the rising sun with an oddly peaceful expression.

"_Well… what if Starfire finds out? She'd blurt it out to the others and I'd have hell on earth at home…"_ Raven asked then reminded and Naruto frowned, he knew she wasn't ashamed of him, but Robin WOULD give her hell about them…

'_I never said you have to tell Starfire, but Jinx is my best friend, and you two seem to get along so maybe we can tell her…'_ Naruto said and Raven frowned in thought while Jinx touched Naruto's arm.

"What's that?" She asked while pointing to a large building near the back of the city and Naruto smile.

"That's the Shinobi academy where I went to school." He explained and Jinx made an Oh with her mouth before looking back over the village.

"Gizmo is really good at holograms…" She said and Naruto nodded his head in agreement while Raven sighed softly. "Something wrong?" Jinx asked the other gray skinned girl who blushed slightly, thankful that her hood hid it.

"Not really…" She said then sighed to herself. _"You sure you want her to know?"_ Raven asked and Naruto rolled his eyes.

'_What's the worst that could happen?'_ He asked her and Raven gave him a look.

"_You could be thrown from their team or even lose their trust…"_ She offered and Naruto frowned to himself.

'_They won't. I know them well enough to know that the guys wouldn't even care… Jinx might but she's always been way too serious for her own good.'_ Naruto countered with a smirk and Jinx looked at Raven with confusion written on her face.

"Okay, why are you staying so quiet?" Jinx asked and Raven sent a pleading look to Naruto, the blond taking some pity on her as he cleared his throat.

"Jinx, you remember asking me about my girlfriend right?" Naruto questioned and Raven felt a flare of jealousy go through Jinx. _'I have the strangest feeling that me and her are going to be at war soon…'_ Raven thought to herself with a frown while Jinx smiled to Naruto and nodded her head. "Still want to meet her?" Naruto asked and Jinx gave a somewhat creepy grin in response.

"Of course I do, why wouldn't I want to meet her?" Jinx asked while she was growling on the inside. _'Meet her then hex her all the way to the moon…'_ She thought to herself and Naruto nodded his head then reached up and removed his helmet. "Temp what are you…?" She started only for Naruto to reach over and pull Raven into a kiss once his helmet was off, the sorceress blushing a burning crimson once he released her and grinned to his friend. "Wait then you mean that you and she are…" Jinx asked while pointing to them and Naruto nodded his head with a smirk.

Jinx then actually looked Raven up and down and mentally twitched. _'Well… at least I know my skin doesn't put him off… though she is a little more curvy than I am…'_ Jinx mused with a frown and Naruto poked the pink haired girl in the head. "What?" She asked while looking at him and he raised a brow.

"Are you okay? You were kind of staring at Kara-chan for a bit there…" Naruto said simply and Jinx gave a smile to the blond before answering.

"Yeah, it's just kind of weird…" She started then grabbed him by the front of his suit and dragged his face close to hers. "Now then… ARE YOU NUTS!?" She demanded and Raven sighed, having known this was going to happen. "Your dating one of the Titans!? She's the fucking enemy and your dating her!? Are you stupid or just plain old crazy!?" Jinx demanded and Naruto grinned sheepishly to the girl while Raven had an "I told you so" look on her face.

"Calm down Jinx, Kara-Chan isn't that bad…" He said while holding his hands up in a placating manner and Jinx twitched violently all over.

"SHE'S A DAMN TITAN DIPSHIT!!" She shouted at the blond who looked to Raven for help only to find she now had a book out. _'Traitor…'_ He thought in her direction and she looked at him over her book with a raised brow.

"_I told you this would happen…"_ She reminded while returning to her book.

"Jinx calm down… she's not all that bad and really she's fun to be around, you'd think so too if you'd hang out with her sometime…" Naruto said and Raven blinked then found her cloak grabbed by Jinx and both she and Naruto looked from one another to the fuming pinkette holding them hostage.

"You!" Jinx then said while pulling on Raven's cloak and the girl raised a brow. "You and I are going to be meeting back here soon. And when we do we are having a very long talk." Jinx said and Raven shivered for some reason while Naruto noticed a beeping coming from his helmet and put it back on.

"Report." Naruto stated and Raven blinked.

"He's like Robin when he wants to be…" She said and Jinx snorted.

"You have no idea." She said then blinked and glared at the girl.

"Temp, we got Blackfire stable and she's resting now, no more sporadic heat flashes or heavy breathing. I think it's time for bird girl to take sunshine here home." Gizmo responded and Naruto nodded his head in agreement.

"Giz, managed to stabilize Blackfire, she's sleeping and Gizmo thinks you and the princess should head on home. We'll look after Blackfire in the meantime." Naruto said and Raven nodded her head while both looked to Jinx who let them go then crossed her arms over her chest. "Computer, deactivate all Holo-Programs." Naruto then said as the room shifted back into the green and black room it had started out as. The blond thief then walked out of the room and lead Raven back to Starfire where the girl was still looking to her sister worriedly.

"Star." Raven said and the red head yelped then looked to her violet haired friend.

"Yes, Friend Raven?" Starfire asked and her friend sighed.

"We need to head home." She said and Starfire looked back to Blackfire.

"C-can I return to see my sister tomorrow?" Starfire pleaded and Raven looked to Jinx who sighed.

"Fine…" She allowed and then grabbed Raven's cloak. "Then we're having out "Talk" tomorrow…" Jinx said simply and Raven nodded her head slowly then walked over to Starfire who was far too worried to comment on what just happened as Raven spread her cloak over herself and Starfire, both vanishing as she did. "Now then Temp…" Jinx growled and Naruto muttered a brief 'Ah shit', in his head. However, a loud banging at their door alerted them to something else and they all went to check it. Opening the front door of the base they were surprised to see one Billy Numerous.

Billy was strange; he wore a full red suit with a black division sign on a circular white field at his chest, a black belt with red gloves and boots that had black trim and soles, and a pair of black goggles over his eyes with black pads on his ears to hold them on tightly over his red cowl. However, at the moment the boy was panting and breathing heavily, dozens of cuts over his suit with blood seeping through, his goggles partly broken to show one of his bright green eyes.

"Holy shit! Billy what the hell happened to you?" Gizmo called out with Seemore rushing to help Billy to his feet.

"G-gotham… Trouble in Gotham… Billy need help…" Billy said and Naruto looked to Jinx who shrugged.

"You ARE Billy moron!" Gizmo shouted at the southern metahuman and Billy shook his head no rapidly.

"I'm a… I'm a clone… Billy… trapped in Gotham…" The clone panted out and then looked to Naruto with wide eyes. "Help… Joker…" Was all he managed to get out before his body shimmered then vanished altogether and Naruto frowned darkly.

"The Joker! Shit, Billy really got himself in deep this time!" Gizmo said with Jinx nodding her head in agreement before they saw Naruto crossing his arms.

"Yeah… and I'm going to go get him out of it." Naruto said and was grabbed by a wide-eyed Jinx.

"Are you completely out of your mind?! This is the fucking Joker, not your run of the mill villain!" Jinx said loudly and Naruto took hold of her wrists and pulled her hands from his suit.

"Billy needs help, I'm not going to let him get totaled just because of whose got a hold of him. I'll be fine." Naruto said simply then looked to Gizmo. "I need a ride." He stated and Gizmo sighed before pulling some keys out of his pocket and tossing them to the blond thief.

"I was working on some new vehicles with the junk in the Junk Yard, yours is outside hidden in the dumpster…" He stated and Naruto raised a brow before ignoring that and walking out of the base and over to the dumpster, Jinx following him.

"You shouldn't be doing this." She stated and Naruto frowned.

"I can't let someone I know get hurt, Billy was a decent guy in the HIVE, and I won't let this Joker character kill him." Naruto stated flatly and Jinx grit her teeth.

"Joker is not someone you should be messing with Temp! Let alone should you be heading for Gotham of all places!" Jinx stated while Naruto pushed a button on the key ring he got from Gizmo, the dumpster opening to show his ride. It was an all black Motorcycle with a jagged design reminiscent of Robin's own bike, the front wheel was smaller than the one in back while both were half covered by the bikes frame, with a black screen at the front with a red X over the sides of each wheel, and a large one on the front, the handles were none existent, instead having holes as though to put his arms into them with similar holes for his legs near the back.

"I probably shouldn't go, but this is a friend of ours." Naruto reminded and Jinx felt like pulling her hair out. The blond ignored this as he hopped onto the bike, pushing his arms and legs into the holes and then ducked as a field came over his head and then shifted out over his sides like armor… _'Giz, I don't know how you do it but this is really sweet…'_ Naruto thought then felt around in the bike and found it was linking with his helmet, a sort of tutorial coming up.

"Tempest… Be careful…" Jinx finally said and Naruto nodded once before activating the bike and speeding off down the streets of Jump and towards Gotham…

--

(??)

Ravager sat and watched as Naruto left "Tartarus's" HQ with a smirk before leaning back in her seat and replaying what she had seen the day before. She chuckled lightly seeing the "Hiraishin" technique while storing it into the ever-growing list of powers and techniques at his disposal. "Capable of bending wind and Lightning to his whims, moving at the speed of light, shape shift, and multiplying himself a thousand fold… He's more intriguing than I ever imagined…" Ravager said to herself while Wintergreen nodded his head from behind.

"Madam, we have no way of monitoring him in Gotham without the Batman noticing us…" He then said and Ravager frowned to herself.

"True… I'll just have to plan for another test…" Ravager mused then brought up her files on Sasuke and smirked. "Perhaps it's time I moved another pawn into place and draw out the boy's full power…" Ravager mused to herself with a smirk on her lips…

--

(??)

"**Is it time?"** A deep voice questions in shadow.

"**No, he is still not ready…"** Another comes as a boney hand reaches out of the earth it has been imprisoned in starts to glow a fiery red.

"**How much longer!? I cannot stand this prison for much more time!?"** The first voice demands then exclaims loudly, a familiar pair of blood red eyes shining in the darkness.

"**Patience my friend, I have waited thousands of years for this, you can stand to wait half a year…"** The second voice came and a growl from the first voice was his only reply while the bony fingers began to curl and uncurl slowly… **"Soon, we shall both have our freedom, and then…"** The second voice started only to leave off as a jagged S shaped seal appeared next to the two eyes, four brightly glowing red eyes opening in darkness as a grin split under the first eyes.

"**The world of Mortals shall feel our wrath!"** The double eyed beast said with a laugh as the four eyed being chuckled darkly…

--

TBC…

--


	21. Gotham Nin Pt1

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

Chapter 20: Gotham Nin Pt 1…

--

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

--

(Tartarus HQ…)

Blackfire's eyes slowly drifted open and the girl gave off a soft groan of discomfort while reaching up to rub her temples. "What hit me?" She mumbled then looked around, finding herself in an unfamiliar place.

"Hey, your finally up." Came a voice and Blackfire turned to see a girl with pink hair walking over to her.

"Who… who are you?" Blackfire asked plainly while her head ached.

"I'm Jinx, my friend Tempest brought you in a day or so ago." Jinx said and saw Blackfire grimace in pain once more.

"T-tempest?" She questioned and Jinx blinked.

"I mean Red-X if that makes more sense." Jinx offered and Blackfire had a brief memory of thanking a skull-masked person in black… was he Red-X? "Are you okay? You were really sick not too long ago." Jinx offered and Blackfire grit her teeth as flashes of what happened went through her mind, attacking people at random, destroying anything near her…

"By X'hol… I was… I was a monster…" She whispered as she remembered relentlessly attacking anything that got in her way, brutally beating them and then moving on to the next unlucky victim.

"Well, I won't lie to you. I doubt you've made any friends in the JCPD for that little stunt but it wasn't entirely your fault." Jinx offered while reaching to the side and grabbing that damn jewel put on her by Ravager. "This thing seems to have made you go into a berserker like state, totally frying your armor in the process." Jinx said and saw Blackfire look at her before leaning back and covering her eyes.

"That thing didn't make me do anything…" She mumbled and Jinx raised a brow.

"What are you talking about? No one has that much pent up anger in them." Jinx said with a shake of her head and Blackfire looked at her and frowned.

"I never said I had that much anger, I said it didn't make me do anything… It only increased what was already in me, that hate, that anger, that pure rage that was still all me." Blackfire said softly before turning onto her side and curling into herself. "He said that would happen, that hate can consume you… guess he was right…" She then mumbled while Jinx blinked and raised a brow once more.

"Who said that?" She asked while Blackfire shifted while looking like she had lost her reason.

"X… you called him Red-X, he said he knew someone who let his hate consume him, well that thing helped mine consume me…" Blackfire said then brought her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.

"You going to be okay? I mean, you've been out for two straight days now, Gizmo managed to whip up an anti-virus for whatever was hitting you but…" Jinx started and Blackfire nodded her head slowly.

"I… I think I need to apologize to Red-X… and my sister…" Blackfire admitted then said with a grimace.

"If it helps, without your sisters help we couldn't have saved you. She's even been coming to check up on you ever night since you got here." Jinx offered and saw Blackfire sink into herself even more, now shaking like a leaf.

"I t-tried to kill her… and s-she saves me…" She stuttered lowly and Jinx winced, this really wasn't going to end well. _'I think I better have Mammoth keep an eye on her.'_ She thought to herself then watched the girl turn over slightly. "Y-you said something about my armor…?" Blackfire questioned softly and Jinx nodded her head while watching the alien.

"It… It's completely fried. Nothing survived but a few pieces and maybe a subsystem according to, Giz…" Jinx said and saw Blackfire sink even FURTHER, into herself and almost thought she heard sobs.

"How fitting… I loose control of them to my hate and now my powers are essentially lost to me forever…" Blackfire said bitterly and Jinx slapped her face while cursing her bad luck for the millionth time in her life.

"Hey, don't worry, Giz is working on fixing it…" Jinx offered with a weak grin and Blackfire was silent.

"W-where's Red-X?" She asked and Jinx sighed while rubbing her temples.

"He went to Gotham to help a friend…" She admitted then heard the door open and turned to see Starfire and Raven. As soon as they walked in, Jinx glared at Raven who glared right back at her. The two had their talk the day before, and to put it quite bluntly, things were very terse between them…

--

_(Flashback…)_

_Jinx and Raven sat in the Holo-Room with it set to, of all things, the HIVE gym back at the academy. Raven had left Starfire to watch over her still sleeping sister earlier but was regretting it as Jinx and her squared off. __'Somehow I know I should have expected this kind of reaction…'__ Raven thought to herself while Jinx glared at her with her arms crossed._

"_Alright, first of all how did you and Temp get together?" Jinx asked and Raven blinked her eyes for a few moments, wishing she didn't have to be here._

"_We've been officially dating for two weeks, but we've known one another a month or two." Raven offered and saw Jinx twitch in annoyance before glaring at Raven and cracking her knuckles._

"_Okay… then why are you dating him?" Jinx asked and Raven frowned._

"_He's nice, fun, he doesn't treat me like a freak, we have similar interests, he respects my privacy…" Raven listed and Jinx narrowed her eyes, even if those were some of the reasons she liked him as well._

"_Alright, but listen up then Bird Girl! First of all, Temp is my best friend, if you EVER manage to break his heart, I'll personally break your legs and then Hex them so they don't heal right." Jinx threatened and Raven glared, she may be a hero, but that didn't mean she planned on hurting Naruto. However after thinking about the threat for a moment she realized something._

"_Isn't that what HE did to your last boyfriend? Well before you started dating Cy at least…" She asked then mused to herself and Jinx twitched visibly._

"_Where do you think I got the idea?" She quipped and Raven frowned slightly in annoyance. "Second of all, I don't like you." Jinx said and Raven nodded her head._

"_Likewise." She said simply and Jinx scowled._

"_I don't like you for multiple reasons. Reason One, you're a Hero and normally heroes bust our kind." Jinx said rising a finger and Raven frowned, even though it was true she never actively tried to catch him. "Two, you're an emotionless girl who has the potential to hurt him without knowing it." Jinx said and Raven twitched, that was actually a very valid point but he didn't care all that much about her inability to show affection himself. "Three, I've tried everything I can think of to get his attention and you manage to do it in a couple months!" Jinx said and Raven blinked her eyes before a smirk spread over her lips._

"_So you're jealous… now it all makes sense…" Raven mused and Jinx narrowed her eyes on the girl dangerously._

"_Oh yeah, what's that?" Jinx asked dangerously and Raven smirked._

"_You don't like me, but it's only because your Jealous he and I are dating…" Raven stated only for Jinx to pounce her, starting a brawl in the Holo-Room. This subsequently totaled the room by the end of the day and had an Irate Gizmo yelling at the two who continued to hate one another…_

_(End Flashback…)_

--

Continuing to glare at one another a tension suddenly formed in the air, Blackfire actually felt it and turned to see Jinx and Raven glaring daggers at one another and blinked. _'And I thought the animosity between me and Starfire was bad… no wait that was mostly me…'_ Blackfire thought then inwardly admitted with a frown till she was pulled in a bone-crushing, spine shattering hug. _'Oh dear X'hol! Does she do this to everyone!?'_ Blackfire wondered while gnashing her teeth together in pain as her red haired younger Sister hugged her tightly.

"Sister! I am most Mirthful to see that you are undamaged!" Starfire called out happily, Raven and Jinx both turning to see Starfire happily spinning with Blackfire trying to kick her way out of her sister's grasp.

"K-Koriand'r Air!" Blackfire said and Starfire stopped, gasped, and then dropped Blackfire back onto the bed. However the older girl then grabbed Starfire and pulled her down, wrapping her arms around her and holding her in a hug, much to Starfire's shock as Blackfire had never once voluntarily hugged her… "I'm sorry…" The dark-haired girl whispered to her sister and you could see the tears of joy in Starfire's eyes as she hugged her Sister back, only for her to give a pained grunt.

"I'm most sorry Beloved Sister, I sometimes am forgetting my own strength!" Starfire said quickly while releasing Blackfire, who fell to the bed panting heavily while placing a hand onto her chest before looking over to Raven.

"Does she do that to EVERYONE?" Blackfire questioned while Starfire blushed with a nervous chuckle and Raven frowned.

"Yes…" She offered and Blackfire looked at Starfire before shaking her head. "How come you're affected by it? Last time you just shrugged it off…" Raven asked then mentioned and Blackfire grimaced.

"Last time I had my armor, it took the brunt of being squeezed so hard by her and then allowed me to use my super strength helped to shrug her own strength off as a balance…" Blackfire explained and Raven raised a brow.

"Why did you need the armor for that?" She asked and Blackfire grimaced.

"On Tameran, I'm called a "Kom'Secrit" or in English "Black Curse". I can't absorb Ultraviolet radiation without my suit, I'm also physically as frail as a human, probably why I like this planet, but my weakened immune system is my most detrimental weakness as you saw…" Blackfire explained while rubbing her back with a pained grimace and Raven frowned to herself.

"But you used those eye beams of yours when you first came to Jump City without your armor on." Raven mused and Blackfire snorted while crossing her arms and leaning back into the bed a bit.

"That was because I still had a decent charge, my armor may focus it, but my body DOES have the capacity to store some ultraviolet energy. Basically I had enough energy for one shot with my eyebeams, that's why I needed a ride back to your tower afterwards." Blackfire explained and Raven frowned to herself. _'Why didn't Starfire mention a handicap like that? Unless Blackfire was too proud to tell her…'_ Raven mused then concluded as she then glared at Jinx once more.

"Sister… is that also why you turned purple for two days during your time of the Transformations?" Starfire asked and Blackfire slapped her face, Jinx busting out laughing at the thought of a purple girl while Raven held back her own laughter.

"Starfire… I didn't turn purple for two days…" Blackfire said in a deadly tone and Starfire tilted her head in confusion.

"But in your transmission from the Ven-Zo Temple on Tyrus Three…" She started and saw an annoyed glare from Blackfire who crossed her arms over her chest.

"I repeat, I DIDN'T turn purple for two days… I grew purple SCALES…" Blackfire said and Jinx stopped laughing then looked at her with a gaping jaw. "And it wasn't for two days, it was for two WEEKS…" Blackfire grumbled then shivered to herself while rubbing her arms up and down. "Ever tried shedding your skin? I personally don't recommend it…" Blackfire then said with another shiver of disgust and Jinx did as well, not liking the idea at all.

"But Sister, in your transmission you said you changed for two days, not two weeks…" Starfire offered and Blackfire rolled her eyes once more.

"I lied Starfire, I didn't think it was really all that important how long I was changed for and father dearest didn't even care… the only reason I ever learned any martial arts was because he didn't want a weakling for a child." Blackfire said and Starfire pouted, inwardly remembering the two weeks of transformation she went under and thinking that would have been very helpful to her… knowing that Blackfire had also grown scales would have been as well… though what her father did to her sounded very cruel…

"So, nothing else changed?" Starfire asked and Blackfire glared at her before sighing to herself and leaning back once more.

"I had claws, that's it, I was scaly and had claws…" Blackfire said simply then took a thoughtful look on her face. "I think I also ate something like a muck worm but…" She then added and Jinx looked to Raven, completely lost only to see a similar expression on the sorceress's face.

"We're going to leave you two alone to catch up for a while…" Jinx said as she and Raven walked backwards and out of the room while Blackfire mentally groaned as her sister then hovered over her, literally… and continued to ask her questions and "make sure she was well"… inwardly Blackfire realized just how annoying Starfire really was…

Outside of the room Raven and Jinx sighed in relief before walking down a hall next to one another, the tension returning. "So… where's X?" Raven asked off handedly, not knowing if Jinx knew his real name.

"He's… on a trip." Jinx supplied while crossed her arms and inwardly smirking to herself. _'Just cause you're his girlfriend, doesn't mean you get to know everything, and when we manage to do something that has my team fighting yours, I'm going to be taking you down…'_ Jinx thought to herself with a devious little grin before frowning to herself. _'Wait, I can't do that if I did, Tempest will never forgive me! And I already know he'll never cheat on her so…'_ Jinx frowned to herself as she tried to think of some way to separate Raven and her friend, while the Empath smirked as she heard every word…

--

(Gotham City…)

At first, anyone would gawk to see the city, the towering buildings of stone and steel surpassed anything in Jump City to date, the industrial buildings strewn about it casting a fog in places all around, people on the streets either walking by going about their business or heading to work. However, on the flip side it was also quite rough, some of the older buildings were collapsing, people were huddled together for warmth on the streets with fires started in trashcans, children playing in the roads, and one could almost swear that you were being watched as you walked down a simple street and passed alleys.

Naruto walked down the streets of Gotham with a frown, a Kage-Henge over his form making him appear as his normal self in civilian clothes. It appeared that some of his old self would never leave him; one such thing was his spur of the moment decision to go to Gotham and help Billy. _'I may not be dense but damn am I stubborn… I mean I should have at least grabbed some clothes…'_ Naruto thought to himself with a frown as he'd been wearing the suit for two days nearly non-stop, having only taken it off once at a hotel a couple miles back for a shower.

However, looking around Naruto saw why there were so many heroes in Gotham besides Batman… The Dark-Knight really needed all the help he could get with this place that was for certain in his mind. _'Not that I'm here to help of course…'_ Naruto inwardly reminded while a Kid ran passed him, playing with another child with toy guns that sounded almost TOO realistic for his taste. Frowning slightly, Naruto walked further down the streets while trying to think of how he was going to find Billy, it wasn't like he could ask around for the Joker by name after all.

Soon turning down a dark alley Naruto suddenly found someone had grabbed him, slammed him to the side of the alley, and now had a knife at his neck. "Hand over your wallet!" The man with the knife said and Naruto rolled his eyes before using a Kawamari no Jutsu with a nearby trashcan then slammed his foot into the back of the man's head, knocking him out cold and too the ground. Brushing himself off Naruto then turns around before walking calmly further into the alley while the man lay on the ground groaning in pain…

'_That's why I'm not a mugger, never know when you'll try to mug someone who has the skills to kick your ass…'_ Naruto mused to himself while walking through the alleys of Gotham with a frown on his face. _'This place is really starting to kill my normally good mood…'_ Naruto thought to himself while walking and couldn't help the feeling that someone was following him. Stopping to look behind him all he saw was a couple of steam vents blowing out air then turned and took a quick step back when someone was right in front of him!

'_Holy Shit! No one's been able to sneak up on ME before!'_ Naruto thinks while taking a step back and forming himself into a ready position to switch into a Shadow-Claw stance if needed. However looking up Naruto found himself face to cowl with a man he'd heard of only in rumor and speculation.

The man was dressed in a black cowl that left only his mouth and some of his lower jaw visible with reflective eye coverings and a pair of pointed ears on top, a long cape thrown over his shoulders with jagged edges like a bats wings was all he could see at the moment as it cloaked his body completely. _'Well… at least I know he's stealthy…'_ Naruto mused while the Batman glared at him through his cowl, at least Naruto figured he was glaring but he couldn't really tell if he was or wasn't.

"What are you in Gotham for?" The Batman asked with a growling voice and Naruto raised a brow while looking at the man.

"Just seeing the sights, you know, expanding my horizons." Naruto quipped and saw a frown form on the Batman's exposed lips.

"Then what about that little stunt back there?" He questioned and Naruto scratched his nose with a slight frown.

"It's called 'Self-Defense' look it up some time…" He quips while biting back any of the nicknames he could use on this guy at the moment.

"Keep it that way. If you try anything while in Gotham, I'll take you down personally…" With that Batman backed up and vanished into another vent spewing out steam. Walking forward Naruto blinked and then shivered, wondering how he was able to vanish so easily and completely so fast.

"Man, what is it with all the masked bozo's hating me in this world?" Naruto wonders to himself while scratching his head, then shrugs and walks further into the alley and in search of clues he could use to find Billy. The blond walked down every street and back alley for hours, speaking to whomever he could and finding little about his friend even as he did. He learned that Billy came to town a few weeks prior, and that he had visited a childhood friend only that was a dead lead as the friend, a blond girl named Mandy, was a bit… mean, to say the least. Anyways he eventually managed to find out that Billy had then headed off towards a club called the Big-Bang Club before he lost all leads entirely.

Hence Naruto dropped his disguise and Red-X now stood on a building while looking down at the club with a frown. It was a hang out for the local metahumans in town, basically a place where they could do pretty much whatever they wanted. Looking around Naruto shunshined over to the building and looked inside, he saw several familiar faces from the HIVE but narrowed them on one person… Slinking into the building silently he watched as the metahuman teens drank, beat each other up or showed off their powers while he grabbed the person from behind and dragged him down.

"Hello Psy-mon." He said with a smirk as the psychic man frowned seeing him. Psy-mon was one of the former teachers of the HIVE; he was gifted with powerful Psychokinetic abilities. He had a pinkish color of skin with wrinkles showing his obvious advanced age with pitch black eyes with a small pink pupil, his head had a glass jaw with a black exposed brain with pink lines of energy over it, he wore long black and purple flowing robes with a pair of long fingerless black gloves, leaving his long gnarled fingers and nails exposed.

"_What do you want?"_ Psymon questioned with his mind and Naruto frowned towards the man.

"Billy Numerous, where is he?" Naruto questioned, getting straight to the point and Psymon closed his eyes, the exposed brain on his head glowing for a moment.

"_Billy is being sought out by the Joker as well. Are you certain you wish for me to tell you where he is?"_ Psymon asked with a bored tone and Naruto gave him an annoyed look through his masked eyes. _"Never mind… truly Tempest I wish you would have learned some patience since we last saw one another…"_ Psymon mused to himself and Naruto gave an annoyed grunt to the man.

"Just tell me where…" Naruto started only for the doors to bust open to reveal a familiar clown. The clown wore a purple suit with a lavender undershirt, green vest with a chain hanging down from his right pocket, green tie, with a purple coat thrown over it with a pair of dark purple gloves on his hands, and a pair of expensive looking shoes. His face was painted white, with dark rings around his eyes, his lips looked to have been slit open with red paint or even lipstick smeared over them and the slits like a clown's face, his teeth a dark smokers yellow color, his hair was disheveled and messy, while he had obviously rubbed green face paint into it for it's greenish tint.

"I'm looking for someone…" The man said while walking into the building, someone walking over to him.

"Hey pal, we don't…" He started and the man rolled his eyes, reached into his coat and pulled a gun out before shooting the man in the head with it. Not once did the man turn his head as he then put the gun away while several men in suits came rushing in, each of them wearing a clown mask with a mini-machine gun in hand.

"Shit!" Naruto said lowly with Psymon mentally agreeing with him.

"I said… I'm looking for someone." The man then said while walking further into the building and looking around. Naruto then grabbed Psymon by the arm and silently stalked towards the back while the man continued. "Well, more than someone seeing as he's able to split himself into more than one person…" Joker commented while licking his lips as he walked into the club while looking at the people around the building then stopped and pointed. "You!" He said and a girl yelped while looking around as everyone moved out of the man's way while he walked over to her and leaned down slightly.

"M-me? I'm n-not the one…" The girl stuttered and the man nodded.

"No, but! You know where he is, don't you." He accused and the girl shook her head rapidly.

"I d-don't mister Joker I swear!" She said and the Joker tilted his head before jumping up to sit on the table cross-legged, the girl yelping as he did.

"Well now you see, that's too bad…" Joker said while reaching into his coat to pull out a knife and the girl whimpered. Looking back at this, Naruto cursed to himself then helped Psymon get out of the building before heading back inside. Cursing to himself Naruto saw the Joker was now flipping the knife between his hands before grabbing it and then plunging it down into the table he was sitting on, getting a frightened scream from the girl before pulling the knife free from the table.

"You look nervous, is it the scars?" Joker then asked while pointing the tip of his blade to the scars on his face and the girl whimpered as he then reached out and held her face to look directly into his eyes. "Do you want to know where I got em?" He then asked as he began to turn her face from side to side then licked his lips while looking at her. "So I had a wife, she was beautiful just like you…" He said and a few people began to shiver as the Joker leaned towards the girl. "… Who tells me, I worry too much… who tells me I ought to smile more…" Joker says then nods his head and tilts it to one side while looking at the whimpering girl.

"… who gambles and gets in deep with the sharks." He explains then holds her head tighter as she begins to squirm in his grasp. "Hey." He says while holding the knife closer to her. "One day they carve her face. And we have no money for surgeries. She can't take it." Joker explained while he was now the one shaking, his eyes wide with insanity as he continued. "I just wanna see her smile again. Hm? I just want her to know that I don't care about the scars." He says with a trembling voice while those around the room back away further while the clowns keep anyone from moving forward.

"So…" Joker says while holding her head with one hand and points towards the scars on his face. "… I stick a razor in my mouth and do this…" He says then moves his head to show the two scars while the girl continues to shake. "… to myself." He finishes then takes hold of the girls face with both hands once more. "And you know what? She can't stand the sight of me." Joker says through gritted teeth before seeming to calm and licks his lips. "She leaves…" He says while nodding his head then narrows his eyes on the girl before him. "Now I see the funny side." Joker says and laughs lightly to himself while holding his knife into the air.

"Now I'm always smiling!" He said then leaned forward to the girl with a dark glint in his eyes. "Hey? Why so serious?" Joker then questioned and the girl's eyes widened as the Joker's darkened. "Lets put a smile on that face!" Joker said darkly with a grin spreading over his lips, only to look up when the skylight to broke open and an even wider grin split across his face. "Oh goody!" Joker then said while releasing the girl sliding off the table to stand and crack his neck. "Batsy's finally decided to come out and play!" Joker said with a laugh while his goons began to fire on the batman, the club quickly turning into a madhouse as the Meta's ran screaming, Joker somehow mingling among them, as he just seemed to vanish into the crowd.

Batman however rolled out of the way of the gunfire before lunging forward slamming his fist into one of the goons faces and sending him flying back into a wall before spinning on his heel and lashing out with roundhouse kick to the next goon. Batman then moved like lightning, lashing out with another fist to the next goons face before grabbing the last of them and then spun tossing him out of a window. _'Damn… remind me not to get on his bad side…'_ Naruto thought to himself while watching the Batman walk over to the first goon and grab him by the front of his suit.

"Who is the Joker looking for?" Batman questioned in a growl and the man merely groaned in obvious pain. "Listen up scum bag, this can go either the easy way or the hard way, and believe me, you don't want to go the hard way." Batman growled out and the slammed the man's head back into the wall. "Talk!" Batman said while slamming the man's head into the wall behind him once more.

"Ugh… go… go fuck yourself…" He managed to grunt out only for Batman to frown then lift the man up and glare.

"Fine, the hard way it is then…" Batman growled before holding a hand up, a grapple shooting out of it as he and the man went lifting out of the room and Naruto looked around and let out a sigh of relief that that hadn't been him. Walking back to find Psymon, Naruto grunted seeing as the old man had managed to escape and thus taken his only lead on Billy's location.

"I should have never left that old geezer by himself…" Naruto grunted then heard someone screaming and walked up the wall of the building to see Batman on a larger building across the street and holding a man out over the ledge. _'So THAT'S why that guy asked if I was one of Batman's students…'_ Naruto mused with some amount of shock seeing as Batman was literally holding someone out over a ledge with his bare hands.

"Now then, who is Joker looking for?" Batman questioned while the man flailed his arms and looked up at Batman through his mask.

"Jesus Christ I don't know!" He shouted and Batman frowned.

"Wrong answer…" And with that the man was dropped only for Batman to fire his grapple at him and catch the man at the last second before lifting him back up to face him. "Now then, TALK!" Batman growled out and the man whimpered.

"S-some kid… his name is B-billy Numerous! But that's all I know! I swear!" The man said loudly and Batman frowned before nodding and kicking the man in the head, knocking the man unconscious.

"Nice one bats, never thought I'd see a brutal Hero…" Naruto commented while Batman cuffed the crook and lowered him down to the street for the police before turning to look at Naruto with a glare. Batman then lashed out quickly with a bat-a-rang and Naruto flipped over it, landing in a crouch while the Batman glared. "Jeez Bats, no need to be so hostile." Naruto said while lifting his hands up only for the Batman to lunge forward and grab him by his throat.

'_Damn he's fast!'_ Naruto thought to himself while noting that besides his mask and cape, The Batman also wore a pair of black forearm length gloves over his forearms with padding over his knuckles and the backs of his fists claws at his fingertips made from a strange material, with forearm protectors over them that have three curved blades at the sides, a grey bodysuit with a black bat on the chest and several padded armored sections that were thin yet flexible, a dark gold colored utility belt around his waist, a pair of black boots made of the same material as his gloves and suit and black greaves placed over them.

"Your Red-X." Batman stated simply and Naruto kicked the man in the stomach, managing to flip and land away from him.

"Yeah, nice to know my reputation precedes me." Naruto said with a mocking bow and Batman merely narrowed his eyes.

"Are you working for the Joker?" He asked and Naruto blinked.

"Wait, you think what now?!" Naruto questioned only for the Batman to lunge forward with a punch he deftly evaded then lashed out with a kick himself that Batman merely blocked.

"A known thief from Jump-City, also known to be a mercenary on the side, shows up in Gotham not even a weeks time after the Joker starts a city wide search for someone. You tell me what I'm supposed to believe." Batman states and Naruto can see how it might look like he would work with the Joker but glares at Batman nonetheless.

"Sorry to spoil your fun bat brain, but working for maniacs like The Joker isn't my style!" Naruto stated while Batman pushed back on his leg, knocking Naruto off kilter as the blond cursed. Naruto managed to right himself however, and lashed out with a sweeping kick which the Batman jumped to avoid, then lashed with a flying roundhouse kick. Naruto quickly ducked under the kick and rolled into a crouch, quickly unfolding the Scallops from his gauntlets and lunging at Batman.

The Dark Knight merely unlocked the three curved blades from his own gauntlets as the two attacked one another with their gauntlets weapons. Thinking quickly however, Naruto then vanished and reappeared behind the bat, only for the man to elbow him in the face. Rolling back Naruto quickly used his teleportation once more to appear in front and above Batman, bringing his foot down on the man in an Ax kick. Batman managed to block however and pushed Naruto back in midair, the teen flying back into a flip and then onto the ground on all fours.

'_Okay… my teleport is basically useless against this guy… It's like he has fucking eyes in the back of his head! My mom wasn't even this hard to hit when we sparred!'_ Naruto thinks to himself while glaring at the Batman and slowly rising back to his feet. Quickly lunging forward Naruto swings his left arm at Batman, the Dark Knight quickly blocking with the blades on his own gauntlets then pushing him back. Gritting his teeth while landing in a low crouch Naruto narrows his eyes on the man.

'_Alright, this style seems to be a more perfected version of The Kid's… great, Batsy here must have taught him. Though he doesn't have ANY of Batman's experience or raw power when using it…'_ The Blond Ex-Shinobi thinks to himself before quickly throwing several X-Shuriken towards the man. Batman merely blocked the Shuriken weapons with his bladed gauntlets, easily knocking the weapons away from himself. Narrowing his eye's Batman then steps back, his cape flowing over his form as he then throws numerous Batarangs towards the blond haired thief.

Cursing and quickly rolling out of the way Naruto then throws an Explosive X towards the man's feet. Batman quickly ducked to the side to evade however, and then lunged forward at Naruto. Narrowing his eyes and pressing his foot back, Naruto caught the fist coming to his face then slid one foot forward, sweeping Batman's legs out from under him, then turned on his heel and threw him over his shoulder. Flipping in the air Batman came to the ground with a light thud before quickly lashing out with his cape, the seemingly useless accessory surprising Naruto with the force that it hit him, easily knocking him back and to the ground.

'_Note to self, never mock the cape…'_ He thinks to himself while flipping back to his feet and blocking Batman's gauntlet blades with his Scalloped gauntlets. Growling the two push forward in a test of strength, Naruto having to push Chakra into his arms just to hold the older man back. _'Damn… how the hell does anyone NOT trained in martial arts survive this guy!?'_ Naruto can't help but wonder as he and The Batman push one another back and into a sliding crouch.

"Your good." Batman offers, not even slightly winded. "But you've obviously got less experience than you do raw talent." Batman then offers while moving his arms into his cape as Naruto pants slightly while smirking towards the man.

"Can't… can't say your half bad either… Old man…" He offers in response mockingly while Batman frowns slightly at the crack.

"You should give up now, and explain why exactly you've come to Gotham." Batman states firmly, the young thief narrowing his eyes and grunting as he moves his body into another stance.

"Sorry… batbrain. That's private." Naruto offers in response before lunging forward once more, Naruto flipping into a Roundhouse, which Batman easily evaded. Batman then quickly lashed out with a punch to Naruto's jaw, the boy stumbling back before quickly using his momentum to slice through the man's armor with the Scallops on his left gauntlet. Taking a quick step back, Batman pulled a device from his belt and then hid it in his hand with his cape.

Both dark warriors lunged forward, Naruto unsheathing his sword and swinging it while the Batman blocked with his Gauntlets' blades. Batman then quickly pushed Naruto back, the young thief turning on one heel and bringing his Ninjato's hilt to both his hands. Gripping the blade tightly the blond narrowed his eyes before lunging forward once more. Batman quickly take's a step back to evade the blade however, then lashes out with a thrust kick to his chest, knocking him down onto his back. Flipping to his feet Naruto then twirls his sword in hand before holding it in a reverse grip, Batman raising a brow in surprise and intrigue.

"So you use a sword style based on diversity, allowing you to adapt to any situation. The medium length of your sword also helps in this, being longer than a Short sword but shorter than a long sword. I've actually never seen a Ninjato used quite so skillfully, the only other person to use one against me mostly just swung it around." Batman muses while taking side steps, Naruto doing the same so he can keep his eyes on the Dark Knight of Gotham.

"Thanks for the compliment old man, but we really shouldn't chat so much in the middle of an argument." Naruto quips and sees Batman frown once more before narrowing his eyes.

"True. But our argument could be easily resolved if you would just tell me what your doing in Gotham." Batman offers in retort and Naruto can't help an annoyed grunt in response while glaring at the older man.

"Like I said Batsy, it's personal business." Naruto growls out before then rushing forward, kicking out and then swinging his blade. Batman quickly moved backward to evade both attacks only for Naruto to then drop his blade in midair, spin low into a crouch while throwing an X-Shuriken at the man. Batman quickly flips over the Shuriken however, and Naruto kicks his sword up, and then spins upwards twirling his Ninjato towards the Dark Knight and cutting threw the front of his armor as he pushes a bit of wind element Chakra into it.

Eyes' widening behind his mask the Batman shows no other visible signs of surprise as he takes a quick step back. Inwardly however he makes a note to evade that blade in combat, and to thoroughly inspect it if at all possible outside of combat. "What's the matter old man, starting to feel your age?" Naruto asks while rising back to his feet and Batman frowns before then crouching down into a stance. Chuckling Naruto takes a stance of his own and both men lunge forward, Naruto throwing his sword into the air while swinging into a punch at the same time as Batman.

Fists connecting the two then quickly spin into roundhouse kicks, each connecting at the same time. _'His style is mirroring my own as we continue to fight. But if he's mirroring my moves…'_ Batman thinks to himself while his eyes narrow, both warriors pushing the other back and into a stance. Each move back at this, Naruto looking up to see his Ninjato starting it's decent. Lunging forward at this Naruto quickly takes hold of the blade and swings it, Batman swinging his arm to block and then slamming something into the blond boy's neck.

Grunting in pain the young man quickly elbowed Batman in the face, knocking him back. Soon coming into a stance Naruto watches the Batman slowly come to a stop and then move his cape around his shoulders. "What, no more?" Naruto quips with a smirk and Batman shows the syringe like device in his hand before tossing it lightly to one side. Soon after Naruto shook his head and blinked as he tried to focus on the man only to stumble backwards slightly and drop his Ninjato. "W-what the hell?" He questions before bringing a hand to his head as his vision starts to cloud over, Batman looking at him impassively.

"Your being affected by a special tranquilizer I developed specifically for Metahumans and other beings with an advanced healing factor." Batman says simply while walking towards Naruto as he falls to his knees, his hands on the ground as he tries to keep from passing out. "It'll even knock down Superman." Batman comments with a scowl on his face and Naruto narrows his eyes trying to keep him in his bleary vision. "I've heard of what you can do and your healing factor, that just makes it easier for this particular Tranquilizer to spread through you." Batman then offers and Naruto grunts while stumbling up to his feet and glaring at the man.

"M-my armor… h-how did you…" He tried to say before falling down to the ground with a groan and Batman shook his head.

"That armor is made from a special material made for flexibility and durability, normally it'd be both Bullet proof and stab proof, while also offering insulation from a variety of climates and electricity. However my weapons were designed to cut through steel if necessary, and your armor wasn't that tough." He states simply and Naruto grunts as Batman leans down to look him in the eye. "I should know, my armor is made almost the same way…" With that Naruto promptly passes out while Batman shakes his head and picks up the teens Sword.

"This I'll have to take a closer look at. I've never encountered a blade that could actually cut through my armor so easily." Batman muses before then sheathing the blade on Naruto's back. Reaching down he then grabbed him by the back of his suit and lifted him up before throwing him over his shoulder. Turning on his heel Batman then carried the young Thief into the shadows where both of them seemed to vanish into the night…

--

TBC…

--

AN: It has returned. All right, sorry for the VERY long wait for this story. And to my co-author I hope your ready to return as well. If anyone is wondering why I was so… late… with putting up this chapter, it's due to the fact that I was trying to master The Batman and his Villains with my other Story, NU: The Killing Joke. Why? Well… I kind of hate to mess up on anything and I literally did my research on the villains, mostly Batman, Joker and Harley actually, but I also did some on the others, thus leading to that story.

Also, if anyone is wondering, Batman's costume, it's the same one he wears in the game, Batman: Arkham Asylum, at least from what of it I've seen. Joker is the same one from The Dark Knight, mostly because that one and the one from the old Animated series are more familiar to me than the one from the comics. Hence their will be times he acts like a combination of those two, somewhat like the Joker-Naruto in my story NU: The Killing Joke, only less obvious at times.


	22. Gotham Nin Pt2

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

Chapter 21: Gotham Nin Pt 2…

--

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

--

(??)

The first thing he heard was screeching, bats screeching if he wasn't mistaken. Groaning to himself the blond haired Ex-Shinobi slowly rises up with a grimace on his lips. _'Ouch… all right, next time, I'm using some Jutsu against him. Although at least my idea worked, now I'm in the Bat's HQ and can hopefully find some more info on Billy's location with his oh so infamous Bat-Supercomputer… or at least what the hell he did to piss the Joker off so bad…'_ Naruto thinks to himself before opening his eyes and looking around, instantly noting his hands were cuffed, and that he was in a cave, laying back on a medical bed.

'_Hmm… so this is the famous Batcave… doesn't really look like much.'_ The blond haired Ninja thinks to himself while sitting up and coming mask to mask with a cute red head. "So your finally awake." She offers with her hands on her cheeks while sitting on a table and Naruto blinks. _'Alright… I know he works with younger people a lot but seriously, why are they all around my age?'_ He can't help but wonder while giving the obviously older girl a once over.

She was around Ayame's age from what he could see, possibly a year or two older, with an athletic build and womanly curves, and dark red hair coming out of the back of her black mask that was similar to Batman's, only with her azure blue eyes visible. She wears a thigh length cape was hanging from her shoulders with a yellow interior and the same jagged edges as Batman's own, while her black full body suit was designed to be identical to Batman's own, having the same armor like padding and insulation from what he could see, only with a yellow bat on her chest, a yellow utility belt is synched around her slim waist with a rappelling harness under it curving over her inner thighs and hips, a pair of yellow gloves adorn her hands and cover her forearms, with yellow gauntlets of a near identical design to Batman's over them, and last is a pair of yellow boots with yellow greaves.

'_Okay, as if Beast Boy looking a little like my Dobe self wasn't odd enough, this is just WAY too weird, give her a pair of amber eyes and she'd look just like mom… hell she could EASILY pass off as my sister!'_ Naruto can't help but think to himself as she has the same color of azure blue eyes that he does and his mother's dark red hair color…

"So. You must be Batgirl." Naruto offers mockingly and sees the woman twitch, making him smirk beneath his mask. _'Yep, just like mom, I'd know that kind of reaction anywhere, next she'll threaten me not to do it again…'_ Naruto thinks to himself as Batgirl then holds up an arm, the three blades at the side unlocking as she frowns towards him.

"Yes I am, just don't say it so mockingly and we'll get along just fine." She states and Naruto can't help a slight chuckle.

"Alright, whatever you say, red." Naruto offers while trying to get another rise out of her, however she just nods her head and then slides off the table. _'Hmm… judging by her reaction people either call her red a lot, or it's something she got used to before and has never noticed it.'_ Naruto thinks to himself while rolling off the table and into a crouch before getting back up and holding up his cuffed wrists.

"Lets see now, pretty girl, me handcuffed on a bed… I think I might grow to like this situation…" Naruto can't help but quip and sees Batgirl give him an annoyed look. "But sadly, I'm not into BDSM, so, do you think you can take these off me?" He asks and the red head gives him a smirk in response.

"Think you can keep you hands to yourself?" She quips and Naruto can't help a grin that forms under his mask. _'Yeah, she could easily pass as my sister back home. I can already tell that Mom would have absolutely LOVED her.'_ Naruto can't help but think to himself before following after the girl with a smirk still etched over his face.

"I can try babe, but you know how sticky a thieves hand's can get." Naruto finally quips back and Batgirl rolls her eyes.

"Enough of the witty banter, Batman needs to speak with you." She states and Naruto blinks for a moment.

"But I like the witty banter… It livens things up." Naruto says then offers and Batgirl smirks towards him.

"You would get along with my friend Spoiler, I can already tell." She offers with obvious amusement, Naruto already knowing about the other Gotham based Super-heroine.

"Yeah, yeah, that chick in a purple cloak with a hood… Sounds like her and Raven need to swap fashion tips." Naruto quips before shivering as he gets the sudden feeling that Raven is going to hurt him… _'Man, why is it that I can never make quips about her without feeling bad? She does it to me all the damn time…'_ Naruto thinks to himself while walking with Batgirl. "Any reason no one took my mask off?" Naruto then asks Batgirl and she looks at him from the corner of her eye.

"Batman doesn't want too for one reason or another. I think he's respecting your privacy, but I'm not exactly sure what." Batgirl offers and Naruto raises a brow before deciding that Batman had his own quirks. "By the way, I know Batman can mop the floor with Robin and most other freaks, but how did he do it to you?" Batgirl asks and Naruto looks at her with a raised brow under his mask. "I've been watching Robin for Batman, he can't with what happens in Gotham so I do. I've recorded data on every villain they've ever dealt with but you seem the most skilled next to Slade." She offers in answer and Naruto frowns.

"Next to Slade?" He asks while sounding indignant and the girl gives him a look.

"He can dent into steel with his bare fists, is as strong as Starfire, he can somehow survive lethal blows, not to mention is possible just as skilled in hand to hand combat as Batman, and has a vast array of weapons even I'm not completely sure of." She offers and Naruto's eyes shoot open before a shudder make's it's way over his spine.

"Er… right… Anyways. Bats never really beat me. I needed to see if I could really trust him and the best way for me to do that, was to see if he'd actually try and hurt me." Naruto explains and Batgirl looks at him strangely.

"How do people actually learn anything by fighting one another?" Batgirl asks and Naruto chuckles to himself.

"You know, a long time ago I didn't really know either… but to tell you the truth, most people when they fight show their true selves. How far they are willing to go to win, how much they want to hurt you, what they are really like inside. Judging by the way he fights, I'd say Batman doesn't throw his punches but moves only to incapacitate, not kill or maim. That alone told me he wasn't a bad person, he's just got some serious anger issues he needs to work out. Also, when he used a tranquilizer to take me down, it showed me that he won't kill and that he tries to find non-violent ways to win." Naruto explains simply with a nod of his head and Batgirl looks at him strangely.

"Somehow, I think there's more to it than that." Batgirl states while crossing her arms and Naruto chuckles lightly once more.

"Okay, okay. Thanks to Joker my only lead on a job I'm doing got away, I needed a new lead and the only person I can think of that would be able to help me is Batman. Not only that but I've always wanted to see who was better at hand to hand combat between me and Batsy seeing as I always beat the shit out of Robin. Also, I hate to admit it but I kind of got cocky there and ended up with that trank knocking me out… a few seconds more and I would have actually pulled out all the stops and took him on full force." Naruto explains as they walk up a flight of stairs and he sees Batgirl give him an incredulous look.

"So your saying you took him on, without using your maximum set of abilities or resources… and LET yourself be captured. Why?" She asks and Naruto can't help a smirk that crosses over his lips once more.

"In my Ninja career I noticed something. You never show the enemy everything you've got on your first fight. If you use your full scope of ability in a fight with an enemy, your showing them everything you got and they will adapt to it and beat you the next time. You always have to keep something held back if you're sure your going to be running into them again. Unless you're completely sure you can take them down on the first try, you always have to have something else up your sleeve. I live by this philosophy; sure I get my ass kicked quite a bit because of it, but I consider those lessons, the more I lose, the more I know I have to work on my normal skills. Know thy limitations and learn to make them your strengths." Naruto explains before offering sagely to a thoroughly shocked Batgirl.

"That was surprisingly deep coming from a thief…" Batgirl offers and Naruto chuckles to himself.

"Hey, I'm full of surprises babe…" Naruto offers before lifting a hand, the cuffs that had been around his wrists were now being twirled around on his right index finger… "Also, you need MUCH better cuffs than these if you want to hold someone like me." He offers while tossing them to the girl, making her frown towards him.

"I hate it when you guys do that…" She mutters while putting the cuffs away and Naruto looks to the side as they come off the stairs and sees a wing of different objects ranging from what seems to be a stuffed T-Red to a giant coin. _'Okay… never pegged bats as being the nostalgic type… or a packrat.'_ Naruto thinks to himself then sees several bats fly passed him and Batgirl.

"Now then, you said you wanted to know if you could trust Batman. Why exactly?" Batgirl asks and the young thief smirks behind his mask.

"When Joker ran into that club downtown my only lead on finding a friend bailed. I decided that it would be best to get some help to find him and the only person I even thought of was Bats. Bat's is a good fighter, and in our little fight he could have used any number of gadgets in that belt of his, and I'm sure he also has something to increase his strength in that suit. But he didn't use any of it. That tells me I can trust him, it tells me he fights fair and he doesn't try and beat the hell out of people unless they really deserve it." Naruto explains while crossing his arms and Batgirl frowns towards him.

"So basically, you got cocky and got your ass kicked because of it." She states with a smirk and Naruto chuckles to himself.

"No. I didn't use any Jutsu, or special powers because I've always wanted to see how my hand to hand stacks up against the Batman… but I have to admit that I never expected him to be so damn tough for an old guy… Okay so maybe I did get a little bit too cocky with him. One of my worse flaws and traits that I plan on eventually fixing." Naruto explains with a shrug and Batgirl nods her head with her arms crossed. "So. Why was I so far down in the Cave?" Naruto asks while they walk towards a large device he assumes is the super computer.

"One, nothing in that area was valuable. Two, we needed a safe place to watch you. Three, we didn't want you near our weapons. Four, we just don't trust thieves." Batgirl offers in response and Naruto can't help but agree with her. _'We also did it so Alfred wouldn't be seen…'_ Batgirl inwardly reminds herself as they come up behind Batman as he looks at a Super Computer.

"Yo, Batsy, you wanted to see me?" Naruto asks and Batgirl gives him a scathing look in response.

"Yes." Batman offers before standing up and turning to the young thief. "Why exactly are you in Gotham." He states simply and Naruto grunts while wondering if he should try and lie, or tell the truth. _'Okay, lets see now. I've gotten in the cave and now I know where the computer is, but really I'm not looking forward to taking him on, on his home turf. If I lie he's probably going to notice. And if I DON'T lie he might actually help… but I hate working with overly serious jerks… ugh… decisions decisions…'_ Naruto thinks to himself before deciding it isn't worth the hell it's already caused him to try and keep his mission a secret.

"I'm here because Billy Numerous sent a message to us over in Tartarus HQ Via a Clone. Said he was deep in the shit and that it involved the Joker." Naruto explains vaguely and Batman frowns before sitting back down in front of the super computer.

"Does Billy have any kind of pattern in his methods?" He asks and Naruto cups his chin in thought…

"He like's doing multiple things at once." He finally offers and Batman scowls.

"Thought so. Someone broke into Arkham asylum a month ago, took out the guards, and then systematically freed prisoners while helping the Joker to escape. At the same time a pair of Hyena's were stolen from the Zoo. And last evidence at the Police lock up, namely items used by The Joker and Harley Quinn was stolen. All of it was done at the exact same time." Batman offers and Naruto grimaces.

"Ugh… what the hell kind of shit have you got me into Billy?" He wonders to himself while shaking his head and Batman looks towards him for a moment. "That is definitely Billy's MO. But WHY he would bust Joker out is my question." Naruto offers and Batgirl leans forward.

"Maybe he was paid to." She offers and Naruto blinks before slapping his face.

"If it was a snake it would have bit me… he always was too into making a quick buck than I liked, not cautious enough when it came to his employers." Naruto says then offers with a shake of his head and Batman nods his head slowly.

"But that doesn't explain Joker's attacks, nor why he's looking for Billy now." Batman offers and Naruto frowns before humming in thought, arms crossed.

"Billy busted other people out until you arrived to stop that right?" Naruto asks and Batman nods his head silently. "Maybe he wanted someone ELSE out as well and Billy screwed up, thus pissing the clown man off." Naruto offers and Batman frowns before bringing up a file of a girl in a domino mask and a red and black outfit.

"Dr. Harleen Quinnzel, a former Psychiatrist now a patient at Arkham. She worked as Joker's psychiatrist for a while before she eventually became almost as warped as the Joker himself. Add onto that she's a obsessed fanatic who's slavishly loyal to Joker and you can guess why he wants her out." Batman explains and Naruto grimaces while wondering how the hell Joker had a Fangirl like Sakura…

"I thought Joker didn't care for anyone?" Batgirl questions and Batman frowns while looking at the screen.

"He doesn't. But if he wanted Billy to get her out and Billy didn't…" Batman left off and the girl filled in the missing pieces, grimacing as she does so.

"He'd take it out on Billy for failing. Joker never was one to like failure from his goons." Batgirl muses and Naruto can see why the freak is so feared in Gotham.

"Alright, now we now why Joker's doing this. But what I want to know is how do we find Billy and make sure that Joker doesn't get his hands on him?" Naruto questions than states flatly and Batman frowns while cupping his chin with a thoughtful expression on his face.

"First we find the Joker. His capture is a priority over finding Billy Numerous. Batgirl. I want you and Red-X to search any of Joker's old haunts and look for clues." Batman orders and Naruto looks at him incredulously.

"You want to send ME, with her? Isn't that a little dangerous for her?" Naruto asks seriously and Batman merely looks at him for a moment.

"Perhaps, but it's better to have someone watch you than to leave you on your own." Batman states and Naruto gives the man a mock hurt look in response.

"B-man. I'm hurt, where's the trust?" He mocks and Batgirl snickers while the older crime fighter gives him a fierce glare.

"Also, if you get out of line I'll make sure a friend of mine takes you down. Whether you're at full strength or not I doubt you'd want to fight Superman…" Batman then offers in response and Naruto grimaces to himself before again wondering what kind of shit he's gotten himself into this time… and how Batman somehow heard him and Batgirl's conversation.

--

(??)

Joker is sitting within his newest Hideout, an old factory that produced dozens of joke and gag props. In his hands the man fingers a knife, devilish eyes looking at it before looking to a nearby clown.

"We found him boss." The clown offers and Joker nods his head slowly.

"Bring our guest in…" He orders before licking his lips and lightly tossing his knife into the air before catching it. Out of they corner of his eye, Joker watched as his Clown waved in two more who dragged Billy Numerous into the room before throwing him forward and onto the ground. His suit was a mess however, blood and cuts littering his form from his "Accident" with the clowns earlier… "Hello Billy." Joker offers with a slight smirk as he then gets up and walks over to the southerner.

"M-Mr. Joker… Uh, what ya'll want wit me?" Billy asks while slowly looking up and gulps upon seeing the knife in the man's hands.

"Billy. I think you and I need to have a little talk…" Joker offers before crouching down and picking Billy off the floor and up to his feet. Standing under his own Power Billy flinches as Joker moves his knife hand, only the clown prince of crime merely brushes off something from his left shoulder. "You and I had a deal Billy. I pay you, you get me, and my little pet out of Arkham…" Joker states simply while walking to stand beside of Billy and place an arm over his shoulder. "So why is my pet still IN Arkham?" He then questions and Billy gulps while looking at the blade in the Clown Prince of Crimes hand…

"The… The Batman showed up. He took my clones out before I could get to her cell…" Billy offers while shaking and Joker shakes his head while looking at Billy, then turns and almost drags him with him.

"You know Billy. I'm the type of guy who's really easy to get along with…" Joker offers while patting Billy's shoulder and he gulps once more. "All I ask, is that you do what I paid you for and don't fail… Not much really." Joker offers with a nod of his head and Billy nods his own in agreement, to scared to disagree considering whom he's standing around with. "You seem Nervous Billy…" Joker notes and then licks the inside of his scars. "Is it the scars?" He asks while pointing at them with his knife.

"N-no sir Mr. Joker! I'm j-just intimidated b-by ya'lls record…" Billy offers with a weak grin and Joker rolls his eyes.

"Billy, Billy, Billy… I'm the Joker. I don't just randomly kill people, I kill them when it's funny." Joker offers with a grin over his face and Billy gives a frightened grin in response, seeing as Joker's sense of Humor was actually pretty warped. "Now then, why didn't you go back and get her out of Arkham?" Joker then asks while moving to stand in front of Billy.

"The Cops were everywhere Mr. Joker. I couldn't get five feet towards the place without being noticed!" Billy offers and the Joker shakes his head with a frown.

"Billy. I don't rightly care about excuses. People who try to weasel out of their work… well… I feed them to the Hyena's." Joker offers before whistling sharply, a pair of large Laughing Hyena's lunging from behind him and jumping on top of Billy, pinning him down as they snap and bite at him.

"W-wait! A friend of mine came looken for me Mr. Joker! I'm sure if you get him he could get her out of Arkham!" Billy says quickly while trying to hold the Hyena's back by making several clones.

"Really now… and how exactly do you know he'll be able to do that if you can't?" Joker questions with a frown though can't help but grin as one of the clones holding the Hyena's back is being mauled at this point.

"He's Red-X! A master thief and combatant sir! If anyone could get her out for you it'd be Red-X, he's got more skill in his right arm than I have in my whole damn body!" Billy offers quickly and sees Joker hum in thought, rubbing his chin while the Hyena's continue to try and maul the teen.

"Sounds… so boring…" Joker muses before his eyes widen and a devilish look spreads over his face. "Why just ask him to break her out?" Joker wonders to himself as he then walks towards a nervous Billy and pats each of his Hyena's on the back. "Sorry boys, he's off the menu…" Joker offers and the Hyena's actually seem to pout as they back away from Billy, still glaring towards him from behind Joker. "For now at least…" Joker suddenly amends and Billy whimpers while absorbing his clones and grimacing as he relives the pain they felt in his mind.

Joker then waved a Clown over to him, the man standing at attention as an amused Joker then pointed to Billy. "Tie him up." He orders and Billy blinks.

"Wha!?" Billy demands loudly and Joker gives him a devious grin.

"I have an amusing Idea thanks to you Billy-boy… but I'm going to need some Bait for it to work… and lucky for you, you're my newest worm." Joker offers in response before laughing to himself as he walks away, several Clowns grabbing Billy and tying him up…

--

(Gotham…)

Naruto and Batgirl are riding the X-Cycle down the streets of Gotham, a helmet over Batgirl's head with a radio so they can speak with one another. "So, while I wasn't using my full set of abilities, I am wondering how Batsy was keeping up with me stamina wise. From what I've heard from friends and enemies alike, I'm a Stamina freak. Got any idea's on that Bat-Babe?" Naruto asks the girl as they turn at a corner and she blinks before sighing to herself, wondering how many nicknames the thief was going to come up with for her.

"He had advanced meditation training in the far east. Supposedly, he's learned to control his breathing to allow him greater overall stamina. He's also mastered an ability that allows him to literally ignore pain, another one that lets him unleash his muscles maximum capacity, and another that supposedly allows him to resist all forms of illusions and telepaths." Batgirl offers in explanation and Naruto whistles to himself, truly impressed with just THAT amount of the bat's training.

"So you just told me all that… WHY?" Naruto then asks and Batgirl rolls her eyes.

"Because it's so vague it wouldn't really help you in a fight with him." She offers in response and Naruto shrugs, it's more or less true, only telling him he's stronger than he looks, can disable his ability to feel pain, and can control his breathing to increase his overall stamina…

"That guy sure is something else. No wonder more than a few Metahumans are afraid of being anywhere near Gotham." Naruto muses mostly to himself, seeing as more than half the HIVE were terrified of the Batman.

"Yeah, it's also amazing you didn't have to go all out against him. I watched that fight, you moved at speeds no human should be able to go at." Batgirl offers and Naruto chuckles to himself for a few moments.

"Yeah, well I've always been one of the most surprising ninja anyone has ever met." Naruto offers, smirking to himself before grimacing as he remembers that it was Kakashi who gave him that nickname.

"Most Surprising Ninja? Weird nickname." She offers and the blond shrugs his shoulders before slowing to a stop in front of a building.

"So you sure this place has someone who can lead us to Joker?" Naruto asks as he and the girl get off of his bike, Batgirl removing her helmet as she does.

"Yeah. This guy has information on every villain in Gotham." Batgirl explains before Naruto frowns towards her.

"He got a name?" The teen asks and Batgirl nods her head.

"He calls himself Two-Bit. A former thief, he now deals more with information." She explains and Naruto hums in thought.

"I think I should be the one to handle this, Red." He states and Batgirl gives him a look.

"I'm not supposed to let you out of my sights." She reminds and Naruto frowns.

"Your also a known crime fighter, I doubt the guys inside are going to react to you favorably." Naruto reminds and Batgirl frowns in thought, cupping her chin before giving him an annoyed look.

"I hate that you're right. Just remember that we just need Joker's location." She states and Naruto nods his head before walking into the building, Batgirl going over to a window to watch him. Inside, Naruto finds a guard at another door and raises a brow.

"What do you want?" The large man asks with a frown and Naruto crosses his arms.

"I'm here for information. Word is that Two-Bit has it." He states and the large man nods his head before opening the door at his side. Walking inside, Naruto sees what could pass off as a club, several mobsters like people playing pool or gambling. _'I feel like I've walked into Tanzaku Town…'_ Naruto thinks to himself before turning to the guard who grunts.

"Two-Bit is over there. Make it quick." He growls and Naruto nods his head once before walking off towards the man. Looking all around Naruto notes a woman who looks strikingly like Tsunade and shivers. _'Why is it that everyone in this world reminds me of someone from my own?'_ The blond can't help but wonder to himself as he comes up to the table where Two-Bit sits. The person is obviously older than him and dressed in a simple black suit, with shaggy brown hair, a mustache/goatee and a black bandage around his eyes.

"Two-Bit I take it." Naruto muses before taking a seat and the person nods with a slight smirk on his face.

"Most call me that. So what do you need Red-X? Or would you prefer Tempets?" Two-Bit questions and Naruto blinks in surprise. _'Whoa, he really does have all the information on Gothams Villains, even if I've only been here a day…'_ Naruto thinks to himself though then wonders about the blindfold.

"Your blind…" Naruto states flatly and Two-Bit chuckles to himself.

"Yes. The reason why I stopped my career as a thief, but it did allow me to listen much better…" Two-Bit offers in explanation and Naruto nods his head slowly.

"I need information on The Joker." Naruto states and Two-bit's smirk turns into a slight frown before leaning back in his seat.

"Him… The Joker is one of the only people I try not to piss off in this city…" Two-Bit offers before licking his lips. "It's going to cost you if you want the information." Two-Bit then says and Naruto frowns slightly.

"What exactly?" He questions and Two-Bit hums in thought before grinning towards the blond thief.

"All I want is a little object really… a Kunai." He states simply and Naruto raises a brow for a moment. "Let me add onto that, a three pronged Kunai with seals etched into it." Two-Bit then adds and Naruto frowns for a few moments.

"You heard about my fight with the Titans in Wayne Inc…" He states and Two-Bit nods his head. "Why do you want one? You won't be able to use it." Naruto states flatly and yet Two-Bit merely chuckles to himself in response.

"I like to collect things. It's a hobby of mine born from my time as a thief. Nowadays I collect objects from villains. A Sharpened Card from Joker, a Sledge Hammer from Harley Quinn, a mutated plant from Poison Ivy, a gun from Two-Face, an Umbrella from Penguin before he went on the straight and narrow, a cane from The Riddler, and so on and so on." Two-Bit explains and Naruto nods his head slowly before reaching to his thigh and pulling the Kunai out, holding it in a reverse grip he hands it over to the older man who takes it delicately and feels it.

"Now then. Where is the Joker?" Naruto questions of the man and Two-Bit nods his head before handing the object to one of his men, the man then taking it to a room where Naruto sees several different objects that seemed like they belonged to the people that Two-Bit had mentioned.

"Joker's last hideout was at the Warf on the eastside, it was warehouse 13 if I remember correctly." Two-Bit offers while folding his arms together on top of the table and Naruto nods his head and gets up. "By the way, tell Batgirl I said hi." Two-bit then says with a grin and Naruto wonders if the boy is a metahuman before then making his way out of the building. Seeing Batgirl he looks at her strangely.

"Two-Bit said to say hi…" He offers while getting onto his motorcycle and Batgirl rolls her eyes.

"He's known to like messing with his clients." She offers in explanation while getting on behind him and Naruto nods his head slowly.

"Is he a metahuman?" Naruto then asks and Batgirl nods her head while pulling her helmet on over her head.

"He can grow nearly indestructible armored scales and spikes over his body." She says and Naruto blinks then shakes his head.

"I thought he was psychic…" Naruto mumbles before starting his X-Cycle, both he and Batgirl heading towards the east side of Gotham…

--

(Jump City…)

Blackfire was slowly walking around Tartarus' base, grimacing as her muscles felt like they hadn't been used in years. Looking around, the ebony haired alien soon found Gizmo's workshop, the tiny terror working on her armor. "You know… those circuits aren't supposed to be fused…" Blackfire offers while moving over to a seat next to the little bald boy.

"Huh… you actually understand how this works?" Gizmo asks and Blackfire rolls her eyes before taking a couple devices and looking at what he's doing.

"Yes. I learned on Veratia how it works…" She offers and Gizmo squints.

"Veratia? Where is that?" He asks and Blackfire sighs.

"Nowhere… it was destroyed." She offers simply while working on some of the circuits that had burnt out in her suit.

"By?" Gizmo asks and Blackfire frowns.

"None of your business baldy." She offers with her old fire and Gizmo mutters something under his breath.

Elsewhere in Tartarus' HQ, Mammoth, Starfire, Seemore, Kid Wykkyd, and Private HIVE are all watching with wide eyes as Jinx and Raven have gotten into ANOTHER fight… The group is hiding behind an overturned couch at the moment while watching them attack one another. "What set them off like this, this time?" Seemore asks with wide eyes and Mammoth shrugs his large shoulders while they all watch on from a crouched position behind their sofa.

"To hell if I know man, all I know is that Jinx said something and then Blue Girl got pissed off, and now their having the nastiest catfight in human history…" Mammoth offers as Jinx hurls a Hex-Bolt at Raven, sending her flying into a nearby hall while Starfire blinks.

"What is a, "Catfight"?" Starfire asks the Tartarus boys and they look at her before Seemore sighs.

"It's when two chicks try to hurt one another over something, usually a guy that they both like." He offers while Raven comes roaring out of the hall, eyes now glowing a burning red as she slams into Jinx, knocking them through another door.

"Oh… why is it called a Catfight then?" Starfire then asked naively and the boys looked to Seemore, the boy blinking before shrugging his shoulders.

"Got me." He offers while Jinx rolls back into the room, panting, and with several rips in her top.

"Alright now I'm really mad!" Jinx growls out as her eyes start to flash fully pink and Raven kicks something off of her before slowly walking into the room, fanged teeth bared and hands clenching and unclenching into claws. Her cloak however is now torn and tattered with her broach now missing, shreds of it hanging down.

"Uh… I never noticed, but she's REALLY scary when she's mad…" Mammoth offers while looking at Raven with wide eyes, everyone, even Starfire, nodding their head in complete agreement with him. At this Jinx lunged forward, hands covered in a glowing pink energy she flipped up then brought her hands down, an arc of her energy ripping through the ground towards Raven.

The other grey skinned teen merely spun on one heel, her cloak flowing around her as she then vanished before reappearing behind Jinx. Roaring with a demonic growl the girl swung her now ebony energy incased claws towards her…

"Uh Sir. Shouldn't we try and stop those two before they tear the base apart?" Private HIVE asks Mammoth and the red haired teen looks at him like he's crazy.

"You want to get between them, be my guest!" He states and Private rapidly shakes his head no.

"Although I do hope that Friend Raven is Okay…" Starfire starts to say only to duck as Jinx is flung towards them, hitting the wall behind them and then growling.

"Oh no you don't bitch!" She shouts while lunging back at Raven and Starfire looks to the Tartarus boys.

"Perhaps it would be safer if we were to retreat to a better location and attempt to find a solution to this dilemma." Starfire offers while Jinx uses a roundhouse kick to knock Raven into a different wall.

"Like?" Seemore questions as Raven summons black monsters with her powers, their eyes glowing a menacing red that Starfire easily remembers.

"Like perhaps a force field to contain them… or an atomic weapon to slow them down so we might escape." Starfire offers with obvious fear as the black energy creatures lunge at Jinx, pinning her down only to be flung off as Jinx spreads her power out in a sphere, sending them all flying around the room.

"I'm with her." Mammoth says and Seemore nods his head in agreement as Jinx and Raven are now biting, kicking and scratching one another… "Alright Kid, get us the hell out of here!" Mammoth then says and Kid nods his head and pulls them all into the shadows just as Raven lands where they had been, several cuts and burns of some kind in her leotard before a snarl creeps over her face.

"**You have NO idea who you're pissing off!"** Raven shouts in a demonic roar and Jinx plainly rolls her eyes, before spitting some blood from her mouth while one of the bands holding her hair up is missing, half her hair falling to her shoulders.

"And I don't care either!" Jinx offers as she lunges at Raven, jumping into the air while flinging several Hex-Bolts towards the other girl. Growling Raven rolls out of the way and then turns on her heel, a claw of black energy attempting to grab Jinx who merely rolls out of the way. At the only remaining door way Gizmo and Blackfire both arrive and the tiny terror gawks at what he's seeing.

"Aw hell no! We only fixed this place up last month!" Gizmo shouts out only for Blackfire to pull him out of the way as Jinx is tossed into the wall behind him. Soon after that however, a black energy claw then trying to slash the pinkette, who quickly rolled to the side with a deep scowl on her face.

"Gizmo, I don't think it's safe to try and communicate with them at the moment." Blackfire states and Gizmo blinks before screaming in terror as the demonic raven roars while slamming into Jinx, both going through a wall.

"Damn! And I though their catfight last week was bad, this makes that look like a little slap fight!" Gizmo says with wide eyes as he watches Jinx and Raven soon slam back into view through another wall, Jinx's hair now all down and Raven's chain belt now missing from her hips. "Alright lets just run away then!" Gizmo shouts before he and Blackfire both run out of the path of the two very pissed off gray skinned girls…

--

TBC…

--


	23. Gotham Nin Pt3

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

Chapter 22: Gotham Nin Pt 3…

--

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

--

(Gotham City…)

The X-Cycle comes to a slow stop at the wharf, having circled the area at least four times and only seeing ten warehouses. "Damn that Two-Bit! I knew we shouldn't have trusted him…" Naruto growls out only for Batgirl to cup her chin for a moment.

"He does deals with villains so he couldn't just tell us Joker's exact Location… Aha!" She mused then said while pointing to warehouse eight.

"What? But he said thirteen." Naruto reminds and Batgirl nods her head.

"Look at the design of 8 on the warehouse like it was actually "two" parts." The red haired girl offers and Naruto frowns before narrowing his eyes on the building and his eyes widen as he sees the two parts look like a 13 rather than an 8 in that way.

"Clever. But I think he's been hanging around that Two-Face guy a little too much." Naruto offers and Batgirl nods with a slight grimace on her face.

"He's known to mess with his clients, just because he likes to get a good laugh. You should have seen him when he was a thief, diamond hard armor and a keen intellect to match it. He was a real beast for me and the birds to deal with when he went by the Silence handle." Batgirl muses and Naruto blinks before turning his head to look at her with a raised brow.

"Birds and Silence?" He asks and She grins.

"The Birds of Prey." She offers and Naruto gives an Ah in response.

"I forgot you were on an all female team for a while, you, Huntress, and that Black-Canary chick right?" Naruto asks and Batgirl nods her head while getting off of the X-cycle and looking at the warehouse. "Now then, Silence?" He then asks and Batgirl nods her head while moving towards the warehouse in a crouch, Naruto at her side.

"Two-Bit's original name, he was called Silence, mostly because of how he never spoke while in armor, he was silent as the grave and seemed to appear then disappear like a whisper. He was known to start silent crime sprees before Two-Face got his hands on him…" Batgirl offers before grimacing with obvious guilt.

"What did Two-Face do to him?" Naruto asks and Batgirl rubs her arms with obvious uncomfortable while standing just low enough so she won't be seen through a window nearby.

"He was helping us with a case against Two-Face, apparently someone close to him was hurt and he was out for payback. When we finally cornered Two-Face, he tossed Acid at Two-Bit. And the only part of him not protected by his armor, it just happened to be his eyes." Batgirl explained with a visible grimace on her face and Naruto did as well.

"His eyes were burned out… damn that's rough…" Naruto says with a shake of his head and Batgirl shakes her head.

"Enough about that, let's get back to work on catching, Joker." Batgirl says simply while moving towards a door and Naruto can't help but wonder how Two-Bit could stay a criminal after Two-Face did that to him… _'I guess some guys really will never change.'_ He thinks to himself while following Batgirl into the building, reaching to his back to unsheathe his Ninjato as he does so.

"See anyone bat-babe?" Naruto asks and Batgirl shakes her head no with a slight annoyed frown on her face.

"No, and that's what really worries me." Batgirl says before admitting as they slowly walk through the building, seeing the numerous amounts of gag and joke paraphernalia.

"Does Joker always hide in places like this?" Naruto asks and Batgirl nods her head in response. "Then whenever he gets out, why not have the cops come looking in these types of places first?" Naruto asks and Batgirl blinks before grimacing to herself.

"Detective Bullock isn't really all that smart, and Commissioner Gordon trusts people like myself and Batman to handle people like Joker more than his own cops." Batgirl offers and Naruto hums for a moment, seeing as he can tell that most of the police would probably be blown away by guys like Joker, literally in this case.

"You seem close to Batman…" Naruto observes and Batgirl gives him a sidelong glare in response. "Just an observation…" He offers with a slight shrug, before then sighing and sheathing his weapon. "The place is empty." He states before narrowing his eyes and hitting a button on his helmet, switching to his ultraviolet setting while his eyes start glowing violet.

"See something?" Batgirl questions and Naruto nods his head with narrowed eyes while slowly moving over to a white spot on the ground.

"Someone was bleeding here…" He states and Batgirl frowns before getting down and getting a sample. "Also, what's with the TV over there?" Naruto asks while pointing a thumb to a TV with a VCR under it.

"Joker's calling card I bet." Batgirl grumbles while moving over to the set and placing the sample of blood into her belt. Turning his vision setting Naruto makes his way over to the TV with Batgirl.

"It's probably trapped somehow." Naruto muses and Batgirl nods her head.

"In case it is, be prepared to run." She offers in response and Naruto nods his head as the girl wonder starts the tape in the VCR. At first the two are tense as static comes up, however then a shaky view of a place other than the warehouse appears.

"To whom it may concern. This is The Joker speaking." The calm voice of the madman offers while Naruto frowns as the Clown's face comes into view. "And if I'm correct, I'd say your either Batsy, Bat-Babe, or of course, the new player in our little roundabout game, Red-X. I'll figure out a name for you later." Joker then offers with a strange look on his face, a cross between serious and joking.

"I hate clowns…" Naruto sates with a frown and Batgirl nods her head.

"Now you know why I dislike being called Bat-Babe." She whispers and he nods his head with a frown.

"Oh, I almost forgot, allow me to introduce you all or whoever is there, to Billy Numerous." Joker then says while turning around to show a tied up Billy hanging over a ledge, Naruto and Batgirl's eyes widening.

"Aw shit, he's already got Billy." Naruto says as Joker turns the camera back to himself with a wide grin.

"As you can see, our fine southern friend here is just hanging around for the moment." Joker offers with an amused grin and Naruto twitches in an annoyance. "However, how long he stays this way, or even among the living, is entirely up to my favorite bats and of course, one little thief." Joker then offers before licking his lips and Naruto narrows his eyes. "You see, at midnight tonight, I plan on letting dear Billy here go the way of Humpty-Dumpty…" Joker then offers before moving to point the camera down over a ledge, Naruto's eyes wide as he sees just how far up they are.

"And as you can probably guess, no one will be piecing Billy boy here back together again after THIS fall…" Joker says with a laugh and Naruto grunts in annoyance once more. "So unless you want that to happen, either Batman, Batgirl, or Red-X must free my pet, Harley Quinn from Arkham Asylum by Midnight." Joker then states while turning the camera back to himself and licks his lips. "Oh. And only ONE of you has to do this, if the others help that's all fine and dandy, but if she's not here by midnight, well… I'm afraid things are really going to get messy for Gotham." Joker says while nodding his head and then brings it closer to his face.

"So, I hope you have a blast and remember… I'm a man of my word" Joker then says before laughing insanely as the tape shakes and then seems to skip and turn back to static as Naruto reaches forward and takes the tape from the VCR.

"Well now we know that Joker has Billy… and he wants Harley out." Batgirl muses while Naruto frowns in thought… Have a Blast?

"Oh shit!" Naruto then says while grabbing Batgirl by her wrist and quickly making his way out of the warehouse.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing?!" Batgirl demands even as steel gates start to come down over the door.

"Think about it, Joker said "Have a Blast", and what would make someone as crazy as him laugh like that!?" Naruto demands and Batgirl's eyes widen behind her mask as she gets what he means.

"Oh shit!" The girl says while running forward, pulling her wrist from Naruto as the Boy sprints at her side.

"That's what I said!" Naruto shouts while forming a pair of explosive X's in his hands, Batgirl pulling two explosive Batarangs from her belt before both throw their respective weapons at the door, the four devices hitting at the same time and knocking the door ajar. Looking behind them both see the explosions start and quickly jump out of the building, the force of the explosion sending them flying out of the warehouse and into the waters of the wharf…

Surfacing soon after, Naruto looks around before cursing and ducking underwater, turning on his heat vision to look for Batgirl he sees her a short distance away and makes his way over to her. Wrapping an arm around the girl's waist Naruto starts to swim back to shore, soon pulling her up onto a dock. Shaking his head Naruto then drags Batgirl over to a crate and leans her against it. "Please don't be dead…" He whispers while placing a hand against her neck and breathing a sigh of relief when he feels a pulse.

"Looks like a minor concussion… she should be fine when she wakes up." Naruto muses to himself before looking at her belt buckle and presses down on it, the buckle glowing strangely. _'If I know how Bat's thinks, that should be a distress signal…'_ Naruto says to himself then turns around and looks at his bike before moving over to it and looking at the tape. Opening a slot on the bike he places the tape into it, a scanner viewing the images/sound and then storing it onto the bikes main computer.

'_All right now, Mr. Joker, let's see where you were…'_ Naruto whispers while playing the stored video and pausing when it shows the hanging Billy. Looking over it Naruto then uses a keypad on the bike to zoom in on a section beside of Billy and smirks. _'Now I know where to go… but if I don't want Joker offing Billy prematurely I'll need to bust this Harley girl out. Besides that, she would make a decent hostage incase things start to go south with the Joker.'_ Naruto thinks to himself before then turning off the computer on his bike and starting his bike.

Stopping for a second, the blond boy looks back over towards Batgirl one last time before chuckling. "Sorry red… looks like this is where we part ways." Naruto says before turning to look in the direction of Arkham asylum. "After all, I'm not a hero, and I don't like to play one anymore." Naruto says to himself as he then speeds off into the distance, leaving Batgirl behind as he does so.

--

(Jump City…)

Jinx is panting to herself with a single hand on the side of the hallway she and Raven had fought down, numerous cuts and bruises forming on her pale skin while her hair is down completely from her usual style. _'I'll give her one thing… she sure can give and take a punch…'_ Jinx thinks to herself while moving to lean back in the wall to catch her breath so she can go on.

Down the hall Raven seems much worse for wear in comparison, especially seeing as her hair looks to have grown, now reaching to the middle of her back. Also her cloak is now gone completely, burns and small cuts are covering her form and she spits out a bit of blood from her mouth to the side while her glowing red eyes glare down the hall towards Jinx angrily. _**'I hate that damnable human so much right now!'**_ She thinks with a demonic growl while slowly rising to her feet and stumbling down to one knee.

Meanwhile, watching from a safe distance is Blackfire and Gizmo. "Have you ever seen a fight this intense?" Gizmo asks Blackfire with wide eyes and the alien princess actually stops to consider this.

"Yes. I was visiting a martial arts temple when two of the boys decided to fight over me. Spanned over two miles and lots of collateral damage before I finally managed to kick both their Asses to get them to stop." Blackfire offers with a shrug and Gizmo gives her an incredulous look in response. "What? I'm a princess, add onto that I'm a warrior and they thought I was really hot." Blackfire offers while crossing her arms and Gizmo decided he didn't even WANT to know.

"Alright, then what do we do about them?" He asks her and she looks at the two panting girls before smirking to herself.

"At this point a feather could knock them both down." She states simply and Gizmo looks between the two destructive teenaged girls. Noting not only how messed up their clothes are, or lack there of, how much their panting, and finally how they look like they've been hit by a tank or two…

"Yeah. Got to agree with you." Gizmo says with a nod of his head and both notice something and turn around to see Starfire and the rest of Tartarus are looking over their shoulders towards the two girls.

"Please, would it be possible for someone to go and capture them now that they are tired?" Starfire asks and Blackfire gives her a look.

"Your strongest and Raven IS your friend…" Blackfire reminds and Starfire looks at her as if she's crazy.

"Sister, I may not understand earthly ways, but I DO understand the want to stay alive for the foreseeable future…" Starfire says and Tartarus look at her with obvious shock plastered on their faces. "What? Do I have the mustard on my face again?" Starfire then asks and Mammoth is the first to speak.

"No… just… I never thought I'd hear you talk like that." Mammoth offers with agreeing nods from all but Blackfire.

"Tameranians are a Warrior Race boys, we're smart enough to know when to and not to pick a fight. And right now it looks like Starfire would rather NOT pick a fight with her friend over there…" Blackfire offers in explanation, and the Tartarus boys nod their heads slowly.

"I say Mammoth should go. Jinx won't hurt him too bad and he's strong enough to hold Raven down long enough for me to trank her." Gizmo says and everyone nods his or her head while Mammoth looks at a smirking Gizmo incredulously.

"Oh you guys suck so much!" He grumbles before slowly moving from his spot and looks towards Jinx, the girl half leaning against the wall, half using it for support so she won't fall down to the ground. Turning his head Mammoth sees a panting Raven is down on all fours, glaring towards the Pinkette with furious red eyes.

'_Okay… I'll take her first, Jinx is a friend and I'm used to having her beat me up anyways…'_ Mammoth thinks to himself with a gulp while slowly moving towards the violet haired girl. Said girl growls towards Mammoth as he slowly makes his way towards him, then suddenly launches herself at him. Thinking quickly Mammoth moves his arms to slam her into a wall and hold her arms at her side.

"Giz now!" Mammoth shouts and Gizmo quickly fires a trank at Raven, hitting her at her neck and making the girl calm, before then passing out. Giving a sigh of relief now that the first problem is done with they turn just in time to see Jinx collapse and pass out as well. "I guess that solves our problem… but what do we do with her?" Mammoth offers then asks while nudging towards Raven and Starfire sighs.

"I shall attempt to take her home now. She needs the rest greatly and I believe I may be able to at least enter the tower without the others noticing me… or friend Raven's current state." Starfire offers while moving to pick the younger Titan up then looks around the debris. "If you should find her belt or broach I would much appreciate their return. I believe her mother gave them to her." Starfire then says with a quick bow of the head before flying down the halls of the HQ as the rest of Tartarus turn to Jinx.

"I'll handle this…" Seemore says and Private HIVE rolls his eyes.

"Not without me there, maggot! I've got more muscle to life her than you." Private reminds and Seemore gives a sheepish look in response as the two move to take Jinx to the infirmary and Gizmo looks around with Mammoth and Kid Wykkyd…

"It's going to take us forever to fix all of this…" The tiny terror says with a sniffle and Mammoth sighs to himself.

"I'll go get the broom…" He offers so he can begin moving the debris…

--

(Arkham Asylum…)

Dark clouds hover over Arkham, a short burst of lightning hitting near the depressing Asylum as a small drench of rain comes down. A pair of lights a visible on the bridge to the gothic asylum, slowly making it's way towards the main building. Naruto slowly rides his X-Cycle towards the building, his eyes widening in shock as lightning flashes over the ominous structure of Arkham Asylum.

'_Whoa… this place makes my mind look like a sunny field of daisies…'_ Naruto thinks to himself while turning the lights on his X-Cycle off then moving it into some bushes to hide it. Looking around the blond haired thief then quickly runs up to the top of a tree and feels his eyes widen as he sees the full structure of Arkham from his new position…

Arkham is large, easily close to the size of a small village from his own world, with large stone/wire/barred fences surrounding it with jagged spikes on the top, razor wire looped into the bars, and visible electricity coursing through some of the fence. The main gate however has two disturbing statues to either side of it, each holding a lit torch that casts an eerie glow against the bold words ARKHAM ASYLUM that resides on the ebony colored bars.

Within these gates however, Naruto can see a large field, all plant life is gone, possibly to keep Poison Ivy in, with cracked stone and dirt everywhere, several strange buildings are near the very back of the area, their purpose Naruto can't even guess. However, all around the field Naruto can see camera's, down on the field he also sees turrets of some kind, all of which have camera's on top of them, and last seems to be several vents to pump out gas, making the thief wonder what kind of maniac built the strange asylum.

Shaking his head to clear it of such thoughts Naruto continues to look around what he'll have to get through. Arkham's main structure however is a massive fortress like building, with gothic gargoyles and twisting towers and spikes covering it up into the dark sky, camera's situated at almost every key point for infiltration and extraction. The main building also has a second outer building around it however, attached via short hallways and possibly where the inmates are held, though it seems more gothic and disturbing than even the main building itself, barbed wire looped along jagged electric fences on the roof, barred windows visible even from a distance…

'_Holy shit… And I thought this was going to be easy, I'll be lucky if getting in this place doesn't KILL me…'_ Naruto thinks to himself with wide eyes while looking around, then ducks down as a truck drives through Arkham's barred gates. Watching it he sees a hydraulic sealed door slowly open as the armored truck backs up to it, possibly to deposit prisoners… _'The Security for this place is unreal even by MY standards…'_ Naruto thinks to himself with a grimace as the truck then speeds out of Arkham and back towards Gotham City.

'_Alright Naruto, think, Billy need's you and you've only got three hours left to get in, get this chick, and then somehow get to Joker. There's no margin for error, and to top it all off, this place is like something out of a Nightmare…'_ Naruto thinks to himself before giving a sigh and narrowing his eyes on the building once more. Besides the loading area for new inmates, Naruto can see only one other entrance on ground level, and three roof entrances here and there.

'_Hmm… the front door and the loading dock are all watched by two to three separate cameras… but the highest door on the main building only has one. That will have to be my entrance and exit.'_ Naruto thinks to himself then looks over the rest of what he's got to work with on this infiltration. _'Alright, the turrets aren't stationary, so if I time it right and use some stealth I should be able to get through those easily enough. Then I'll just have to scale the building and reach my entrance, while also avoiding anyone or the cameras seeing me… Man I love this…'_ Naruto thinks to himself with obvious sarcasm while looking over the fence with a frown.

'_Alright, now how do I get passed those cameras and the electrified fence without being seen, or that razor wire tearing me apart?'_ Naruto wonders to himself with a frown on under his mask. _'Walking up the wall is a no no with that wire, the electricity will prevent me from trying to punch through it, and of course those cameras will stop me from going through the main gate and several other cameras around it stop me from trying to find a weak point in the wall or to try and dig under it.'_ Naruto thinks to himself with a grimace on his face as he tries to come up with a way to deal with this VERY irritating problem…

'_Damn, the only way around this looks to be using a Hiraishin no Jutsu. My ShunShin wouldn't be accurate enough to get me passed those defenses so…'_ Naruto muses while pulling a Hiraishin Kunai from his thigh and then throws it into the air, the Kunai coming down near a Turret. _'Shit. Now I need to watch and make sure I don't appear in front of that damn thing…'_ Naruto thinks to himself while looking at the Kunai and then puts his hands together. Watching the Turret carefully before quickly using the Jutsu and appearing above it.

Quickly taking the Kunai from the ground the blond haired thief flips over a turret into safety then jumps on top of another one. Breathing out Naruto then quickly jumps up and throws his Hiraishin Kunai onto Arkham before using the Justu to appear at its side. Quickly taking hold of the Kunai Naruto then places his feet onto the side of Arkham before pulling it out of the stone building. _'Not bad Naruto, looks like all that training is finally starting to pay off…'_ Naruto thinks to himself before then placing his Hiraishin Kunai back into his thigh case and then sprints up the side of Arkham.

Slowing down as he nears his destination Naruto looks towards his entrance and frowns upon seeing the camera. _'Nothing a Static-X can't handle…'_ Naruto thinks with a smirk as he forms the weapon in his hand then tosses it at the camera, sparks flying before the device shuts down and lowers. Smirking to himself Naruto flips over the fence around the area and lands in front of the door. Opening it slowly Naruto looks around within Arkham with narrowed eyes. Deciding to keep a low profile, the young thief quickly jumps to the roof while kicking the door closed.

Crawling along the roof Naruto soon finds himself in the outer facility and frowns seeing the numerous cell doors. _'This place is more like a prison than a asylum…'_ He thinks to himself seeing the gritty stone that comprises the building, strange beds in some rooms and twistedly designed corridors and devices. _'Ugh… no wonder Joker wanted out of here, I wouldn't wish this place on my worst enemy… wait… maybe Sasuke-Teme and Haruno but not Kakashi or the others.'_ Naruto thinks then amends as he slowly crawls along the roof, looking for a computer or something that can tell him Harley's location.

'_This place has to have some kind of record for that kind of thing. After all, that would be how they assign medicine to them as well as nurses/doctors…'_ Naruto thinks to himself then narrows his eyes as an auburn haired man with goggles, dressed in an Arkham uniform with bicep length lab gloves walks over to a computer and finds a file, then walks away. Smirking, Naruto flips over to the computer before looking all around for anyone. Quickly turning back to the computer Naruto starts to check the personnel files before grinning when he finds "Harleen Quinzel" in the directory at last.

'_Wing 2, Cell 667.'_ Naruto muses then frowns to himself before looking all around once more. Seeing no one, the young thief quickly brings up a map of Arkham and then pulls a wire from his belt. _'The one thing I love about this suit, instant download into my helmet's visual processing computer for quick uses of a map…'_ He thinks while putting the end of the wire into a slot on the machine and downloading the map. Finishing quickly the young Thief jumps back up to the roof while his helmet links up with a computer that had watched what he'd been doing and then makes an accurate guess to his location while putting a miniature map on his H.U.D.

'_Now let's wait for it to figure out the quickest route to Harley and I'm all set…'_ Naruto thinks to himself before smirking as an arrow appears on the mini-map on his H.U.D. Smirking the young thief crawls over the roof, down long twisting halls, evading numerous cameras and other surveillance equipment. Soon stopping at a large hydraulic sealed door with a number two on it Naruto looks around before finding the control pad. Flipping down and over to it the young thief starts to hack into the system, inwardly thanking Gizmo for the lessons on doing that as he does so.

Soon hacking into the system, Naruto opens the doors while making sure that none of the security protocols reach Security. _'I have enough to worry about without those morons showing up after all…'_ Naruto thinks to himself then places a Static-X onto the control to shut it down as he runs into Wing-2. Slowing down Naruto looks around, seeing numerous rooms with glass windows to see the inmates. Walking down the line he sees a woman with pale green skin and red hair, her jade green eyes watching him silently while caring for a few plants within.

'_Poison Ivy…'_ He thinks before stopping at a strange sound, turning his head the blond takes a step back upon seeing where it was coming from. A man stood behind the class, half of his face looked normal, his hair combed back, but the other half was disfigured by horrible burns, the muscle holding his lower and upper jaw together visible, his eyelid gone completely while his left side looked more like red and black muscle than it did skin. _'Two-Face…'_ Naruto thinks while that single massive eye watches him as he passes the man.

Next he passed a blond man with a top hat and large yellow teeth sitting on his bed with a forlorn expression. A red haired man with an extremely tall lanky man with wild eyes, a man with blue skin sitting with a snow globe in one hand. _'Scarecrow, Mad Hatter, and Mr. Freeze…'_ Naruto notes before looking at the number and sees a 665 on freeze, cell 666 is empty and he figures it belongs to Joker. Stopping in front of Harley's cell, Naruto feels his eyes widen in shock as he sees a tanned blond girl with her hair in twin pigtails, standing on her hands/head with a cute bubbly smile on her face…

'_Holy shit! She looks like my Oiroke no Jutsu!'_ Naruto thinks with obvious shock as the girl opens a pair of azure blue eyes before rolling onto her feet. Shaking his head, Naruto then walks over to the cell and the girl looks at him strangely.

"Who are you?" She asks and Naruto feels thankful that at least she doesn't sound like his Oiroke no Jutsu.

"Name's Red-X Blondie, and I'm here to bust you out so keep it down." Naruto states with a frown as he then puts his hand onto the glass and a large X shape is cut out of the glass instantly, making him blink. "Why haven't I used that before?" He wonders before remembering when he used it on the floor of that warehouse and that one force field when he used the first version of the X-suit. However, a second later Naruto found himself on his back with a grinning blue-eyed blond sitting on him.

"Thanks, Skull-Face!" She offers while Naruto twitches slightly, and then uses his teleported to vanish and then reappear behind her. "Is THAT how B-Man disappears?" She wonders with her head tilted to one side with a deceptively innocent look on her face and Naruto shivers.

"Come on. Joker wanted you back by midnight…" Naruto grumbles and Harley grins widely before flipping up and onto her feet.

"My Puddin! He sent you!?" She asks and Naruto nods his head slowly, the blond squealing happily while somehow lifting Naruto off the ground in a hug. _'What the hell! She's stronger than I would have expected! Wait, Sakura's really strong too… never mind…'_ Naruto thinks before being tossed to the side as the happy blond holds her hands together with a strange look on her face. "Oh Mistah J… I knew you'd get me outa here…" Harley says with a sigh while Naruto shakes his head, having landed in front of what looked like Poison Ivy's cell.

"Is she always this excitable?" Naruto asks the red head and she nods her head with a strange smirk on her lips. "Great…" He grumbles before flipping to his feet and grabbing Harley by her arm. "Now come on. Joker wanted you back by midnight or my friend is going to be street pizza." Naruto states with an annoyed tone while dragging the bubbly blond out of the hallway.

"Huh… But I need ta get all my stuff before we go ta see Mistah J!" Harley states while digging her heels into the ground and Naruto is shocked when she somehow manages to stop him. _'Seriously, how is she this strong!?'_ Naruto wonders to himself while turning to look at the blond.

"No deal. I only need to get you to Joker, not look all over Gotham for your stupid costume…" Naruto states with a frown and Harley scrunches up her nose with narrowed blue eyes on the thief.

"But I want my Stuff!" She states while sounding childish and Naruto has the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose.

"No way, we don't have the time to drive around Gotham and let you get dressed." Naruto states and Harley frowns towards him.

"Hey! We don't hafta go ridden around all of Gotham to find my stuff. Mistah J told me where he was gonna hide my stuff for when we got out. But that Billy guy got his butt kicked by B-Man before I could ever get out." Harley states while crossing her arms and Naruto groans before glaring at the girl.

"FINE… where is this stuff of yours at then?" He asks and she blinks before taking a thoughtful expression. _'Ugh… did she have to be a stereotypical dumb blond?'_ Naruto wonders to himself, inwardly hating that Harley seems to be just that.

"Mistah J said that my stuff would be hidden down at the Old Clock Tower in Gotham." Harley offers with a shrug and Naruto frowns while looking at his H.U.D.'s clock and mentally times it.

"Alright. Let's hurry up then Blondie…" Naruto grumbles out angrily and Harley looks towards him with an annoyed pout.

"Hey! You think I'm just some dumb blond bimbo don' cha." She accuses of the younger blond who makes a slight confirming grunt in response. "Ha! Well the Joke's on you skull face, I'm not even a real blond!" Harley then says proudly while pointing to herself and Naruto actually gives a relieved sigh.

"Thank Kami your not, after all I happen to be a blond." He offers and Harley blinks in surprise before yelping as the skull-masked thief takes hold of her wrist and then rushes out of the building with her behind him…

--

TBC…

--

AN: Arkham Asylum is primarily based on the one in the video game Batman: Arkham Asylum. I choose that design because it was the more challenging for someone like Naruto, or anyone for that matter, to get in or out of.

Harley does actually have some powers; ironically Poison Ivy gave them to her. She has an immunity to all Poisons and Toxins, Enhanced physical Strength, and she's extremely flexible due to genetic manipulation by Poison Ivy. I kind of figured the first one out when she always lifted that damn mallet of hers, but the Flexibility was much less obvious considering that she's an Olympic class gymnast. Also, in the old Batman: The Animated Series episode, "Harleyquinaide", Harley actually says she's NOT a real blond… weird huh?


	24. Gotham Nin Pt4

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

Chapter 23: Gotham Nin Pt 4…

--

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

--

(Batcave…)

Batgirl slowly opens her eyes before sitting up, groaning lightly while rubbing her head with a grimace of pain as she does. "Ow… what hit me?" She wonders to herself before slowly looking around to find Batman working on the Bat-Computer, a man with a tray of medical equipment at her side. The man is old, thin, and wears a black suit with a small mustache and balding white hair. "Alfred… what happened?" Batgirl asks the man and he raises a brow towards her.

"You seem to have suffered a mild head injury during your excursion with that young Red-X fellow. However, it seems he turned on your tracking beacon so that Master Bruce could find you and then left." He offers and Batgirl's eyes widen as she remembers what was on the video Joker left for them.

"Batman! The Joker has Billy Numerous!" Batgirl says while quickly getting to her feet and has to brace herself on the bed.

"I know. My leads led me to Billy only an hour after the Clowns got to him." Batman offers with an obvious frown on his face while Batgirl makes her way over to the computer.

"That's not all. Joker says if one of us doesn't break Harley out of Arkham by midnight that he's going to let Billy fall to his death." Batgirl then adds and Batman frowns to himself before crossing his arms over his chest.

"That explains one thing…" He muses with a frown and Batgirl blinks.

"What?" She asks and Batman brings up something, a police bulletin that make's Batgirl's eyes widen in shock.

"How Harley Quinn escaped not twenty minutes ago, X must be planning to use her as a hostage to get the Joker to free Billy." Batman mused to himself while Batgirl nods her head slowly then sees a red light flash.

"Looks like the police have spotted them." She whispers and Batman frowns before getting up and making his way passed his teenaged female sidekick. "Where are you going?" She asks and Batman stops before turning to look at her.

"To bring X down if necessary." The man states and Batgirl sighs to herself before following after the Dark Knight and hops into the Btamobile.

"Don't think your leaving me behind." She offers with a smirk while Batman merely frowns before hopping in as well, the canopy of the tank like vehicle closing over them as Batman then floors the gas, the vehicle screaming down a track and out of the Batcave, into the night…

--

(Gotham City…)

Naruto and Harley are riding down the streets of Gotham, the girl laughing happily as she holds onto the young thief. The Bubbly blond is now dressed in a red and black athletic leotard that has a harlequin pattern, with diamonds on her right shoulder, hip, and left forearm, a black leather belt around her waist with red diamond studs, on her left hand she wears a black leather fingerless glove with a studded bracelet with a red glove on her right, on her legs she wears a pair of mesh stockings with thigh length boots over those, the right one red the left black. Over her blond hair she wears a half black half red hood with her pigtails stuffed into two tassels that end with white puffs, with a dark red near black domino mask placed over her eyes, white makeup over her face with black lipstick and a white collar with three white puffs hanging down from it, one at the back, two at the front.

"Woo hoo! I love this thing!" Harley offers with a laugh before bending backwards and frowning when she sees the GCPD following them. "Ugh. I hate it when these guys follow me!" She grumbles before moving a duffle bag over her shoulder and pulls out a gun. Sticking her tongue out slightly the girl fires it only to blink when a stick with a flag that has BANG on it is shot instead. "Oopsies… wrong gun…" Harley offers with a nervous grin and rather than anger Naruto busts out laughing.

"Oh dear Kami-Sama! Did you really not know that was a fake?!" Naruto asks while trying to hold in his laughter and Harley chuckles nervously in response.

"Maybe…" She admits playfully and Naruto only laughs harder, before quickly shaking his head and getting back to driving as he nearly hits someone. "So, your not mad?" Harley asks him with a somewhat serious expression and Naruto shakes his head with an amused smirk on his face.

"Mad? That was comedy gold, babe. And unlike Bat-Breath, I know how to loosen up and have a good time." Naruto offers and Harley giggles before then reaching back into her bag and pulls out a rubber chicken.

"Nope, two poultry…" She offers before tossing the object over her shoulder, Naruto snickering once more even as she pulls out a knife. "Too stabby…" She says and tosses that over her shoulder, the weapon flattening the tire of one of the vehicles and causing them to swerve into each other. "Too clichéd…" She says while pulling out a machinegun and then tosses that over her shoulder as well.

"Uh, Harl, I don't think we need to stop them anymore." Naruto offers and Harley blinks before looking behind them and snickers seeing the cars slammed into one another.

"Oh, that works." She says with a grin while Naruto rolls his eyes, looking at his clock at the same time. "But what do we do about THEM?" She then asks while the Batmobile swerves onto the road behind them and Naruto curses while flooring his Motorcycles gas.

"Do you have anything in that bag that's big enough deal with him?" Naruto asks and Harley places a finger against her lips for a moment before her eyes open up with an idea. Reaching back into her duffle bag the blond haired woman pulls what looks like a bazooka out of it and Naruto's eyes shoot wide open in surprise.

"Well, will this work?" She asks with a wide insane grin and Naruto blinks before slowly nodding his head.

"Oh yeah, that'll do it alright…" He offers in response and Harley grins while turning slightly and aiming the weapon at the Batmobile while Naruto drives the X-Cycle onto an upper road.

"Take this you big ugly bat!" Harley calls out loudly before firing the bazooka and slams back into Naruto from the force of the weapon. Grunting to himself Naruto swerves on the road for a few moments before slowly managing to regain control over the vehicle and then looks in a rearview mirror. "HA! Did you see that! We really smoked them huh?!" Harley offers with a wide grin before laughing to herself and Naruto merely sighs for a moment.

'_Sorry Bats… nothing personal.'_ Naruto thinks to himself before narrowing his eyes and cursing as the Batmobile came out of the smoke cloud behind them, none the worse for wear. "I thought you said you got them?!" Naruto demands and Harley gives a nervous chuckle in response.

"Oops… looks like I missed…" She offers with a shrug and Naruto twitches.

"How do you MISS with a fucking bazooka!?" Naruto demands as the Batmobile starts to catch up to them. "Kuso… we really need to get him off our tail…" He mumbles to himself before looking to the side and seeing a large transport truck. "Perfect." Naruto says mostly to himself then looks at Harley. "You stay here, I'll deal with our Bat-Problem personally…" Naruto states while activating the autopilot and jumps over to the large truck and then climbs on top of it.

"Be careful skull-face!" Harley calls out to the blond haired Shinobi and he merely waves off her concern.

"What does he think he's doing now?" Batgirl wonders upon seeing this, Batman frowning as he watches Naruto like a hawk. Said blond quickly reaches the top of the truck and uses Chakra to stay on top of it even as it's moving. Forming a familiar T shaped seal with his hands he quickly forms three Kage-Bunshin, both of which have to quickly crouch down in order to keep from flying off of the truck too soon. "Wait… he can make clones like Billy Numerous? Are they brothers or something?" Batgirl wonders with obvious shock and yet Batman merely raises a brow upon seeing the ability.

"You two take control of this truck for me while I get the two bats off our tail." Naruto orders and the two clones salute to him before moving to the door of the truck, the first one opening it while the second one quickly grabs the driver.

"Move over, I wanna drive!" The Clone says while tossing the man out of the vehicle and moving to take control of the truck. As it does the other clone quickly jumps to catch the man and then safely move him out of harms way before dispelling.

Back with Naruto, the blond haired thief has his hands at his sides, three Explosive-X-Shuriken's in forming in his hands. Narrowing his eyes on the Batmobile, the young Ex-Shinobi quickly throws two of the X shaped weapons towards the vehicle. However, the massive tank like vehicle quickly maneuvers out of the way and then comes on him even faster. Narrowing his eyes dangerously at this the blond then spins on his heel while tossing a few more towards the Bat's.

"Shit!" Batgirl says when one of the Shuriken weapons hit the side of the Batmobile, causing it to lurch to one side. Batman however, merely narrows his eyes before punching the speed of the Batmobile and get ever closer to the truck and Naruto.

"Don't they ever give up?" Naruto wonders to himself before then forming several more Explosive-X's in his hands and tossing those towards the duo as well. However, Batman easily maneuvers the massive tank around the weapons this time, suffering only minor damage as a result. _'Okay, no more mister nice ninja…'_ Naruto thinks with a frown while pulling his Ninjato from his back and narrowing his eyes.

"What does he think he's going to do with that?" Batgirl wonders aloud and Batman merely narrows his eyes on the thief, a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. As if to acknowledge that feeling of dread, Naruto quickly turned on his heel while swinging his Ninjato while channeling wind Chakra into the blade.

To Batman it suddenly looked as if a distortion in the air came sailing towards them, only to slice through the road in front of them. Narrowing his eyes the Batman did no stop; instead he floored his speed before hitting a button, the Batmobile jumping over the gash in the road as batgirl and he held on. "Alright. I wasn't expecting that…" Batgirl admits with Batman inwardly agreeing with her. However a second later Naruto swung his sword vertically, the distortion coming right at them.

Frowning darkly Batman quickly evaded the attack by swerving to the side, then slowed down to avoid another horizontal slash. Narrowing his eyes and flooring the Batmobile's speed once more the man quickly approached the blond former-nin. Said teen narrowed his eyes with anger at the approaching vehicle and quickly made three familiar hand seals. **"Chidori Nagashi!"** Naruto exclaims as an explosion of electricity arches over his body, the sounds of chirping and flapping in the air before he quickly holds his sword into the air, lightning arching over it as well.

"What's he doing now?" Batgirl wonders aloud and Batman frowns darkly while watching the blond begin to spin his sword in the air above his head, the lightning over his body slowly rising to stay at his hand and sword. Cursing Batman quickly moves soon after as a lightning covered distortion slices a gash out of the road beside them a second afterwards. Growling in his throat Batman quickly evades another of the electricity covered distortions while flooring his speed.

"Autodrive." He orders and the words AUTOPILOT appear on a screen in the batmobile as he disengages his safety belt.

"Where are you going?" Batgirl demands and the Dark Knight opens the Batmobiles hatch.

"To deal with him personally…" Batman states coldly while jumping onto the Batmobile then fires his grapple gun at the truck. The hook soon attaches to the vehicle as he does, and the man is pulled from the Batmobile and over to the truck. Seeing this Naruto released his Chidori Nagashi and held his Ninjato in a reverse grip. Soon after Naruto does, Batman pulls himself on top of the vehicle and takes a stance.

"You know bats, this time I have no reason to hold back…" Naruto states flatly and Batman merely frowns in response.

"Neither do I." He reminds before Naruto then ducks low and lunges at Batman, swinging his Ninjato at him. Batman quickly blocks that with his gauntlets blades but the blond then kicks him in the chest. Stumbling back from the force of the blow Batman frowns towards the blond haired boy. Said thief quickly lunges forward once more, swinging his sword towards Batman's head, only for him to duck and then ram into him. Rolling back Naruto manages to land himself into a crouch and quickly throws several X-Shuriken towards the older masked warrior.

Gritting his teeth Batman blocks the weapons with his gauntlets once more, then throws a batarang at the blond haired thief. Rolling to the side to evade that Naruto then lunges at Batman once more, jumping into a flying roundhouse kick that the older man has to block with both arms before then throwing him down onto the ground. Growling Naruto then flips back to his feet and slams his fist into Batman's gut before then grabbing him by his cowl and bringing his head down against to his knee. Grunting and stumbling back, the disorientated Batman was unable to block the kick from Naruto that sent him rolling back along the truck.

Quickly grabbing the edge Batman flung himself back onto it however and then twisted his body to swing his cape, knocking Naruto off his feet. Both warriors quickly got back to their feet at this, Naruto then sheathing his Ninjato while glaring at Batman. The Dark Knight merely glared at the young blond in response before taking another stance, Naruto doing the same. "You know the Joker will kill your friend even if you bring Harley to him…" Batman reminds while slowly moving to the side, Naruto following his movements like a hawk.

"Possibly. But you forget, it's better I grab her to make sure he doesn't just off Billy before I can get to him." Naruto reminds and yet Batman frowns towards the teenaged thief.

"You're going to use her as a hostage in exchange for Billy." Batman states flatly and Naruto chuckles in his throat.

"So you figured that out. Kudos' to you Batsy." Naruto offers mockingly while Batman narrows his eyes on the teen.

"Joker won't give in, he'd kill Harley himself before he gave in to someone else." Batman states darkly and Naruto frowns slightly while glaring towards the man.

"Maybe, but that's a chance I have to take." He states simply and Batman frowns once more before lunging forward with a jab. Taking a quick Step back Naruto grabs the Dark Knight's arm and then twists on his heel, knocking the man's feet out from under him then throwing him off of the truck. "After all… I've done a lot of things I'm not proud of if it means my friends will live…" Naruto says Darkly while Batman hangs onto the side of the truck with his grapple, slowly pulling himself back to it while pulling something from his belt at the same time.

Shaking his head Naruto hits a button on his belt, the X-Cycle returning and Naruto quickly jumps back onto it and then looks to his clone still driving the truck. As he does, Batman quickly fires a gun like device, a bat shaped object attaching to the back of the X-cycle and beeping. Meanwhile, after nodding his head to the clone Naruto then speeds off while it swerves to the side, the truck falling over on itself with the Batman hitting the ground in a barrel roll.

Groaning slightly Batman slowly gets back to his feet and looks up, eyes wide as he sees the Batmobile still heading straight along the road. Inside the truck, as the clone poofs out of existence Batman curses and then runs to the side, just as the Batmobile stops itself, not even a full second before it would have hit the truck. Grunting and rising back to his feet, Batman makes his way to the Batmobile while Btagirl comes out of it.

"He got away…" Batgirl says with shock and Batman frowns, quickly jumping into the Batmobile he presses a few buttons before a blip appears on a screen.

"No. He wants us to follow him…" Batman states simply and then starts the Batmobile, backing up before then roaring after the X-Cycle…

--

(Jump City…)

Raven groaned to herself before sitting up, wincing only slightly as the bulk of her wounds had healed already. "I really need to reign in my temper around her…" She grumbles to herself before then looking up and finding Starfire's green eyes looking into her own worriedly. "Starfire. Why are you floating over me?" Raven asks with a frown and the alien girl quickly floats down and grabs her into a hug.

"Friend Raven I was so worried for you! When we were at the Tartarus' home you were acting most strange! I have never seen you so violent before!" Starfire says while hugging the half-breed and she blinks before managing to push Starfire off of herself and gives her a look.

"Exactly HOW vicious was I acting?" She asks with a worried tone and Starfire gives her a nervous expression in response.

"Well… you and the Jinx fought one another all throughout their home, destroying much of it, and even lost your belt and broach at some point." Starfire offers and Raven blinks before looking down at herself and grimaces before snapping her fingers, her broach and belt appearing in a flash of black energy.

"Great… now I'll have to apologize to her…" Raven grumbles to herself before pushing her broach and belt over to a table in her room while Starfire blinks.

"What for? I am very curious to know what "Set you off" as the Tartarus boys would say. Also, how did you hair grow so long so quickly?" Starfire then asks innocently and Raven twitches before frowning and reaching up to check on her hair.

'_Great… my Demonic side came out this time, now I'll have to cut it again…'_ She thinks with a frown, seeing as it was very rare she was angry enough for her Demonic Blood to wake up. However once those thoughts were done she turned towards Starfire and gave a slight sigh. "It's late Starfire… I'd much rather get some rest than try to explain it to you right now…" She states and Starfire blinks before slowly nodding her head and making her way out of the room. As she does, Raven lays back in her bed with a frown, inwardly deciding to cut her hair in the morning when Starfire turns back towards her.

"Friend Raven…" She starts to say and Raven looks towards her.

"Go to bed Starfire…" She states and the older girl slowly nods her head before making her way out of the room and then sighs as she heads to her own room…

--

(Tartarus HQ…)

Jinx sits up with a groan before then noticing Seemore and Private HIVE are looking at her. "What?" She asks while rubbing her head tiredly and the two look to one another before looking back to her.

"You okay?" Seemore questions and Jinx rolls her eyes.

"A little tired, but I'm fine." She states while turning and sitting up, grimacing as her sore legs protest use. "Although I don't think walking is an option right now…" She mutters while sitting back down on the medical bed and sighs. "So how bad is the damage anyways?" She then asks and both Seemore and Private HIVE grimace.

"Well… Sorry to say this ma'am, but you and that Titan totaled more than half of the base. It's going to take us a while before anything is working properly again." Private explains and Jinx grimaces to herself. _'Great work Jinx, now Tempest will be annoyed that you can't even control yourself enough to keep from starting fights…'_ She thinks to herself before looking down at her clothes with a frown…

"I need new clothes as well…" She notes before reaching up and sighs when she can't find the ribbons she used to hold up her hair. "Where are Giz and Mammoth?" She asks and Seemore rubs the back of his neck for a moment.

"I think Gizmo went to get stuff for repairing the base…" He offers and Jinx slowly nods her head before turning and laying down on the medical bed.

"Great. Now if you two don't mind, I'd like some sleep so please, be gone with you both…" Jinx orders while making a shooing motion and both boys look to one another and are about to protest when Jinx's eyes start to glow pink. "I said OUT!" She shouts and both boys quickly run out of the room, Jinx smirking to herself while laying back with her arms crossed behind her head.

"So what was that fight with Raven about anyways?" Blackfire's voice questions and Jinx blinks, before then sitting up to see the dark haired girl leaning against the doorframe of the room, buffing her knuckles against her tank top.

"None of your business…" Jinx growls towards the girl and she merely walks inside the room before sitting down next to Jinx.

"Perhaps, but you did trash this place." She states and Jinx twitches angrily. "And if you talk to ME about it, you won't have to talk to Gizmo about it later." Blackfire then offers and Jinx blinks before taking a thoughtful expression, weighing her options. Sighing as she figured it was better to talk with a girl than an annoying bald midget with a napoleon complex, Jinx gave Blackfire an annoyed look.

"You got to promise not to breathe a word of this to ANYONE…" Jinx states flatly while pointing to Blackfire, the older girl rolling her eyes for a moment.

"Fine. I give you my word; I won't tell anyone why you and Raven tried to beat the shit out of each other. It's not like you two haven't tried too before after all." Blackfire offers seriously, seeing as that was the truth, in that as a hero and villain they did normally try to beat the hell out of one another.

"Well… this time it was over a boy…" Jinx offers with a slight blush and a grimace and Blackfire's eyes opened before a grin split her face.

"Okay. Now THAT is juicy, do tell…" Blackfire offers while listening to the younger girl intently as she explains what has been going on between her, Raven, and ironically, Red-X…

--

(Gotham…)

Naruto's X-cycle slowly pulls up in front of an old Clock tower, looking to the side he sees Wayne Inc and smirks. _'I knew looking over that tape would show me where that clown was.'_ He thinks to himself before getting off of the bike, Harley flipping off of the bike with a grin.

"So Mistah' J's inside here?" Harley questions and Naruto looks up, narrowing his eyes he presses a button on the side of his helmet to show Billy hanging above them.

"Yep." He offers the psychotic clown girl before then motioning for her to follow him inside of the old building.

"So what all is this about anyways?" Harley then asks while looking around and Naruto frowns to himself.

"The guy who was supposed to bust you out is a friend of mine, turns out Joker isn't so good with failure." Naruto offers and Harley rolls her eyes.

"Old news Skull-Face, I coulda told you my puddin' doesn't take to well to failure." Harley states and Naruto wonders briefly why she knows that already and yet is somehow still breathing. Deciding that it was probably best that he not know the young thief continued up the stairs of the old Building before coming out at the bell tower.

"I'm surprised this place is still standing…" Naruto muses while noticing the obvious age that the place possesses and Harley snorts.

"Gotham is filled with places like this Skull-Face, the town don't want to dish out the doe to bring old places like 'em down." She offers in explanation and Naruto hums for a moment before looking around for The Joker, switching his vision setting around before frowning.

"No one around… accept us and Billy." Naruto muses while walking over to get Billy and Harley tilts her head to one side before sighing and following the teen.

"So what got you into crime?" Harley suddenly asks and Naruto turns to give her a strange look. "What?" She asks while looking confused and then places a hand onto her hip with a frown. "I may act goofy Skull-Face, but I WAS a psychologist. I know that most criminals, especially one's like us, always had something go bad in their life that made us like this. For Two-Face it was having his face scarred, for Mad-Hatter, it was this one dame not given' him the time a day, for Scarecrow, he's always been that way, for Riddler, an abusive Father. For me, it was meeting my puddin'…" Harley offers while ticking off fingers, then laces her hands together and sighs at the last bit…

'_What's scary is for a second there, she actually sounded normal…'_ Naruto thinks to himself while Harley blinks after a second and then shakes her head. "Anyways enough about me, what's you back story?" Harley asks again and Naruto rolls his eyes.

"Private." He offers and Harley pouts with a frown.

"Aw, c'mon! How can you refuse a cute little clown girl like me?!" Harley asks with a grin and her arms spread wide before the teen. Said thief merely gave her a look before reeling Billy in with a rope.

"Fine. I used to be this average Joe, then one day I found this weird suit, tried it on and found that it let me do amazing things. So using it, I decided to help myself to some gold a jewels… Nah, you've probably HEARD that one before." Naruto offers with a grin splitting his face open and Harley looks at him strangely. "Okay, then how about this. I was genetically altered by an elite military Organization for combat against the rising Metahuman Problem." Naruto then offers while pulling Billy to the ground and places him against the side of a wall. "No wait… I don't think your too YOUNG for that one." Naruto muses after a second of thought and doesn't see the slightly fearful look on Harley's face.

"Oh! I know this one will be a real GAS for you." Naruto suddenly offers with his arms out to his sides. "Once upon a time there was this small time thief who becomes a hero to help people! Then he goes out looking for his mom, only for The Joker to find her. He goes to save her, only for him to beat him to death with a crowbar, and then blow him and her both up with a bomb! But then he came back see, and found the X-Suit that Robin made, and used it to mess with the kid, before he could then get back at the Joker for what he did…" Naruto then offers with a strange little laugh and Harley gives a nervous one in response.

"Too clichéd huh? Alright, this one always works. There was once this Ninja who got used by his people, they tormented him, they ridiculed him, and they shunned him from society. So one day he finds his girlfriend screwing his so called best friend, then that little Ninja decided to hightail it out of there once and for all. The village didn't like that… not, one, bit." Naruto offers while turning to Harley and she gives a nervous grin and chuckle.

"So they send a bunch of his former, so called friends to drag him back home. But he outwits them, beats them, and runs away. They follow him however, and he uses something that tears a hole in reality, and out he popped into this world." Naruto offers while walking towards Harley, hands folded behind his back as he leans forward, Harley leaning backwards… "Sometimes I have trouble remembering which it is… In fact, if I have to have an origin I think I'd prefer it to be multiple Choice." Naruto offers and Harley's grin is completely gone, eyes wide.

"Huh… what's wrong Harley?" Naruto asks the girl and she blinks before giving a weak grin. "Why so serious?" He asks and Harley yelps while falling back onto her ass, Naruto busting out laughing when she does. "Jeez, you should have seen the look on your face, Harley!" Naruto offers with a chuckle as he walks over to Billy, Harley staring at him from behind.

"Y-you sounded just like Mistah' J." She offers to him with surprise and Naruto stops and then blinks for a few moments.

"Really? Weird…" Naruto offers in response before giving a shrug of his shoulders and then gets back to untying Billy. "I wonder where Joker went, and why he would leave Billy here alone for us to find?" Naruto wonders aloud while Harley frowns in thought before reaching into her duffle bag.

"Maybe he planned something else…" Harley offers and Naruto nods before pulling some tape off of Billy's lips.

"YEOUCH! That hurt worse than backing up into a cactus!" Billy shouts and Naruto blinks before shaking his head. Behind him however, Harley has pulled a red and black Sledgehammer from her bag and grins towards the teen's back. "Behind you!!" Billy then says quickly and Naruto turns only for Harley's Sledgehammer to slam into his head and send him skidding to the side, obviously unconscious. Smirking to herself the bubbly blond then looks down at a frightened Billy and merely pats him on the head.

"Aw, don't worry. I'm not gonna hurt ya'." Harley offers before reaching into the ropes around Billy and pulls a card out of them. "Thanks, and tell B-Man that I plan on having a blast with Mistah J soon enough!" Harley offers before happily skipping off with her Sledgehammer in hand, leaving Billy half tied up and Naruto unconscious to the side…

--

(Jump City, the next morning…)

Robin frowns to himself while looking over evidence from a recent Case when Raven and Starfire suddenly enter the Common Room. The younger grey skinned Titan having cut her hair and located a new leotard and cloak "Raven. Star. It's been days since I last saw you up this early, where have you two been lately?" Robin asks while turning his seat around and Starfire inwardly wonders what she should say to the boy.

"I've been needing more meditation recently, Robin. Starfire was just helping me a little bit more than necessary…" Raven offers in explanation while hovering to the kitchen area and Robin considers this reason for a moment. Knowing that Raven had indeed been more moody lately it was possible, and coupled with Starfire's own overeager nature…

"Alright. Just try and be around whenever the alarm calls and keep your Communicators with you at all times." Robin orders before returning to his work while Cyborg and Beast-Boy play a video game at the side.

"Friend Robin, what is it that interests you so much?" Starfire asks the masked teen while looking over his shoulder to a screen.

"Evidence found by the JCPD recently. Officer Connors sent it to me…" Robin offers while looking at several patches of cloth that were found, items that were used to infiltrate, and of course the most interesting object…

"Why is that X shaped weapon like the Red-X's… only pink?" Starfire questions curiously, bringing Raven, Beast-Boy, and Cyborg over to them instantly afterwards.

"Not sure star… seems like someone is trying to copy X." Robin offers with a frown and Beast-Boy snickers to himself.

"Pink! Whoever this dude is…" BB starts to say only for Cyborg to interject.

"These boot prints have skulls and Xs on them like the old Red-X, but they also have heels, BB. Whoever our mystery thief is, she's a chick…" He states and Beast-Boy stops what he was about to say and looks at Robin with a shocked expression.

"Also add to that list of oddities some Pink Hair." Robin offers while bringing up a different picture showing strands of the said pinkette locks.

"A pink haired girl, in heeled boots with Pink, X shaped weaponry…" Cyborg muses to himself before groaning. "Sounds like X got himself some kind of Fangirl." Cyborg offers and Robin leans back with a calculative expression on his face.

"Or a girl with a Harley Quinn Complex…" He offers and gets strange looks from the other Titans in response. "A Harley Quinn Complex. C'mon… None of you know what that is?" Robin asks of his teammates incredulously, most of them looking to Raven and she looks at them strangely.

"I don't study psychology…" She offers with a shrug and they all turn back to Robin who reaches up to pinch the bridge of his nose.

"A Harley Quinn Complex. Simply put, it's where a female falls in love with a male Criminal or villains mental reasoning or ideology. Like Harley Quinn, AKA Harleen Quinzel fell in love with the Joker. Whoever this girl is, she's possibly fallen in love with either Red-X himself, or more likely how he acts, and as a result, now seeks to emulate him in order to gain his attention and acknowledgement. Part of this emulation usually includes them becoming more and more like the original, Case in point Harley Quinn has a total disregard for human life thanks to the Joker." Robin explains and the rest of the Titans allow that disturbing concept to sink in for a moment.

"Okay… so she's a Hyper Compulsive, Borderline Insane, possibly very lonely, but still just an overactive and obviously obsessed Fangirl." Beast Boy offers and Robin's lips twitch into a smirk.

"More or less." He offers with obvious amusement while Cyborg rubs his chin.

"Alright. So this chick has a thing for X. She's not as good as him however, she left clues, boot prints, pieces of her clothes, strands of hair, and a weapon. That alone makes her less threatening than X." Cyborg muses aloud, only for Robin to frown.

"No. Villains with a Harley Quinn Complex aren't to be written off as less dangerous than the criminal they're trying to emulate. Harley Quinn herself has shown on multiple occasions that she can be just as, if not more dangerous a criminal than the Joker himself." Robin states with a frown while Beast-Boy sees a strange look on Raven's face.

"Hey Raven, you okay?" BB asks the girl and she blinks before looking at him.

"I'm fine…" She offers before turning back to the screen. "Is that Hair dyed pink?" Raven asks with a strange expression and Robin frowns to himself while crossing his arms over his chest.

"No. That's one thing that really annoys me. The only girl I know of who has pink hair in all of Jump-City, natural Pink hair at least, is Jinx. And she wouldn't make this many mistakes on a heist." Robin offers and Raven has to agree, not only that but Jinx isn't a hopeless fangirl from what she's seen.

"Then who could this strange person with the Harley of Quinn structure be?" Starfire wonders and Robin sighs to himself in exasperation.

"That's, Harley Quinn Complex, Star…" He offers while Raven backs away from the rest of the group with a thoughtful expression on her face. Then walks over to get her tea while considering her own ideas… _'I wonder if Jinx might have any sisters we don't know about…'_ Raven wonders before deciding to see if anyone in Tartarus has heard of this "Pink-X"…

--

TBC…

--


	25. Gotham Nin Pt5

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

Chapter 24: Gotham Nin Pt 5…

--

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

--

(Gotham…)

Naruto waited for Harley to finally leave, and then slowly pushed himself into a kneeling position. If there was ever one thing he hated about being a Ninja, it was that he had to make people believe they beat him or knocked him out so he could follow them to whatever he wanted at the time… in short, deception really sucked and REALLY hurt… _'Ugh… but did she HAVE to use a fucking sledgehammer?'_ He wonder's to himself with a grimace while then getting up and making his way over to Billy.

"Tempest? Are you okay?" Billy asks the older teen and Naruto groans slightly, a hand on the side of his helmeted head.

"Mostly… but DAMN did that fucking hurt…" Naruto offers in response while getting down and slowly unties Billy.

"Well all things considerin' partner, I'd have expected her to do that." Billy offers while Naruto stops what he was doing and gives the other teen a fierce glare.

"I KNEW she was going to do that. But I needed her to think I was knocked out so she won't think I'll follow her to Joker…" Naruto states simply and Billy gives him an incredulous look in response.

"You want to FIND The Joker?! Tempest is your helmet on too tight or what?" Billy demands of the boy incredulously and Naruto rolls his eyes while grunting in pain from the ache in his skull… If he wasn't going to go after Joker before, he was now because of being slammed in the head with that damn hammer… one hundred pounds of steel being slammed into the side of a guys head makes it personal.

"No its not. The Joker forced me to free Harley from Arkham… and I don't like being used…" Naruto replies with a dangerous tone, one that causes Billy to gulp and chuckle nervously. "So, when I noticed Joker was no where in sight, I decided that it'd be best if I let Harley think I was out cold. That way, she won't look for the tracer I put on that collar of hers and she'll unwittingly led us to The Joker." Naruto explains while continuing to loosen the multiple knots used to bind Billy.

"Uh Tempest, ya'll really don't sound like yourself…" Billy offers and Naruto frowns, wondering why the hell everyone keeps saying that…

"Whatever, now either your going to help me take Joker down, or I'm leaving you somewhere… alone." Naruto offers and Billy weighs his options, being alone is NOT an option considering how often Joker uses people for his joke's multiple times… so…

"Alright I'll help. But what's our first order a business then?" Billy asks the older teen as he finally gets the last knot out of the binds holding him. Frowning in thought Naruto actually considers their first move, then checks a map showing where Harley is going and hums…

"First order of business is to get some rest Billy. We'll do no good against Joker if we're tired off our Asses…" Naruto offers simply with Billy agreeing and both getting back to their feet. Looking around Naruto then pulled a piece of paper from his belt and walks down out of the tower with Billy behind him. Writing down a message onto the paper he then comes down to the X-Cycle and pulls Batman's tracer off of it. Placing it into the paper he folds that up and sits it down with a bold X on the top.

Nodding his head the young blond then got onto the X-cycle with Billy on behind him. "Hang on Billy, this is going to be one hell of a ride!" Naruto then exclaims with a laugh as he and Billy go screaming into the distance…

--

(Later…)

Batman and Batgirl had arrived at the tower and searched it for Naruto, Harley, Joker, or Billy. They had started at the top before moving down to where Batman found the note that Naruto had left them. "Is it me, or is this guy really hard to catch when you actually WANT to catch him?" Batgirl wonders with a frown and Batman nods his head slowly while opening the note.

'Dear Batsy and Red.

I found Billy and he's safe. When I got here, Joker was nowhere in sight, Harley has a tracer on her that I'm going to use to find him. Meet Billy and myself at the Big-Bang Club tonight at nine. We'll go after Joker then, until then however, Billy and me need some sleep…

Until then, your favorite Super Thief, Red-X.'

Reading the note with a frown Batman then turned to look at Batgirl before handing the item over to her. Said girl blinked while taking the note then read it with a frown before shaking her head. "He's quite the character isn't he?" She asks seriously and Batman nods his head slowly. "Can we trust him?" Batgirl asks the older hero and he frowns slightly in response.

"To keep his word, to stay in Gotham, or to lead us to Joker?" Batman asks and Batgirl frowns, considering which she meant.

"All of the above." She offers in response and Batman frowns.

"We know he's a thief, more than likely he's going to high tail it out of Gotham, but if I know a person like him, Joker got under his skin by making him get Harley out of Arkham. He won't take that lying down so I'm sure he's going to lead us to him." Batman offers in explanation then sighs. "Unfortunately he's also our only other lead on The Joker's whereabouts. And he's right about needing rest. It's been a long enough night as is…" Batman states and Batgirl nods her head slowly before yawning to herself and rubbing her eyes.

"I hate it when Bad guys keep us up until four in the morning…" She mumbles to herself and yet Batman smirks in response while calling the Batmobile…

--

(Jump City…)

Jinx and Blackfire are sitting in the pink haired girls room, Blackfire smirking. The two had retreated to her room in case Gizmo was to walk into the med-lab while they were talking. "You know, your love life is better than one of your earth Soap operas… why do they call them that anyways?" Blackfire offers with a grin then questions with a confused look and Jinx gives her an annoyed look.

"First of all, I'm so glad my life amuses you Blackfire. Secondly, I don't have any clue why. And lastly, do you have any useful comments to make about my problem?" Jinx asks with an annoyed tone and Blackfire shrugs her shoulders in response.

"What would I know about human mating? On Tamaran, we could have multiple mates…" Blackfire offers and Jinx gives her a wide-eyed gaping look in response. "Different cultures, most Tamaranean's are ruled by emotion rather than reason, if we love two people, well that's okay… it's also not uncommon for two females to find themselves attracted because their with the same mate…" Blackfire offers in explanation and gets an incredulous look from Jinx anyways. "What?" Blackfire then asks while Jinx shakes her head.

"I can't believe a race of warriors could BE like that…" She says and Blackfire rolls her eyes in response.

"Most wouldn't, they also don't think were descended from a Feline species." Blackfire offers and Jinx looks at her with her jaw slack.

"Your related to cats?!" She demands and Blackfire scrunches up her nose in response with a frown.

"No. We're related to a feline species. A species from another planet, that's also long since extinct, to be exact. That's why we have prehensile tongues." Blackfire offers and sees a look on Jinx's face. "What?" She asks seriously and Jinx blinks.

"Prehensile tongues? You mean like a cat?" Jinx asks and Blackfire rolls her eyes before nodding her head to the girl who frowns in thought. "What all make's your species different than humans?" Jinx asks and Blackfire frowns in thought for a few moments.

"We have prehensile tongues, our skin pigmentation is a golden orange, we have eight small stomachs and a larger main one, this is for storing food for trips through space, we can survive without oxygen for weeks on end, we absorb solar radiation into our bodies to power our starbolts, invulnerability, flight, and our eyebeams, we are about eight times stronger than your people, and we can absorb languages through lip contact." Blackfire ticks off with a slight smirk seeing the wide-eyed look on Jinx's face.

"Wow… I actually wouldn't be able to guess we were so different… at least our species that is." Jinx muses and Blackfire nods her head.

"I'm with you. As of yet, I haven't found anything that your people eat, that is poisonous to me." Blackfire offers to a slightly surprised Jinx who wondered what WAS poisonous to a nigh invulnerable…

"Wait. You said Tamaraneans are nearly invulnerable to physical harm right?" Jinx questions and Blackfire nods her head. "But when Tempest beat you…" She starts to say only for Blackfire to grimace.

"Like I said before, I'm a Kom'Secrit, my immune system, thus my invulnerability, are nearly non-existent." She offers and Jinx grimaces as well, figuring that was another reason that Blackfire's father favored Starfire over her… who on a planet of warriors wants princess who can easily be destroyed or overthrown? At this Jinx mentally kicks herself yet again for bringing up something that deals with Blackfire's genetic problem…

Before Jinx could say anything else to depress the poor alien girl, Raven and Starfire suddenly appeared in a flash of black. "Sister!" Starfire says happily before quickly lunging at the older Tamaranean and pulling her into a bone-shattering hug.

"Koryandr' didn't we have a talk about these hugs?!" Blackfire demands loudly and Starfire yelps while releasing the girl with a nervous look.

"So why are you two here anyways?" Jinx asks with her arms crossed and a glare towards Raven, whom glares right back in response.

"Because a pink haired girl with access to gear similar to Red-X has been committing Tech-Crimes all over Jump." Raven states and Jinx blinks for a few moments before frowning.

"I've been with Blackfire." She offers in response and the older girl nods her head with a frown towards Raven.

"I wasn't saying it was you, I actually wanted to know if you know of anyone with Pink hair?" Raven offers and Jinx frowns in thought before growling.

"Besides a certain ninja chick?" She asks with gritted teeth and Blackfire and Starfire both look at her strangely. "She's from the same place and is the same human sub-species as X…" She then says with a sigh and they finally get what she means.

"Alright, that could work… But how can we be sure it's her?" Raven wonders and Jinx gets off her bed and then looks to Raven with her arms crossed.

"First of all, show me one of the crime scenes, I'll tell you how they got in, how they screwed up, and what amount of skill in infiltration they have." Jinx states while making her way out of the room, Blackfire smirking as she flips to her feet and follows her, Starfire and Raven going with them…

--

(Gotham…)

Naruto, in his X-suit, and Billy, in a new costume, are in the Big Bang Club; Billy has a drink while Naruto is frowning in thought. _'Why do I got this weird feeling, like somebody is either watching me, or planning on trying to kidnap me?'_ He wonders to himself, having mastered noticing this feeling on the numerous times Jiraiya tried to drag him to brothels… _'Damn I really WAS a dobe to actually run away from him over THAT…'_ He then thinks to himself while a strange girl dressed in purple with white skin and red hair passes him, humming a bouncy little tune to herself.

"So then Tempest, what's it been like in Jump without good ol' Billy around?" Billy asks of the skull-masked thief, said boy rolling his eyes for a moment.

"Nice, peaceful… and without your clones stumbling over one another…" Naruto offers with an amused smirk and Billy rolls his eyes behind his new goggles before ordering another drink from the bar.

"So Temp, why is it you're so pissed at Joker for makin' ya bust Harley outa Arkham?" Billy suddenly questions and Naruto frowns, eyes narrowed into a dark glare at a spot before him.

"I don't like being used… and the clown rubs me the wrong way…" He comments and then finds someone pulling his head back to look into a pair of deep purple colored eyes… _'Whoa… I thought only Kara-Chan had eyes like that…'_ He muses till he notices a mop of short red hair above the said eyes.

"Did one of you say something about the Joker?" She then asks and Naruto lifts a hand and then points his thumb to Billy. "Cool! I'm the Joker's Daughter, but you can call me Duela!" The girl offers and Billy spits out his drink while Naruto looks at her with a disbelieving expression on his face.

"RIGHT…" He offers sarcastically and the girl scrunches up her nose with a frown over her painted red lips.

"I am!" Duela says with a raised voice and Naruto crosses his arms with a smirk.

"Prove it." He offers and the girl blinks.

"How?" The clown girl asks and Naruto takes a thoughtful expression.

"Oh! I know!" Billy offers and Naruto motions to his teammate, Duela looking to the red haired boy in response. "Show us something that only the Joker would do!" He states and the girl frowns in thought before reaching into a brown backpack she's wearing and pulling a gun out to point it at Billy with a grin.

"Like this?" She wonders before pulling the trigger, Billy calling out while falling back as a bang is heard. However, rather than a dead and bleeding Billy, a long pole is now extended from the gun, a red flag unraveling from it to reveal the word BANG printed onto it in bold yellow lettering. "Gotcha!" Duela offers before laughing loudly and Naruto watches as Billy shakily gets off the ground and returns to his seat, his eyes wide behind his black tinted goggles.

"Alright… she just might be the Joker's daughter…" Naruto admits to himself while Duela wipes a tear from her eye and then flips over Naruto into a sitting position before him with a smirk, also allowing Naruto to see her better.

The girl has pale white skin, literally from what he can see, with red painted lips in a wide smile, her eyes are a deep purple color, and her hair is messy shoulder length and a bright fire truck red color. The girl was dressed extremely strangely, first was a pair of purple pants that were tucked into two white spats over her bare feet, a green pouch strapped to her right thigh, a green belt hanging loosely on her hips with a second green pouch at her left hip, a pair of forearm length fingerless black gloves with purple stitching at the back of each fist and purple bands around her wrists, an old brown backpack, and last is a straight jacket of all things, with long dark purple near black sleeves, a high green collar with a small ring at the front, green straps all over the jacket to hold her limbs together, and a purple torso with clasps on the front…

"What's with the straight jacket?" Naruto asks the girl with a raised brow and she blinks then looks down at herself.

"Oh this? I just recently escaped a mental asylum, they say I'm Delusional and Bi-Polar for some reason." Duela offers in response before shrugging her shoulders. "Besides that I kind of like it, keeps me nice and warm!" Duela then offers with a wide grin and Naruto raises a brow.

"So you're a mental patient?" Naruto asks and Duela nods her head. _'Why am I not surprised?'_ Naruto wonders to himself with a small smirk on his lips as the bi-polar girl then grins down at him.

"Yeah, weird huh? I was even in Arkham once… or was that the other me?" Duela then offers before wondering to herself with an obviously confused expression. "Anyways! You were talking about my dad The Joker just know?" Duela asks and Naruto looks over to see Billy is staring at the girl strangely.

"Yeah. We're going to be capturing him tonight." Naruto offers offhandedly and Duela looks at him for a moment before giving a wide grin in response.

"Can I help?" She asks and both Billy and Naruto give her a weird look. "What?" She asks them with a shrug and a confused expression on her face.

"You're the Joker's Daughter… Right?" Naruto asks and Duela nods her head with her head tilted to one side. "Then aren't you supposed to try and stop us?" The blond thief then asks and Duela snorts.

"Fathers suck." She offers in rebuttal and Naruto grins under his mask.

"Now her, I can work with." Naruto then says before turning on his seat to see Batman and Btagirl. "What took you so long?" Naruto then asks the two and Batman frowns before looking at Duela.

"Joker kidnapped Police Commissioner Gordon." He states and Naruto frowns then leans to the side as Batgirl walks to face Duela with her arms crossed and a frown on her face.

"Hello Duela, still as diluted as ever I see…" She muses and Duela grins towards the older girl widely.

"Hi, Barbie-doll." Duela offers and Billy snickers to himself while Naruto rolls his eyes and looks to Batman.

"She's coming with." Naruto states flatly while pointing his thumb to the red haired clown girl sitting behind him.

"She's a loose cannon. She's liable to change sides as soon as it suits her." Batman offers in response and Naruto nods his head.

"So am I. I trust her more than I trust you, mainly because with her at least I won't be taken to the police." Naruto states while crossing his arms and Duela leans forward, her elbows on Naruto's shoulders and her hands on her cheeks.

"Yep. So back off Owlman." Duela states and Batman raises a brow for a second.

"He's Batman…" Naruto reminds and Duela blinks, then looks very confused again as she puts a finger to her lips.

"Really? But I could have sworn…" She mumbles to herself and Naruto rolls his eyes then has a thought.

"Do you even know HOW to fight?" He asks and Duela blinks before grinning at the masked thief widely.

"Yep!" She offers with a smirk and Naruto rolls his eyes before getting up, Duela falling forward as he does.

"Then lets move out. We have a clown that I need to make very sad…" Naruto states with a frown and Billy sighs to himself, then notices Duela as she then places her hands onto the ground and twists herself back onto the floor with a pose. Shaking his head Batman merely turns and walks away, followed by an annoyed Batgirl and an amused Naruto. Blinking, the red head then follows the three out of the building while Billy sighs to himself.

"She's very limber… and pretty easy on the eyes… still crazy as hell though." He notes before getting up and following the rest of the group out of the club.

--

(Jump City…)

Jinx, Raven, and the Tamaranean sisters are currently at one of the "Pink-X" crime scenes in Jump City. Raven and Starfire having managed to convince the owner to allow them to look over the scene of the crime for clues. "She came in through the window…" Jinx muses while looking at the opened window, then narrows her eyes on a circular cut in the center of the glass.

"So she cut her way in?" Raven asks while looking at the whole and Jinx nods her head with a frown. Moving her head, Jinx gets a much better view of the hole cut into the window and narrows her eyes.

"Jagged edges… whoever did this wasn't using the same method that X uses. Nor was she very good at using her own glasscutter." Jinx muses to herself silently while looking over the glass. "Catwoman and X both use a type of claw trick to cut glass that leaves the inner edges smooth so they won't cut themselves on the edge, this person had more jagged cuts meaning it was with a more basic cutting tool and that they were probably either in a hurry, or more likely, less patient…" Jinx notes then kneels down to place a hand on the floor and drags a single digit along it.

"The floor is dusty back here, uncommon for a clean facility like this one." Jinx muses then gets up and moves through the room, looking to either side. "She didn't trip any of the silent alarms or pressure sensors through here or you Titans would have been alerted to them… suggesting she was much better than your common thief…" Jinx muses to herself once more before stopping to look at the area where the device was stolen.

"What was the size, shape, and weight of the stolen object?" Jinx then asks and Raven blinks before opening her communicator and scrolling down some of the data she had downloaded into it.

"Weighs less than a pound, about five inches wide, and quarter of an inch tall. It was some kind of miniature power converter that Lex-Corp was working on." Raven explains and Jinx frowns to herself while looking around the room.

"There are laser tripwires in every corner of the room and over the main doorway, they also have some situated around the pedestal that the device was resting on…" Jinx muses then looks around before spotting a piece of dark grey material on the floor. Kneeling down Jinx picks it up and turns it over in her hands before twisting it slightly between her fingers.

"Well?" Raven asks and Jinx frowns.

"Give me a second here." She grumbles then looks at the doorframe with a frown, stopping she reaches into her skirt and pulls a pair of tweezers free, then uses those to pull out a piece of a Pink X-Shuriken. Turning it around in hand she looks where it was thrown into the frame, then turns to pull a second one out of the opposite side of the frame. Clicking her tongue Jinx then looks at the X-Shuriken and frowns seeing circuitry inside of the small piece.

"Alright. First of all, she cut her way inside the room, and then she threw some X-Shuriken type weapons at this doorframe to cut electricity to the upper lasers. Letting her crawl through them." Jinx says then motions into the man room with a frown. "The dust everywhere is from her using it in order to see the Laser Tripwires. Hence why they found footprints on these tables rather than the floor. And since there is dust on this piece of cloth I found…" Jinx explained and then left hanging only for Raven to snap her fingers with a smirk.

"She used a Cape to spread the dust and see the beams." She guesses and Jinx nods her head with a smirk.

"Bingo. Now then, looking around it would also seem that our thief is able to walk on walls if she was able to crawl through those laser beams, and to be able to stay off the pressure sensors on the floor." Jinx then adds to her deduction before frowning and looking at the cloth and Shuriken pieces in her hand… "These have circuitry in them." She muses to herself and Raven blinks before walking over to see that the girl is right. "I think Gizmo should have a look at this before we make any real deductions on our thief." Jinx then offers while putting the piece of cloth away, Blackfire looking around with a bored expression.

"You know, this is probably the first time I've been around Starfire for an extended period of time and not tried to kill or hurt her in some way shape or fashion… same with you and Raven actually…" Blackfire muses and the two girls look over to her and see Starfire is asleep, leaning into her older sisters shoulder with a cute expression on her face and making both grey skinned girls blink. Jinx then laughed at the sight while Raven had to bite her lip in order to keep from laughing, though shattering glass alerted her that she wasn't doing a very good job of it.

"Let's get back to your HQ and see if Gizmo knows anything about this kind of material." Raven offers quickly before swinging her cape, shadows reaching out and pulling all four of the girls into darkness…

--

(Gotham…)

Naruto, Batman, Batgirl, Duela, and Billy Numerous are looking to the Axis Chemical Plant. "Why would he come here?" Naruto wonders while Duela rocks back and forth on her heels.

"Isn't this the place he fell into a vat of chemicals or something?" She then asks and Naruto and Batman both look at her strangely, Naruto wondering what's wrong with the girl, and Batman because she might be right.

"Either way, Commissioner Gordon is inside." Batman finally says while narrowing his eyes, a view of the commissioner visible through a window.

"Then why hasn't Joker left a ransom, a threat, anything for the Commissioner?" Naruto then asks and Duela snickers to herself.

"It's kind of funny…" She muses and Naruto looks to her.

"You're his daughter, what's he thinking?" Naruto asks and Duela blinks before snickering once more.

"He wants to lure someone out. I think you've caught his interest for one reason or another." Duela offers in reply and Batman frowns to himself.

"That's not good. The last person Joker took a liking too was me…" He offers and Naruto grimaces to himself visibly.

"Yeah… I don't think I want a crazy clown following me around if that's what you mean bats…" Naruto muses aloud and Batman nods his head, fully agreeing with the young thief on that.

"So how do we do this?" Batgirl then asks and Batman frowns in thought for a few brief moments.

"You and Duela deal with Harley, X and I will take Joker." Batman states and Batgirl nods her head while Duela grins widely.

"This is going to be SO much fun!" The crazed red head says mostly to herself and Billy looks at her strangely.

"What about Billy?" Naruto questions and Batman frowns.

"He can make sure Joker doesn't escape. Place a clone at every exit to the building." Batman states and Billy nods his head slowly before making his way away from the group. _'Ugh… now I'm helping the Batman of all people… what is Tempest thinking?'_ The southern boy can't help but wonder to himself while making a few clones that instantly go to cover the exits of the Axis plant.

"Alright, now that he's out of the way let's go!" Naruto states before teleporting away, Batman frowning as he fires a grapple and swings over, Duela grabbing hold of Batgirl's waist as she does the same and nearly causing the girl to crash.

"Don't EVER do that again!" Batgirl growls at Duela angrily before making her way into the building and the clownish girl blinks before shrugging her shoulders and following Batgirl inside. Entering the plant the two girls look around, then roll out of the way as Harley comes at them swinging her sledgehammer.

"Well, well, well. Looky what I got here." Harley muses while Duela and Batgirl get back to their feet. "A couple a party crashers, don't ya know it aint nice to bother people when they're just trying to have fun?" Harley then asks while wagging a finger towards the girl, Duela snickering to herself.

"She's so funny…" She muses to herself before laughing loudly and Batgirl sighs to herself tiredly while shaking her head.

"You just HAD to get Duela started didn't you?" She demands and Harley raises a brow while looking at the laughing girl in the straightjacket…

"Is it just me, or does she not look like she belongs on your side a da law?" Harley asks and Batgirl looks at Duela before rolling her eyes.

"She doesn't… she switches sides when it suits her…" Batgirl offers and Harley blinks before snickering to herself.

"Now her I like." She offers only for Duela to finally calm down, then grin and flip onto a guardrail beside her and run forward, jumping into a spin and lashing out with her covered arms…

Meanwhile, Batman and Naruto slowly pass over a large vat filled with a strange green fluid and see Commissioner Gordon, tied upside down and hanging above the vat. "Hello there, Batsy…" Joker offers from his place on a different catwalk adjacent to the one the dark duo was on. "Nice to see your choices in Sidekicks is improving…" Joker muses with a grin and Naruto narrows his eyes on the clown prince of crime.

"I'm NOT his sidekick…" Naruto growls out and Joker merely licks his lips for a second before reaching into one of his sleeves and pulls out a playing card.

"If you say so… but I don't know anyone else who would wear scalloped gauntlets and all that black… unless you're an emo or something." Joker offers with a slight laugh and Naruto twitches slightly. However, before Naruto can add something in rebuttal Joker throws his playing card, the sharpened edge nearly cutting the rope holding Commissioner Gordon up. "Now, lets play a simple game. It's called pick between catching the Commissioner, and catching ME." Joker then says before making his way across the catwalk and Naruto growls.

"The clown's mine!" Naruto says darkly while teleporting over to the other Catwalk and quickly runs after Joker. Frowning to himself, Batman raises his left arm and fires a grapple, the device wrapping around a high girder before he then jumps off of the Catwalk and swings across them, catching Commissioner Gordon as he does so. Catching the other Catwalk with one hand Batman throws the Commissioner onto it before jumping up with him. Kneeling down, the dark knight then removes some tape over the white haired, mustached mans lips.

"Looks like this is another one I owe you…" Gordon muses and Batman rolls his eyes while untying the man.

Back with Batgirl and Duela, the two are evading Harley's sledgehammer, Duela jumping and kicking out with both legs into Harley's back. "Hey no fair! Heroes don't attack from behind!" Harley calls out while swinging around with the sledgehammer, Duela flipping back and into a sitting position, her hands on her cheeks and elbows on her knees.

"Well it's like my daddy always says. Duela, if you ever want to get anywhere in life your gonna have to break a few rules every now and again." Duela offers in response before grinning towards the painted clown girl who looks to Batgirl.

"Seriously, where did you find this chick? I want one!" Harley asks then says with a wide grin and Batgirl frowns.

"She escaped from a mental asylum…" The older red head offers and Harley blinks before looking over to Duela and then chuckles.

"Aw, she's just like the daughter I'd want to have with Mistah J…" Harley muses with a sigh and Duela gets a strange smirk on her face before then flipping to her feet and then rushes towards Harley, swinging her covered arms at her in several punches. "Alright, enough a dis, I'm sick a being double teamed." Harley then muses while flipping into a kick to knock Duela back, then whistles loudly.

A second later, and accompanied by what sounds like laughter, two hyena's come running towards the three, causing Harley to grin. "Now here's a show worth watching. When animals attack two annoying girls!" The killer clown girl offers while Batgirl grimaces and Duela blinks for a moment. "It's a comedy!" Harley offers and Duela rolls her eyes before pushing herself off of the catwalk and flipping over one of the Hyenas before then quickly slipping out of her straightjacket and tossing her backpack up and into the air.

Smirking to herself, Duela then wraps the straightjacket around the Hyena's head, and then twists her body around until she slams the Hyena into the side of the Guardrail. The insane red head then quickly pulls something from her backpack before tossing that at the Hyena with a smirk, long strings of confetti popping out of the object and wrapping around the Hyena. "Now that's a wrap." Duela muses before laughing to herself with a wide grin, while behind her, Batgirl narrows her eyes on the second Hyena then flips over it and throws a bola down onto it, the weapon wrapping around it and causing the animal to struggle for freedom.

"Hey! That's cruelty ta animals!" Harley says with a frown while noting what Duela had been wearing under her straightjacket. First the girl is wearing a green vest, only two buttons are done however leaving her navel visible, with a sleeveless V neck purple coat over that with two long tails and a green collar that is folded down over her shoulders, with only a single button holding it closed, with a simple yellow flower placed into her lapel.

"I think the humane society will forgive us for saving our own skins in this case." Batgirl offers with a smirk while Duela takes her Straightjacket back and folds it up before sticking it into her backpack, then pulls that on over her shoulders.

"C'mon Harl, don't be such a sore looser." Duela then offers with a cheeky smile towards the older woman and said blond narrows her eyes onto the insane girl.

"Alright, no more miss nice Harley!" The woman growls while rushing at Duela and seings her Sledgehammer, only for Duela to spin into a jump, landing on top of the guardrail with a grin.

"Taa-daa!" She offers with her arms outstretched before then flipping and using an Ax kick to Harley's head, knocking her face down into the catwalk. Shaking her head, Harley knocks Duela's feet out from under her and flips her body to pin her down with her own weight. "Hey! Get offa me! Do you know who I am?!" Duela shouts while trying to wiggle her way out from under Harley and the older clown smirks.

"A bratty little red head with mental issues?" She offers and then gets knocked back by Batgirl, who then cuffs her to the guardrail, making her sigh. "Boy, beauty school is looking REAL appealing right about now…" She mumbles as Batgirl then cuffs her other hand to another bar of the guardrail, Harley pouting in response.

Meanwhile, Naruto slowly walks along the catwalks, a jet of steam rising at his side while he looks for The Joker. "Where is that clown hiding?" Naruto wonders before rolling forward, just in time to dodge the Joker swinging a crowbar at him. "Did you honestly think that was going to hit me?" Naruto asks seriously while slowly standing up, the scallops on his gauntlets unlocking as he does.

"No… not really at least." Joker admits before licking his lips as Naruto crouches down with his eyes narrowed.

"Then why even attack me like that?" Naruto asks and the Joker licks the insides of his scars for a moment before chuckling.

"Because I wanted to… You see, I don't just randomly kill people kid, I'm the Joker, I kill them when it's funny." Joker offers in response with a wide, psychotic grin on his face, Naruto's eyes narrowing on him. "You know, you, Batsy, and I we're actually an awful lot alike when you stop to think about it…" Joker suddenly says, making Naruto forget to attack.

"What? How do you figure that?" Naruto questions with his eyes narrowed onto the deranged clown and Joker brushes his hair back.

"Well. Look at yourself, judging by the fact you like to dress in a costume, I'd say you're as nuts as me or Batsy." Joker offers while Naruto growls towards him angrily. "All of life's little acts of random violence and injustice. All in one bad day… Any man can have one really bad day and end up just like me. All it takes is one bad day to reduce the sanest man alive to lunacy. That's how far the world is from where I am right now. Just one bad day." Joker then explains to the teen with that near demonic grin while continuing to walk towards Naruto, the blond boy twitching.

"Shut up." He growls towards the clown who merely grins towards him in response.

"You had a bad day once. Am I right? You had a bad day and everything changed. Same with Bats for brains, why else would either of you dress like you do?" Joker offers with a wide grin slowly splitting his lips open. "What was it for you? Did you loose everything you held near and dear? Did you see something that changed everything? Did your life change when you couldn't take the torments of your life anymore? Or… was it a little bit of everything?" Joker questions with a strange grin on his face and Naruto lunges forward with a roar, knocking him down and grabbing Joker by his coat's collar.

"I said, SHUT UP!" The blond exclaims loudly and yet the Joker merely continues to grin towards him.

"Ah… I hit a nail with that one didn't I? Ah, so it was all that, all in one VERY bad day!" Joker muses while Naruto reels a fist back and slams it into Joker's face, causing him to stumble back but laugh all the same. "Really hit a nail there didn't I! Maybe you and I are even more alike than you know, maybe just a little more of a push and you could have actually become just like me…" Joker muses only for Naruto to slam his fist into the older man's gut, causing him to drop his crowbar and grab his stomach.

"What part of Shut the fuck up don't you understand clown!?" Naruto demands of the Joker before grabbing him and slamming his fist into the demented clowns jaw. Stumbling back and into the guardrail, Joker reaches up and works his jaw for a moment, a livid Naruto stalking towards him.

"If you were going for deformity you're using the wrong tools, kid. If you were going for pain you're hitting me in all the wrong places. You just keep working on trying to give me a broken jaw. Just wear out your wrist that way." Joker suddenly offers and Naruto growls before spinning on his heel, sending Joker skidding to the side from a kick to his jaw this time. "Ahh… Absolutely no concept of craft." Joker muses only for Naruto to rush over to him and quickly picking the clown up, the eyes of his mask glowing a fierce crimson color…

"**WHAT THE HELL DOES IT TAKE TO SHUT YOU UP!?!"** Naruto demands angrily, his voice a low, demonic growl at this point. Rather than fear, The Joker snickers in response before turning his head to look down, Naruto following his gaze sees a vat of green chemicals below them, the putrid green solution steaming and bubbling like soup.

"That might work nicely…" He offers and Naruto's eyes narrow before a demonic grin splits his own face beneath his mask.

"**Yeah… It WOULD… wouldn't it."** Naruto agrees before lifting Joker up with all of his strength, hoisting him up before then placing a foot against the guardrail. **"You say we're a lot alike… well I don't think you and I will be too similar after a nice chemical bath, eh Joker!"** Naruto offers with that same devilish grin on under his mask and the Joker merely snickers once more.

"Come on then… do it…" Joker says with a wide grin and Naruto's eyes widen in shock. "Come on… I want you to do it! I want you to do it!" Joker states psychotically while then moving so that he is now sitting on the guardrail, Naruto's eyes widening even further than before. "Come on now kid… Madness is like gravity… all it takes…" Joker starts before leaning back, arms spread wide, grinning at the masked thief with his disturbing green eyes. "… Is a little PUSH. So c'mon… Hit me!" Joker states darkly with wide eyes and an even wider more disturbing grin now stretched across his face.

"What's taking so long, kid? I said I want you to do it, HIT ME!" Joker then asks with that same devilish grin before shouting out at the boy, Naruto shaking, half of his body ready to push him over into the chemical soup, the other half trying to fight back that impulse… "Honestly now… Why so serious?" Joker suddenly asks and Naruto finally reacts, quickly releasing the man he takes several steps back from him, the Kyuubi's power receding as he does…

"What the fuck are you…?" He questions lowly while staring wide eyed at the Joker, the purple clad man licking his lips before moving himself forward.

"Me? Why I am the result of all of life's little random acts of violence and injustice… you see, it's all a Joke! Everything anybody ever valued or struggled for… It's all a monstrous demented gag." Joker says while reaching into one of his pockets, retrieving a knife from it and then kneeling down in front of Naruto. "So why can't you see the funny side?" Joker asks before quickly grabbing him by the jaw, a demonic smile splitting his face. "Why aren't you laughing?" He then asks as Naruto's eyes widen in shock only for bola to come from the side and wrap around Joker's arms.

"Because I've heard it all before… and it wasn't funny the first time." Batman says as he walks towards the two, Joker snickering in response while Naruto merely stares at the clown with wide eyes.

"Batsy, long time no see." Joker offers with a devilish grin and Batman ignores him, reaching a hand down to Naruto instead.

"Thanks…" Naruto offers lowly while taking the hand and getting back to his feet, The Joker watching them with a smirk.

"Joker loves mind games X, don't let this one get to you." Batman says simply to the blond before walking over to the Joker and then picking him up by his collar with a deep scowl on his face.

"Why so Serious, batsy? Afraid that I just might be right?" Joker asks the dark knight while slowly kicking the back of his foot against a pole.

"No… Maybe ordinary people don't always crack, Joker. Maybe it was just you all this time." Batman then states and Joker stops, his face changing to a look of shock mixed with amazement before the madness quickly returns. "Now why did you kidnap commissioner Gordon, Joker? What was all this about?" Batman demands and the Joker looks at the dark knight with a serious frown.

"I came to talk. I've been thinking a lot lately." Joker offers seriously before licking his lips for a moment. "About you… about me. About what's going to happen to us, in the end. We're going to kill each other, aren't we? Perhaps you'll kill me… perhaps I'll kill you. Perhaps sooner… perhaps later. But it's still going to happen someday." Joker offers in a strange moment of clarity and Batman frowns darkly.

"Maybe this is our last chance to sort this mess out then… if you don't take it, then we're going to be locked onto a suicide course." Batman states and Joker merely chuckles as his response.

"It's far too late for that. Besides…" Joker admits before then saying with a strange looking grin on his face. "I don't like following the rules… even my own rules." He reminds the man before stabbing Batman with a knife in his shoe, the Dark Knight grunting in pain and accidentally letting go of the Joker. Time seemed to slow down at that moment, Batman's eyes widening as he quickly looks to see the Joker fall back off of the catwalk, over the guardrail with a devilish grin on his face as he falls towards the chemical soup below.

However, a second later Naruto fired a grapple, and then jumped down towards Joker, grabbing him by his pant leg a second before he would have taken a dip in the chemicals. "Aw… so close…" Joker muses to himself strangely while Naruto grunts while holding the man over the chemicals. A second later, Batman throws a line to catch the two and pulls Naruto and Joker back over to him, then quickly reaches down and grabs the Joker before slamming him down onto the catwalk.

"I hate clowns…" Naruto offers while flipping back onto the catwalk and both he and Batman look down at a smiling Joker. "What are you grinning at?" Naruto asks while crossing his arms and Joker chuckles darkly in response.

"Oh nothing… something… everything…" Joker offers cryptically with his jade green eyes giving a near luminescent quality by the dim lighting of the plant.

"Let's take the clown to the Commissioner so I can book the quickest flight out of this insane asylum you people call a city…" Naruto then grumbles and Joker grins once more, only for the teen to drag him down the catwalks with Batman following after him. Soon coming to Commissioner Gordon, Naruto tosses Joker to him before walking over to see Duela and Batgirl sitting down.

"Cool. You beat dad!" Duela offers and Naruto frowns for a moment.

"No… I don't think he ever lost." Naruto muses to himself while looking back at the Joker, then turns to face Batman. "Well what can I say bats, it's been fun but it's time for this thief to head on home." Naruto states and the Batman frowns darkly.

"Your still guilty of numerous crimes." He states and Naruto nods his head, before quickly firing a constrictor X at both Batman and Batgirl.

"Yeah I know that, that's why I had a backup escape plan." Naruto admits while below them, Billy in a car has busted through the door of the plant.

"Hurry up! The cops are on their way!" Billy calls out and Duela snickers before jumping off the catwalk and down to the car, quickly getting in while Batman narrows his eyes on Naruto.

"So you had Billy get you a ride out of here." He states and Naruto smirks behind his mask.

"Not quite. I actually sent him a coded message when I found Joker. And seeing as all your trying to do is stall so you can use one of your fancy gadgets…" Naruto says then muses before holding up the Batman's utility belt, smirking as he can feel the shock coming off of the Batman. "Better luck next time." Naruto offers with a mock salute before flipping off of the catwalk and onto his bike as it swerves into the building. Revving the engine, Naruto chuckles to himself as he, Billy, and Duela then make their getaway, leaving Batman and Batgirl stuck to the catwalk.

"I'm going to but a bulletin out on…" Gordon starts to say only for Batman to interrupt him.

"No. He's not our problem anymore…" Batman states and then unlocks the blades on his gauntlets to cut through the constrictor-X, Batgirl doing the same.

"But he's getting away!" Gordon states and Batman actually smirks.

"I know, but he's Robin's problem now…" Batman offers before looking down at an amused Joker as he looks right back at the dark knight…

--

(Arkham…)

A pouting Harley slowly walks into Arkham, two large guards leading her down the hall. _'I wonder where they took Mistah J this time?'_ The blond can't help but wonder to herself before noticing Poison Ivy was smirking at her from her cell. "Nice to see you again Harley…" Poison Ivy offers with a smirk as the blond haired woman passes her cell.

"Aw shut up, red…" Harley says with a pout until the guards push her into her forward to the front of a cell. The two men then quickly pull the straightjacket off of her and then shove her into the cell. Looking back at them she blows a raspberry towards them, both men merely ignoring her, causing the blond to sigh. "Back in Arkham already, face it Harley, you've officially hit rock bottom. Now even younger men are pushing you around…" Harley says to herself while walking over to her cot and then sits down with a dejected look, hands on her cheeks.

However, a second later something catches her eye, tilting her head back Harley blinks when she sees something glinting in the shadows. "What the…" She mumbles then gets up and jumps to grab whatever it is. Landing on her ass, Harley groans slightly before looking at what she grabbed and gasps. In her hands is the Batman's famous utility belt, and attached to it is a note with a familiar jagged red X. Blinking a few moments, Harley then pulls the note off of the belt and opens it up…

'Dear, Harley.

Here's a gift, just to say that locking you up was nothing personal, babe. I just don't like being used.

Your Favorite Super Thief, Red-X.

PS: If your ever in Jump City, feel free to drop on by and visit any time.'

Blinking to herself while looking at the note, Harley then looks back at the belt and a wide grin spreads over her face. "Aw, thanks Skull Face!" She says to herself before opening the many pouches of the belt and checking what lays hidden within it. Finding a lock pick within Harley suddenly grins and then giggles to herself. "OH RED…" The blond suddenly calls out loudly and in her cell, Ivy huffs before rubbing her temples.

"What do you want, Harley?" She then asks with a frown and Harley grins to herself with a sly expression.

"Would you like ta get out a here?" She asks and Ivy rolls her eyes.

"Do you even HAVE to ask?" The red head retorts and then hears a lock clicking and turns her head to see Harley with Batman's belt placed around her waist and a wide grin on her face.

"Then c'mon, Pammy! Paroles come early this year!" Harley offers with an excited tone, Ivy smirking as she quickly gets out of her cell to join up with her blond haired friend…

--

TBC…

--

AN: Tamaraneans actually ARE descended from felines according to DC Comics, the powers / physical differences mentioned are also true to what has been said in TT about Tamaraneans by Starfire herself. Duela Dent is, or at least WAS an actual DC character in the original Teen Titans comic book franchise. She has been both an enemy to the Titans, an ally, a member, and so on and so on, depending primarily on her mood. Thus she seemed like a perfect addition to Tartarus. As a side note, references and quotes to and from "The Killing Joke" were used in this chapter… I don't own those!


	26. Enter PinkX Pt1

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

**Chapter 25**: **Enter,** **Pink-X Pt. 1**…

--

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

--

(Jump City, Tartarus HQ…)

"Alright." Gizmo says while looking at the cloth and broken piece of an X-shuriken that the girls brought to him. "The broken piece of Shuriken is all that it appears to be. A broken piece of a Pink X-Shuriken." Gizmo offers with a wave while behind him Starfire floats beside of Raven, Jinx sits on a table, and Blackfire leans back into a wall. "As for the cloth, that's a little more complicated." Gizmo then says while looking at the cloth and Blackfire frowns.

"How's that? It looks normal enough to me." Blackfire states and the bald boy frown for only a moment.

"The stuff is made of a special material that will allow the wearer to wander into a variety of temperaments without any kind of ill effect. Basically, a person wearing a suit of this could go from a Desert into an Icy Tundra and never need to change clothes." Gizmo offers in explanation and Jinx blinks before frowning.

"Any way of tracing it?" The Pinkette asks and Gizmo frowns for a moment.

"Trace the shit? I wanna know how someone would GET this kind of shit and in the amount needed to make a cape and a suit out of it so I can use it." Gizmo says, causing Starfire to blink then scratch her head.

"Why would you wish to know that? Isn't the Red-X's own suit more advanced?" The red haired alien asks then offers and Gizmo sighs for a moment.

"It IS, but THIS shit is extremely light, extremely thin, and yet offers almost the exact amount of protection as X's suit. Personally I was going to try and upgrade his suit again anyways. I've been working on some…" Gizmo starts to say only for Blackfire and Jinx to launch forward and slap their hands to his mouth.

"Heroes remember." Jinx growls out and Gizmo blinks then rubs the back of his neck.

"Regardless of that. Can you trace Pink-X?" Raven asks with her arms crossed and Gizmo pulls Blackfire and Jinx's hands from his face.

"Yeah. I took a look at the other things she stole and I'm seeing a pattern…" Gizmo says and brings up a list of the objects stolen by Pink-X. "Besides all the tech that is obviously for herself, Pinky has been stealing tons of different chemicals from Logan Industries while randomly hitting Tech-Companies in between so no one would notice a pattern." Gizmo states flatly while bringing up a long list of chemicals on the screen.

"What are they for?" Starfire questions and Gizmo frowns.

"X usually needs these chemicals to make that weird Ink and Paper he uses for his exploding paper bombs, seals, and such." Gizmo states and Jinx's eyes narrow onto the screen dangerously.

"So only someone with skills or knowledge like Tempest would have any kind of need for those things then, right?" Jinx questions with a frown and Gizmo nods his head silently to his pink haired friend.

"So it's those Konoha Ninja…" Raven muses with a frown, Starfire looking to her friend with a confused expression. "A group of Ninja who tried to capture Naruto and force him to return home with them." She offers flatly and Starfire blinks then raises a brow in confusion.

"Why would anyone wish to take Raven's friend who is a boy anywhere against his own will?" The red haired Alien girl asks and Jinx frowns before reaching up to rub her temples.

"Because Starfire, he left his home without them letting him. His people want him back regardless of his wishes. X and Naruto both left at the same time, their friends to an extent and both are trying to escape from these Ninja." Raven explains with a frown and Starfire makes an O with her mouth before her eyes light up.

"Then that is how the Red-X and Friend-Naruto know one another…" She says mostly to herself and Jinx wonders how someone as supposedly smart as Starfire can be so naive.

"If you girls are done gossiping, I think I might have a lead on Pinky you might like to exploit." Gizmo says before bringing up a second list of chemicals beside the first one and cross-referencing them. A bright red bar suddenly zeroes in on a specific chemical and Jinx frowns.

"So this is the only one Pinky doesn't have?" She asks and Gizmo nods his head. "Then where do we find it?" She then asks and Gizmo starts to rapidly type on his computer before smirking.

"Got her. Logan Industries made the bulk of this stuff, but for the last of it she'll need to hit the Star Labs building at the lower west side." Gizmo states and Jinx smirks to herself, only for Gizmo to frown. "I'd say she'd have to wait before she hits the place. Given all of her recent robberies, I'd say a day or two to let the heat die down would be the best course of action before going after this stuff." Gizmo then muses to himself and Jinx nods her head with her arms crossed.

"It's a basic lesson they teach at the HIVE. Never hit the same place twice in a row or multiple places in the same week, without at least waiting for the heat to die down. That way Security will be lax when you hit the place a second time. In Pinky's case she can't hit Star Labs again because of the stuff she took from them." Jinx explains and Raven nods her head slowly, seeing the obvious logic in that idea.

"Then what should we do? How will we explain to Robin about the Pink-X if we cannot say we have been seeing, the Jinx and her own team?" Starfire asks with a worried tone and Raven frowns for a moment before wondering exactly what they should do about that…

"Let's worry about crossing THAT particular bridge later. Right now I'd like you all to leave, I do still have other work to do around here thanks to you two wrecking the joint…" Gizmo states with a frown and Jinx nods her head, she and Blackfire both walking out of the room while Raven teleports herself and Starfire back to the tower. "Jeez. Now to get back to my real work…" Gizmo says to himself while pulling up a screen with some upgrades for the Tartarus HQ…

--

(Murakami High…)

A familiar Pinkette and Blond girl are walking to lunch; Sakura frowning while Ino is reading a book. "The kids of this world have WAY too much homework…" Ino mutters as she and her friend enter the lunchroom and walk over to the line. The two didn't really speak much to one another, and even less when around Hinata, but Ino had no one else she could speak with really… well, accept ONE person…

"Hey Ino, hey Sakura." The said person calls while cutting in line to place herself between the Pinkette and blond haired girls. This girl has long straight blond hair with a black band holding it back, a pair of azure blue eyes, and tanned skin, she has a dancers physique, due to her practicing ballet and wears the same uniform as Sakura and Ino. Which is, a blue skirt, white button down shirt with a black tie, white knee high socks, and a pair of black Mary Janes.

"What's going on with you two today?" The girl asks, her name, Kitten Moth, daughter of the notorious villain Killer Moth.

"Same shit different day…" Ino mutters while glaring at her homework, wishing she knew a Jutsu that would set it on fire for not doing itself… As she does Sakura and Kitten get there food, causing Ino to get her own as well. "What about you Kitten, anything new with you?" Ino asks without looking at the other blond while a tired looking Sakura blearily turns her sleepy eyes to her other blond friend.

"Me and Fang broke up again…" Kitten offers simply with a shrug as they walk over to a table and Ino shivers at the thought.

"Good. That big spider for his head was creepy as hell… more so than Shino having them living in his body…" Ino mumbles under her breath before shivering violently and Kitten rolls her eyes in response while the three girls sit down.

"Yeah. How could you stand to be around that guy? Let alone try to KISS him?" Sakura asks with a raised brow and a shudder at the thought of the spider headed teen and Kitten frowns before crossing her arms.

"I'm not freaked out by bugs for one thing, he got me all sorts of nice gifts for another, and lastly, he WAS a pretty nice guy till we started fighting…" Kitten lists off on her fingers and Ino blinks for a few moments.

"Strangely, that's less shallow an answer than I expected from you." Ino offers with a raised hand and Kitten snorts before moving her fingers through her blond hair.

"I'm not as conceited as everyone makes me out to be you know. Yes I'm pretty bitchy at times but that's usually only cause I want to piss daddy off… or my current boyfriend has royally pissed me off." Kitten replies and Ino raises a brow in confusion.

"You really have a problem with your dad don't you." She muses aloud and Kitten's eyes narrow into slits.

"He's missed my Ballet Recital, my Piano Recital, Father Daughter Day when I was at Reform-School, my last TWO birthdays." Kitten says with a growl and a snarl on her face as she seethes, both Ino and Sakura looking to one another, then their blond haired friend as she suddenly explodes. "ALL OF WHICH THE BASTARD MOTH MAN RIP OFF MISSED BECAUSE HE WAS PLOTTING WORLD DOMINATION!!" Kitten yells out loudly before growling and clenching and unclenching her hands.

"Wow… someone has some serious father issues…" Ino whispers to herself lowly and Sakura nods her head having heard the other blond. Watching the girl they see her breath in, then out for a moment before calming herself down and looking at Sakura.

"You look like shit…" She says bluntly and Sakura glowers angrily.

"I would look better if I could figure out why I'm always so tired lately…" She grumbles before yawning and Kitten rolls her eyes in response.

"Excuses, excuses…" She muses before looking to Ino. "Know why Pinky here is so tired?" She then asks and Ino shrugs her shoulders with a confused expression.

"Sakura goes to bed at the same time me and Hinata do back home. Not only that but we're used to late nights with all this homework." Ino offers before looking at Sakura and seeing her nearly fall asleep while sitting up.

"Yeah well I'd advise against any strenuous activities for a while then. Do yourself some good and sleep for a day." Kitten offers before then taking a bite of whatever government made slop the lunch lady was serving for that day and grimaces visibly in response. "I'm packing my lunch from now on…" Kitten mutters and Ino rolls her eyes before looking down at what appears to be Blue furry food on her own tray…

"And I think I just lost my appetite…" Ino mutters while pushing her tray away, only to yelp as the blue mold suddenly jumps from her plate and starts to eat Kitten's food…

"I must be REALLY tired, cause I'm seeing blue mold moving and eating Kitten's food…" Sakura suddenly says with wide eyes, only for Ino and Kitten to grab, then drag her away from the exact same blue mold that had once dwelled in the Titan's fridge…

--

(Later…)

Jinx is pacing the floor of the Tartarus HQ, cupping her chin with one hand while the other arm rests behind her back. "Do you HAVE to pace the floor? I think your actually starting to leave a groove…" Blackfire says while watching the Pinkette continue to pace the floor. Hearing the dark haired girls words, Jinx turns to give an annoyed glare at her while the boys of Tartarus are around the HQ, Mammoth is currently at the fridge and Seemore is asleep yet again…

"Listen here, Blackfire. I'm pacing because I've got to figure out some way to tell Tempest that some chick with a costume has basically ripped off his style!" Jinx says and Blackfire rolls her eyes in response.

"The Red-X I met would probably find it funny…" Blackfire muses and Jinx frowns, crossing her arms and giving the older girl a look.

"Not ONLY that, but she appears to be the same girl that cheated on him for a pretty boy bastard…" Jinx then says and Blackfire blinks then grimaces after a moment.

"Okay, so maybe he would be pissed about that." Blackfire muses and then watches as Jinx paces back and forth once more. A second later however, a doorbell rings and Jinx stops and blinks.

"We have a doorbell?" She wonders while scratching her head and Blackfire shrugs her shoulders. Sighing the Pinkette then walks over to the door and opens it, only to look on with a raised brow at the person standing at the door. It is a girl around her own age with bright blood red hair; her skin is an average tone with an athletic build and curvy figure. The girl is wearing a green domino mask, a green tank top with a jagged black question mark over her chest and a brown backpack, a slender green belt with a pouch on it around her waist, a pair of tight green pants with a purple pouch on her right thigh, a pair of fingerless bicep length black gloves with purple stitching at the backs of her fists and purple bands around her wrists, and last is a pair of calf length black boots…

"Hi!" The girl offers with a wave, smiling brightly and causing Jinx to blink, just noticing a golden, question mark shaped cane she has in one hand. "I'm The Riddler's Daughter. But just call me Duela." Duela offers with a grin and holds a hand towards Jinx, making Jinx look at her strangely till Billy then pushes passed Duela, shaking his head with a sigh as he does.

"She's crazier than a chicken with its head cut off…" The boy mutters while Mammoth stops eating and grins towards his southern friend.

"Billy! Your alive!" He says and Billy smiles and gives a wave to his friend before sitting down on the sofa and sighing to himself.

"Yeah, Billy's alive. But can someone please explain why we suddenly have The Riddler's Daughter here?" Jinx asks and Naruto steps into the Tartarus HQ, still garbed in his Red-X suit.

"Because I asked her to join the team." Naruto offers with an amused tone and Duela nods her head with a smile. "Though… she was calling herself The Joker's Daughter when I did…" The boy then muses while looking at Duela strangely and she blinks beneath her Domino mask before taking on a confused expression.

"I did? Really?" Duela asks and Naruto nods his head silently, Jinx looking at her strangely as Duela starts to scratch her head. "Are you SURE I said that? I could swear that mom said…" Duela started to say before Naruto clears his throat and looks at Jinx with a sheepish expression under his mask.

"Eh. Duela's kind of confused about where she comes from. Last week she said she was Joker's Daughter, a couple days ago it was Two-Face's daughter, and today it's The Riddler's Daughter. From what we've learned and guessed, she's somewhat delusional and REALLY bipolar…" Naruto explains and Jinx looks at Duela in both a shocked and disturbed way.

"So she's REALLY crazy?" Jinx asks and Billy snorts.

"She make's Harley Quinn look sane." He states tiredly and Mammoth instantly stops what he was doing, Seemore suddenly waking up and looking at Billy.

"Wait, you actually MET Harley Quinn?" Mammoth asks with a gaping jaw and Billy rolls his eyes under his goggles.

"Tempest over there busted her out of Arkham…" Billy offers and Mammoth and Seemore rush over to Naruto, making the boy raise a brow.

"Is she as hot as they say?!" Seemore excitedly asks and Jinx frowns while crossing her arms over her chest.

"Hot as Hell. Crazy as Fuck. And hit me with a sledgehammer…" Naruto replies with a grimace and the Tartarus group all grimace in response.

"Ouch." Mammoth mutters then looks at Duela, the near forgotten girl having her head tilted slightly to the side while still smiling brightly. "Uh, hi. I'm Mammoth." The big guy offers while holding a hand to the girl and she grins once more.

"I'm The Riddler's Daughter, but call me Duela big guy." Duela offers and Seemore looks to Mammoth and both instantly agree not to piss the girl off, after all you could never really tell what a crazy was going to do when she was pissed off… Just look at Harley Quinn herself for an example.

"Alright, Mammoth, why don't you and Seemore go and show Duela around and introduce her to the other guys. We'll find her a room when she knows the lay of the land as it were." Naruto offers and Mammoth nods his head, then both her and Seemore walk off, Duela following them with a slight bounce in her step.

"We are NOT keeping her around." Jinx states flatly and Naruto frowns.

"She's genuinely useful. She not only has some interesting acrobatic skills but her multiple personalities might prove useful. Not only would it be near impossible to guess what she's going to do next but none of the Titans will be able to get used to her antics before she suddenly changes them." Naruto explains and Jinx frowns for a moment before then looking to Blackfire.

"It WOULD be nice to have more female company around here…" She muses and Naruto can't help a little chuckle.

"I can imagine." Naruto offers and Jinx frowns towards him.

"Unless your trying to make yourself some kind of harem that is…" Jinx then states and Naruto blinks before shuttering.

"Uh, no thanks, Jinx. I already have enough trouble with Kara-Chan. I don't need any more girls. I'm a flirt, but I'm not crazy." Naruto states and Jinx looks sad for only a moment before sighing while Blackfire clears her throat. "Well, well, well. The Princess has finally woken up." Naruto muses and Blackfire rolls her eyes before looking at Naruto and taking a deep breath.

"I just want to say thanks for the help… and… for beating some sense into me." Blackfire offers and Naruto chuckles lightly in his throat.

"I seem to be really good at doing that." Naruto notes while remembering about a dozen people whom he knocked some sense into back in his world. "Now seeing as I'm home, why am I hearing rumors about a Pink-X?" Naruto then asks while turning to Jinx with a raised brow under his mask and the Pinkette mentally groans before explaining what they've managed to learn about the girl thus far…

--

(??)

Sasuke is sitting in their warehouse hideout, frowning as he glares at Kakashi. "Why are you going along with this farce?" Sasuke asks while referring to the whole plan revolving around "Pink-X". Sighing at this, Kakashi wonders for what feels like the millionth time why he ever tried to focus on training this brat, especially seeing as he was just so damn insufferable…

"Because Sasuke, Naruto seems a tad more arrogant than he was back in Konoha. Not only that but the easiest way to draw him out is to catch his interest. And the easiest way to catch the interest of an arrogant person is typically to copy them. Hence, the plan." Kakashi explains and Sasuke grunts before leaning back in his seat while Kakashi reads his smut.

"I still say we should just attack someone. That'll lead the dobe right too us…" Sasuke states and Kakashi groans.

"Sasuke… we can't do that or risk alerting the "Justice League" of this world. And quite frankly, I don't fancy going toe to toe with a man who can lift mountains with his bare hands." Kakashi states then shivers, the so-called "Man of Steel" easily scaring the Jounin with his obvious near god like powers.

"I bet a Chidori to the head would take him down." Sasuke muses and Kakashi looks over his book to give the dark haired Uchiha a blank look.

"He takes trains apart with his bare hands, he can withstand the pressure up to thousands of feet below sea level, and lets not forget the man has even shown he's able to move faster than light… Sasuke… he could kick my ass faster than I could blink." Kakashi states flatly, seeing as it was true since he was nowhere near as fast as Superman, and as far as he could tell, the mighty man of steel would leave even Lee or Gai in the dust.

At this Sasuke merely grunts while leaning back with a deep scowl on his face, wondering when he's finally going to be able to get back at Naruto for humiliating him. As Sasuke continues to mentally envision killing Naruto in the most painful way possible, Sakura, Hinata, and Ino all walk into the warehouse, Sakura yawning as she then trudges over to a mat and falls onto it. "Someone needs to go to bed earlier…" Kakashi muses and Ino rolls her eyes.

"She goes to sleep the same time the rest of us do Sensei, she's just been really tired lately for some reason." Ino offers with a shrug and Sasuke frowns.

"It's because she's a weak fool…" He states then leans back and Ino has to bite back a retort while Hinata sighs then walks over to a different mat and sits down. "Any sign of our ally?" Ino then asks and yelps as someone lands on the ground beside her with a dark chuckle.

"Who? Me?" The girl asks with a synthesized voice that sounds oddly similar to that of Jinx, and Ino frowns towards the costumed girl with obvious annoyance. The girl is dressed in an all black bodysuit with a jagged pink X over her chest with strange spinal plates at the back of the suit, the suit easily showing she has a very good figure with an athletic build, a simple ash grey belt is synched around her waist with a black circle with a pink X on the buckle, a tight black miniskirt is worn over her curved hips, while a pair of familiar ashen grey gloves cover her hands with pink X's over the backs of her fists and over her palms.

Next is a pair of calf length black boots with short heels and Pink X's over the top of each foot, a long tattered grey cloak thrown over her shoulders, and a mask nearly identical to Red-X's. However, her mask is different in that the eyes of the mask are wider than Red-X's, with the black around them forming into "lashes", the X on the mask is pink, and that her shoulder length wild spiky pink hair is flowing from out of the back of the mask.

"Yes you, Pink-X…" Ino mumbles with an annoyed frown and the girl in question chuckles to herself. "Did you get what we needed?" Ino then asks and Pink-X merely reaches into her belt and pulls out a vial of some sort before tossing it over to Ino who curses and lunges to catch the object.

"I won't be able to get the last thing you wanted until the heat blows over a bit." Pink-X then says and Ino nods her head silently before walking off as Sasuke glares at their ally heatedly.

"Why do you need to wait?" He demands and Pink-X turns her head and then rolls her eyes under her mask.

"Your cute, but really clueless…" She muses with her arms crossed and Sasuke growls towards her. "I've hit almost every major corporation in town in the span of a week. This will mean that not only do I have to worry about drawing the Titan's attention, but that the businesses are going to up their security for a while. Until I can SAFELY get you morons your last chemical I need to lay low." Pink-X explains flatly and Sasuke seethes before leaning back to glare at her.

"And speaking of this job, where's my pay for getting you that stuff?" Pink-X then asks with a frown and holds a hand out, Kakashi sighing before reaching into his pants and pulls out an envelope full of money.

"Here…" Kakashi offers and Pink-X moves quickly, taking the envelope then flipping onto a wall where she then gives a mock-salute.

"Later." She offers while making her way out of the building and Sasuke growls.

"Why do we have to pay that annoying bitch?" Sasuke demands while a sleeping Sakura turns over in her sleep and Ino and Hinata both sigh.

"Because we don't want her telling the cops where we are…" Ino explains simply while Neji enters the building, cracking his neck as he does. "Hey Neji, any sign of Naruto with that weird goth girl tonight?" Ino asks and Neji opens a single eye before sighing.

"No. It appears as if Naruto went out of Town. I have no idea when he'll be coming back…" Neji offers while looking to the sleeping form of Sakura with a frown over his face. "Is it just me… or is she sleeping more than Shikamaru?" Neji questions with his arms crossed and Ino snorts.

"That's not possible. Believe me Neji, no one can sleep as much as Nara Shikamaru can." The blond girl states with a smirk and Hinata giggles slightly despite herself, having met the extremely lazy teen and easily agreeing with Ino's assumption.

--

TBC…

--

AN: The reason I'm including Duela in this story is because Robin confirms she exists in Teen Titans continuity in one of the comics by saying "I'm starting to think that the Joker's Daughter is just playing a prank on us.". I just designed her look for this story so she does exist, she's just never shown…

Also, if anyone is wondering about Duela's sudden personality switch, she's actually DONE that in the comics. She is known to take on numrerous different identities with costumes to match at times. Some of them are: The Joker's Daughter. The Riddler's Daughter. Two-Face's Daughter/Harlequin. Catwoman's Daughter/Catgirl. Penguins Daughter. Scarecrow's Daughter/Scarecrone. I'll probably switch her costumes numerous times from now on, but she'll primarily use her "Joker" costume as I like that version of her, so expect to see it very often…


	27. Enter PinkX Pt2

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

**Chapter 26**: **Enter,** **Pink-X Pt. 2**…

--

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

--

(Tartarus HQ…)

"So let me see if I'm getting this all straight…" Naruto says while pacing before the Couch in Tartarus HQ with his mask on the coffee table in front of it. Raven and Jinx sitting on the couch while Blackfire is leaning onto the back of the couch with her chin in her hands. "Some chick in a cheap knockoff of my outfit is stealing stuff from around town, not only that but it looks like most of it is chemicals needed for Chakra Conductive materials. Am I getting this right thus far?" Naruto asks and Raven slowly nods her head, the blond boy rubbing his temples in response.

"So do you think it's Sakura or what?" Jinx asks and Naruto frowns before cupping his chin and considering what he's heard thus far. First of all Sakura was more direct than to have a friend turn off the alarms, she also wasn't quite as skilled in theft since she was trained primarily as a Med-Nin… add onto that Sakura would have no idea where to get the material for the suit she used, nor would she notice the laser tripwires and Naruto knew it wasn't his Pink haired former teammate / ex-girlfriend.

"No. This is more like a basic Ninja tactic. Lure out your enemy before attacking or lead him into a trap where you have the advantage. Either that or they really needed more materials." Naruto offers with a frown then crosses his arms, wondering why the Konoha Flunkies thought he'd fall for such an obvious trick… oh yeah they were probably underestimating him again.

"If it's not Sakura, and she's obviously not Jinx, who do you think it could be?" Raven asks and Naruto rubs his chin for a moment.

"It's going to be someone that they can beat, so that narrows it down to someone with minor powers or skills. She won't be too greatly skilled in combat, at least as far as they know. And she'll have to be someone they can get to keep quiet, probably with money if this thief is greedy enough…" Naruto muses causing Raven and Jinx to sigh in exasperation.

"Well that leaves more than half of the city…" Jinx offers and Blackfire nods her head in agreement with the Pinkette.

"But obviously Pink hair isn't too common among humans and especially this city, that should narrow it down greatly." Blackfire reminds and Naruto frowns slightly while cupping his chin in thought.

"True, but they haven't caught her yet and that means she's smart enough not to let her hair stand out to much in public or the cops would have already managed to find her by now." Naruto reminds simply while tapping a finger onto his bicep with a slight frown over his lips.

"Why would the Konoha Nin need to hire her in the first place? Why not just steal the stuff themselves?" Jinx asks the blond and he snorts.

"Besides myself, none of them are that good at infiltration and theft type missions… well actually Kakashi-Baka is but I highly doubt that he'd want to try and figure out how the security systems around here work. Someone who is already familiar with what she would have to look for is preferable than going in blind in the case of a Ninja who doesn't want to be seen. Thus this Pink-X is more of a patsy than necessary to them, their using her to lure me out and get what they need so they won't be seen." Naruto explains offhandedly and Blackfire frowns Jinx and Raven doing so as well.

"So they're going to use her and then stab her in the back?" Raven asks with a visible frown and Naruto rolls his eyes with a slight frown on his own face arms still crossed over his chest.

"I've said it before, and I'll say it again Ninja can't be trusted. I'm technically NOT a ninja anymore, so I don't count." Naruto states then reminds with a smirk and Raven rolls her eyes in response.

"RIGHT. But you still fight and act like a Ninja." Jinx reminds and Naruto blinks then waves that off before cupping his chin in thought.

"Question is how do we respond to this challenge… do we seek out Pink-X or do we wait and see what the Konoha Flunkies do next?" Naruto wonders to himself before starting to pace back and forth once more.

"You act a lot like Robin when you're serious…" Raven suddenly notes and the blond stops and looks at her with disbelief.

"You have GOT to be kidding me." Naruto states and Raven smirks slightly.

"Actually I'm not. He worries and paces back and forth whenever one of his "Enemies" is threatening the rest of us. Just like you are now…" Raven states and Blackfire nods her head with a smirk, having seen that side of Robin personally.

"Yikes…" Naruto muses to himself with a shudder. "Okay, that was a creepy thought." Naruto says to himself then snaps his fingers. "I have something I still need to give to Gizmo." He remembers and then walks over to a bag that he'd left beside the front door and then takes it off into the Tartarus HQ.

"Want to follow him?" Blackfire asks before making her way after the thief, Raven and Jinx sighing as Raven picks up Naruto's mask and the two follow after them. Making their way to Gizmo's room they see Naruto handing the bag to an annoyed and grumbling Gizmo, only for him to gape as he looks inside.

"So what do you think Giz?" The blond asks with a grin and Gizmo looks at him with what appears to be awe on his face.

"You jacked Batman's Tech?!" Gizmo demands, causing Jinx and Raven to look to one another with wide eyes as Gizmo then pours the things brought to him out on his work table, showing dozens of Batarangs, strange devices, gas bombs, and all manner of other things, making the tinny terror rub his hands together with a toothy grin.

"You took the Batman's things?" Jinx asks with the same amount of awe as Gizmo and Naruto smirks while crossing his arms.

"I actually stole his entire belt as well, but his belt was just a belt with a few secret compartments and such so I left that to a friend in need. I did take most of the things out of it however…" Naruto offers to the pink haired girl and she slowly walks over to the objects and pulls one of the Batarangs out, flipping it open and then grinning.

"This shit is all ours now…" Gizmo says evilly while taking device after device and looking it over then starts to tear it apart. "I'm going to reverse engineer this shit and then work what I can into your new suit, Temp. With my tech plus that of Robin AND Batman, your suit will kick more ass than ever!" Gizmo says while grinning and moving from device to device happily, Naruto rolling his eyes.

"Right Giz." Naruto says then has a sudden thought. "Gizmo, do you know how this "Pink-X" got her suit or at least how she managed to walk on walls? Given she isn't one of the Konoha flunkies at least." Naruto asks then offers and Gizmo stops what he was doing and rolls his eyes.

"She's using the miniature Electro Magnets she stole last week to attract herself to the metal in the walls in that place. DUH." He states simply and Jinx slaps her face as she thinks of that.

"Great, she used Tech in her suit and I didn't even consider that…" Jinx mutters to herself, causing Naruto to frown in thought.

"Gizmo, what exactly would she be able to do with those magnets and that power converter?" Naruto then asks and Gizmo frowns in thought for a moment.

"Besides decreasing the power consumption of her suit, not much, well unless she stole an Electromagnetic Gyro." Gizmo starts to say then offers nonchalantly and Naruto blinks before raising a brow.

"And what exactly would that Gyro thing do?" He asks and Gizmo frowns.

"If adjusted correctly, it could project an electro magnetic field around her, deflecting most kinds projectile weapons and metal away from her instantaneously." Gizmo offers and Naruto shivers, that could be a REAL problem if she got her hands on one of those things.

"Great… as if we didn't have enough problems… See if you can't find anything else Pinky might target and get back to me Giz.." Naruto orders then scratches his nose before grinning at the girls. "Until then I'm heading to bed. Later guys and gals…" Naruto offers while turning and gently taking his helmet from Raven before walking down one of the HQ's halls, whistling a tune to himself.

"Tempest Jacked The Batman himself…" Jinx says to herself and a very confused Blackfire turns to look at Raven.

"Whose this Batman their all talking about?" She asks and Raven rubs her temples before letting out a slight sigh.

"He's also known as The Dark Knight or The Caped Crusader, he's one of the Founding Members of the Justice League, and the same man that personally trained Robin… supposedly he's also gone Toe to toe with Superman and come out without even a scratch." Raven offers and Blackfire looks at her with wide eyes.

"That is… impressive, for a human at least." Blackfire says and then turns to look at the gadgets that Naruto had pilfered from the dark knight with a bit more scrutiny. As she does, Raven shakes her head slightly, and then teleports back to Titans Tower to get some rest as well…

--

(The next morning, Streets of Jump City…)

Beast Boy sighs to himself while walking the streets of Jump-City. Today was another day that everyone was too busy for him. Robin was obsessing over Pink-X, Cyborg was working on "His Baby" the T-Car, Starfire was being her normal self and cooking something from Tameran, and Raven had vanished early in the morning to only she knew where.

"Why am I always the odd man out?" BB wonders to himself before bumping into someone, both people falling back onto there assess. "Oh sorry I wasn't paying any…" BB starts to say only to stop when he sees Kitten Moth was whom he had bumped into.

"You!?" Both teens exclaim while pointing to the one they bumped into.

"Your that chick who forced Robin to take you out on a date!" BB says and Kitten frowns while glaring at the green furry Titan.

"And you're his green friend…" She states and BB narrows his eyes onto the girl.

"Alright, what are you up to this time?!" BB demands and Kitten crosses her arms then gives him a look.

"Are you serious?" She asks and BB blinks before nodding his head. Sighing the blond motions at her body and BB looks to what she's wearing and blushes when he sees she's in a school uniform…

"Oh… then you're just getting off of school?" He asks and Kitten nods her head with a glare directed at the green furred Changeling. "Er… sorry. But we don't normally bump into villains on the street without them being up to something…" BB offers while rubbing the back of his neck and Kitten snorts before getting up and brushing off her skirt and legs.

"I'm not a Villain." She states flatly and BB gives her a look. "Besides that time I wanted a date for the Prom, what evil things have a done?" Kitten asks indignantly and BB is silent, contemplating this before grinning sheepishly.

"Sorry… again." He offers and Kitten looks at him for a moment.

"Seeing as we're still on the subject, what are YOU doing out here?" Kitten asks and BB rubs the back of his neck nervously.

"It's kind of a long story." He admits and Kitten shrugs her shoulders before making to leave, it wasn't her business after all… "Say. Would you like to do something?" BB then asks Kitten and she stops and looks at him strangely.

"You mean like a date?" She asks and BB rapidly shakes his head.

"N-no! Just do something, you know, do something nice for knocking you down." BB offers and Kitten rubs her chin in thought for a moment before smirking.

"Fine. You can buy me a milkshake." She states while smirking and BB blinks then nods his head, somewhat regretting what he offered… but then again it wasn't like he had anything better to do and Kitten couldn't really be all THAT bad… right?

--

(Tartarus HQ…)

Naruto was sitting down and leaning back in the sofa, wondering what he should do about the Ninja and of course Pink-X… _'Moreover I need to find some way of getting rid of those Konoha Flunkies. The longer they stay here, the more I risk someone really getting hurt… especially with Sasuke-Teme's temper problem lately. I swear it's gotten worse…'_ Naruto thinks then crosses his arms over his chest. _'I wonder how I could even do that? I can't summon Toads into this world for some weird reason, and I don't even know how "I" got here, so how could I send them back to Konoha?'_ Naruto thinks to himself then wonders while Raven then appears beside him.

"You know Kara-Chan, it's kind of weird having you come and go from your enemies place as you please…" Naruto notes with a slight smirk on his lips and Raven rolls her eyes before leaning into the blond with her head resting on his shoulder.

"Well if someone had his own place I wouldn't have to…" Raven reminds and Naruto scoffs before leaning his head onto Raven's. "So what were you thinking about when I came in?" Raven asks the blond and he frowns.

"How to deal with the Konoha Flunkies once and for all…" He offers and Raven sighs to herself.

"Why not just send them home." She offers and Naruto rolls his eyes.

"I would do that Kara-Chan, but I don't even know how I got myself here, let alone the rest of them." He states and Raven nods her head slowly before her eyes snap open at an idea.

"Well. What if I try and find a way to send them home?" She offers and Naruto blinks for a few moments.

"Uh, Kara-Chan… how would you do that?" He asks and Raven smirks.

"One. I'm from another dimension as well…" Raven starts and Naruto gapes at the girl before grinning, they really had too much in common. "Not only that, I sense things. And you and those Ninja have a very unique energy signature. I already know how to travel between dimensions… so I'll just look for a similar energy trail in the many different dimensions till I find the one your from." Raven offers and Naruto looks down at his Girlfriend with a slight frown.

"That could take a very long time." He reminds and Raven rolls her eyes.

"More like days, there are a lot of world yes, but not so many that I won't be able to pinpoint where you came from quickly if I need to. Finding the spell needed to send them all away, that will take me some time however." Raven offers and Naruto chuckles before wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"Thanks Kara-Chan… once you find that, then we'll be able to send those Konoha Flunkies away and I'll be free for good… and then we can have all the time we want to do whatever…" Naruto muses with a smirk and Raven nods her head silently.

"Naruto… what do you think of Jinx?" Raven then asks and Naruto blinks.

"She's a really good friend. Why?" He says then asks and Raven is silent for a moment before sighing and closing her eyes, sighing contentedly as she does.

"No reason… just felt like asking." She offers while Naruto shrugs and leans back into the sofa, both contentedly laying on the sofa together. However a second later the familiar form of Duala, still dressed in her Riddler's Daughter Costume, leaned over them to look down at them both from above with a strange look on her face.

"Isn't she one of those Titans?" Duela asks and both Naruto and Raven glare at the clownish girl…

"Why?" Naruto asks and Duela flips over them, landing on the table before the sofa and then twists around to face them with a smile on her face.

"You remind me of my Boyfriend and me. Two of a kind and yet from totally different worlds…" Duela notes with a nod and an amused expression on her face and Naruto rolls his eyes.

"And who exactly is your boyfriend?" Naruto asks and Duela blinks.

"WAS." She states and Raven frowns while rubbing her temples.

"Whatever, who WAS he then?" She asks and Duela grins.

"His was called, Talon." Duela offers with a strange grin on her face and Naruto looks to Raven, the grey skinned girl shrugging her shoulders. "Don't expect you two to know him, he hasn't shown up in this world yet…" Duela then offers with another grin before rolling backwards, off the table and onto her feet with her hands on the top of her gold question mark cane. Giving a mock salute the girl then walks off while whistling to herself, Raven and Naruto watching her leave them silently…

"That has got to be the weirdest girl I have ever had the misfortune of knowing." Raven notes and Naruto frowns in thought for a few moments.

"Not me. I knew a girl who actively threatened to ravage people in their sleep… no… wait. That was only Sasuke-Teme." Naruto offers with a shrug and Raven gives him a look for a moment.

"Your right, Duela isn't THAT crazy…" She notes and Naruto snickers to himself before sighing and laying his head against her once more. "You're really enjoying this aren't you?" Raven suddenly asks while half closing her eyes and Naruto looks down at her with a smirk.

"Sakura hated just letting me hold her like this. Said it was annoying and that I was too clingy or something… But I kind of like just holding my girl every once in a while." Naruto offers with a soft smile forming on his lips and Raven raises a brow for only a second before sighing in content and closing her eyes with a ghost of a smile… that Sakura girl must have been even crazier than Duela as well…

--

(Back with BB…)

Kitten and BB are sitting down in the mall, both sipping on a milkshake while BB scrutinizes "Kitten" for the millionth time. _'She doesn't SEEM like she's psychotic or anything like Rob or Star called her…'_ BB notes as the blond then releases her milkshake with a sigh and a smile. "So Beasty, why were you out all by your lonesome?" Kitten suddenly asks and BB blinks, and then looks at her strangely for the nickname.

"Well, the others were off doing whatever it is that they do. Robin is pacing the floor, and even saying stuff about some chick called "The Joker's Daughter" pulling a prank on us, all because of this Pink-X chick. Raven is always out of the tower now, which is weird as hell for her. Starfire is usually with Raven but today she was making some of her weird Tamaranian food… and personally dudette, I'd rather not eat it…" BB says then shivers and Kitten mutely nods her head, figuring that since Starfire was an alien, the food her people eat would taste… odd… at the very least.

"So what about that big guy, Cyber or something like that right?" Kitten then asks with a raised brow before she sips her milkshake once more.

"Cyborg actually, and he's working on his "Baby", the T-Car. And he doesn't like it when I try to help him… he says that everything I touch seems to explode, fall apart, or spontaneously combust." BB offers while lowering his head, ears drooping as he sighs then takes a sip of his own shake. "So I decided I'd walk around out of the tower. Last time I moped I ended up being taken aboard a spaceship by a lonely alien so I figure I should just find something to do outside the Tower." BB explains and Kitten stops her sipping to look at him strangely.

"You were taken on an alien spaceship?" She asks incredulously and BB nods his head. "Cool… all the cool things happen to you Titans." Kitten muses with a nod of her head and BB frowns slightly.

"No it doesn't. All the really dangerous stuff happens to us. I mean come on, who wants psycho's like Slade or Brother Blood or the other baddies to come after them?" BB retorts and Kitten hums while looking upwards.

"True. I guess you have to take the good with the bad." Kitten notes and BB nods his head, the blond girl smirking towards him afterwards. "But you got to admit it's cool to not have to go to school." She offers and BB blinks then snorts.

"Looking like I do, that's the only thing I'm glad for… no school means no people to constantly stare at the furry green dude." BB offers and Kitten blinks for a moment before rubbing her shoulder nervously.

"Sorry about that." She offers and BB gives a slight smile. "So how did that happen anyways?" She then asks and BB blinks.

"What?" He asks and Kitten smiles, not a smirk or a grin, she just smiles and BB finds it preferable to her normal devious expressions.

"How did you turn green and get your powers." Kitten then says and BB makes an Oh with his mouth before sipping his shake for a moment.

"Well… me and my parents were over in Africa on safari, my parents were Biochemists looking for some rare plants and such. But while we were there, a green monkey bit me and I caught a really deadly virus." BB starts to explain before taking another sip of his shake and Kitten blinks in surprise.

"You know, I was actually expecting you to make the story sound like your parents were tomb raiders or something silly and you got cursed… this seems more believable already." Kitten offers and BB rolls his eyes in response.

"Dude. My parents weren't anything like that, that's my friend Sara. Her and her father are archeologists." BB offers and Kitten looked at the green teen, quite obviously surprised by that little tidbit… "Anyways. My parents were Biochemists see, so they cooked up this formula to cure me of the virus I caught. It worked but… obviously, there were some unforeseen side effects…" BB offers before sipping his shake once more, shaking it then tossing it over his shoulder.

"So why aren't you living with your parents then?" Kitten asks and BB shifts uncomfortably in his seat.

"I… I… It's… something I'd rather not talk about…" He says softly while looking down and Kitten decides to change the subject.

"So anyways. You were telling me about how lonely you were before I asked about your powers." Kitten reminds and BB nods his head, perking up slightly at the change in subject. "My dad is worse than your friends." She then says and BB blinks and then looks at the girl strangely.

"Killer Moth?" He asks and Kitten nods her head. "The same guy who forced Robin to take you to a prom… ignores you?" He asks and Kitten nods her head while sipping and finishing her shake as well.

"Yep. He's always in his basement plotting world domination. Last time I saw him out of the basement was… about a year ago when he made Robin take me to the Prom…" Kitten offers with a frown on her face and BB grimaces in response.

"Yikes. I guess he is pretty bad." BB says and Kitten nods her head.

"Yep. But I still love the big mutated mothman…" Kitten then says and BB smiles slightly.

"Can't help but love parents, even when they are hard assed." He offers and Kitten giggles before nodding her head in agreement.

"Yeah. Daddy may be a bit of a… workaholic… but at least he didn't abandon me like Mom did." Kitten replies then stops and looks wide eyed at BB who is gaping at her.

"Your mom abandoned you?" He asks in shock and Kitten sighs before laying her cheek against her left hand.

"I didn't always look like this you know…" She states then motions to her body. "Daddy's genes made me more feral looking, mom thought I was going to be part bug or something and left us both because of it." Kitten explains and BB raises a brow.

"Then how come you don't look anything like him now?" The green teen asks and Kitten looks around before opening her mouth to show both the top and bottom rows of her teeth were actually sharp fangs. "Dude!" He says in shock and Kitten rolls her eyes before sighing tiredly.

"Yeah, I get that a lot… but watch this." Kitten offers then says while opening her mouth once more, BB wondering what he's supposed to be looking for before his eyes widen in shock as her teeth seem to smooth out before his eyes and she grins, showing perfectly normal teeth. "Neat huh?" She offers and BB looks at the girl in shock.

"You're a shape-shifter!?" He asks and Kitten nods her head with a smirk. "Dude! That is like so cool! What all can you turn into, I mean I can change into extinct, alien, and other kinds of animals but…" BB starts to ramble on but Kitten moves to place a hand over the green haired boys mouth.

"First of all. My powers are limited to changing into girls. I can't turn into boys, I can't turn into animals, and I can't turn into non-living objects. I can turn into semi-human things like Catgirls and such but nothing too extravagant." Kitten offers and BB blinks while Kitten then removes her hand from his mouth.

"So… how did you get THAT power? I heard it's supposed to be rare to get Shape-Shifting Metahuman powers." BB notes and Kitten snorts.

"I don't know, probably a genetic fluke or something, Beasty. All I know is if it wasn't for my powers, I'd probably be ridiculed at school regularly for my real looks." Kitten offers offhandedly and BB frowns.

"That can't be good for you…" He notes and Kitten sighs.

"No, probably not. All my boyfriends become total dicks after they find out as well…" She admits then growls out and BB raises a brow. "They want me to turn into other girls, like super models, old girlfriends, anyone they want like I shouldn't really even care." She says with gritted teeth and BB grimaces; he knew that story very well.

"They don't get that it's like they're saying you're not good enough, that you're just second best by wanting you to change. And seeing as your normal form isn't your real form that would make you third best… right?" BB offers and Kitten blinks before nodding her head slowly.

"Your more insightful than I thought…" She offers and BB grins once more.

"Yeah. Well I know what that's like; I know what it's like to be second best to my other forms… it isn't really fun. I mean I like protecting my friends and all. But when I have to change just to keep up, it's like I start to loose all worth. Like I'm just Beast Boy, I'm not Garfield Logan anymore… I'm just a changeling…" BB admits softly and Kitten smiles slightly.

"Is that why I've heard you always want a Moped? So you wont HAVE to change?" She asks and though she doesn't say it, her thoughts add onto her statement. _'So you want have to be second best…'_ At her statement, BB slowly nods his head to the blond who then rubs her chin for a moment. "Alright Beasty. Since you've been so honest and nice, I'm taking you on a date." Kitten then says and Beast Boy blinks to himself before gaping at her.

"Wha…?" He asks intelligently and Kitten snickers to herself.

"I said I'm taking you on a date." She reiterates and BB blinks rapidly.

"Why? I mean, aren't you and Fang like together or something?" He asks and Kitten snorts.

"Fang wanted me to turn into a Spider Human Hybrid like him…" Kitten states flatly with a deep scowl on her face and BB grimaces.

"Oh." BB says and then shifts uncomfortably in the awkward silence. "Uh… what would we do?" BB asks and Kitten frowns in thought for a moment.

"Any movies you want to see?" She asks and BB rubs his head before his eyes suddenly light up.

"I kind of wanted to see Wicked Scary: The Resurrection." He offers with a weak grin and Kitten smirks.

"You do know this is the first Wicked Scary to come out since the third one came out ten years ago… Right?" Kitten asks and BB looks at her in shock. "I like horror flicks, my dad is a mutant version of the Mothman, and The Mothman Prophesies is one of my all time favorite movies." Kitten offers with a smirk and BB grins widely.

"Cool! Then where do we meet and when?" BB asks and Kitten rubs her chin for a moment before snapping her fingers.

"How about Tonight at six o'clock, and we can meet up here." She offers and BB nods his head with a grin.

"I'll be there, er, I mean here!" He says with a thumb up and Kitten snickers to herself before winking at the green teen.

"Good. Then don't be late, Beasty." She says before sauntering off while BB smiles then blinks to himself…

"Uh… what do I wear on a Date? And for that matter… what do I ACT LIKE on a date?!" BB wonders to himself before starting to mentally freak out… ah, young love…

--

TBC…

--


	28. Enter PinkX Pt3

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

**Chapter 27**: **Enter,** **Pink-X Pt. 3**…

--

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

--

(Titans Tower…)

The Tower was calm; Raven was sitting in her room and reading a book, a slight smile still on her face from her time with Naruto. _'It's kind of weird how Naruto grows on you after time… still like a fungus, but a fungus I really don't feel like getting rid of…'_ Raven thinks to herself before leaning back in her bed while still reading, her face the picture of contentment while her normally unruly emotions seem just as content…

Elsewhere in the tower, Starfire is happily making herself another Tamaranean dish. Absently, the red haired girl wonders if she should also take some to Blackfire whenever she goes to see her sister next, before shrugging her shoulders and happily eating a bite of the food she was preparing. Deeper still in the tower, Robin sat at a desk in his room looking at newspaper clippings with information on Pink-X. Putting those down for a second and sighing, the boy wonder then places the palms of his hands onto his masked eyes and rubs…

'_Sometimes I have to wonder if maybe I AM too serious about this stuff… she is just a thief after all…'_ Robin briefly considers before looking to his wall and stiffening, a poster on the wall causing his eyes to fall. The picture is of three people, all of which wear red/yellow and green uniforms, one is a middle aged black haired man, another is a red haired woman, and last is a young boy with black hair. The words "The Flying Grayson's" are emblazoned upon the poster as Robin clenches a fist and leans forward, picking up a blurry photo of Pink-X.

'_I won't give up, I'm always serious because I won't let anyone else I care about die… I won't lose another family.'_ Robin thinks to himself and quickly goes over the information he has already gathered with renewed vigor, searching for what Pink-X will go after next. Elsewhere in the tower, Cyborg is still working on "His Baby" the T-Car, humming a tune to himself as he does so. Stopping for a second, Cyborg checks something and sees that everyone but Beast Boy is present for once.

"Wonder where BB went too?" Cy briefly wonders before shrugging and happily getting back to his work on the T-Car. All seems to be peaceful in Titans Tower, a luxury that the Teen Heroes very rarely are able to enjoy. However, soon enough a green furry blur rushes into the tower, running passed numerous chairs in the main hall and towards the elevator. Pressing the call button the green jester known as Beast Boy rides the elevator up to the top floor then runs forward, stumbling for a second as her bursts into the Titans Common Room.

"DUDE!!!" He shouts, causing Starfire to yelp and drop what she was making before then looking at BB with a worried expression.

"Friend Beast Boy, what is it that makes you shout?" She asks the panting BB as he then holds up a finger to give him a second to catch his breath.

"I… need help… for a date…" BB panted out and Starfire blinked for a second, before her eyes lit up and she squealed happily before lunging forward and hugging the green furred jester.

"My friend you now have the friend that is a girl?!" She asks and BB blinks for a few moments.

"You mean Girlfriend Star…" He corrects and Starfire scrunches her nose.

"Yes, that is what I said." She offers and BB sighs before blinking.

"Wait, we're not Boyfriend and girlfriend yet, Star. We're just going out to the movies." BB offers and Starfire makes an Oh with her mouth.

"I am sorry my friend, it is just that I thought since Friend Raven has a friend who is a boy that you would also want a companion." Starfire offers and BB wonders what Raven and Naruto being together had to do with him going on a date. "Anyways my friend, I shall be most happy to assist you in any way that I can." Starfire then offers happily and BB blinks.

"Starfire… what do you know about human dating?" He asks and Starfire blinks then chuckles nervously while rubbing her left bicep.

"Uh… perhaps speaking with friend Raven would be more helpful to you…" Starfire offers with a nervous grin and BB nods his head in agreement with the red haired alien. After all, Raven IS the only Titan who has a "companion" as Starfire put it.

"Yeah, lets go!" BB says as both he and Starfire rush off to the elevator, however upon reaching it the two slammed into and knocked Cyborg onto his back.

"Hey! Watch it!" Cyborg says and both BB and Star quickly help him up. "Man what has got you two in such a rush?" Cyborg then asks and Star is the one to answer the titanium teen.

"Friend Beast Boy is having a Date and wishes to seek advice on courtship from Friend Raven!" Starfire says happily and Cyborg blinks, once, twice, then grins and snickers slightly.

"A date? And your asking RAVEN for advice?" Cy asks and both BB and Star looks to one another then him with obvious confusion. "Raven, as in the same Raven who normally just leaves the tower and hangs with her boyfriend, as in the same Raven who'd rather just sit with him and be comfortable than be in a crowded place? That Raven?" Cy reminds and Beast Boy and Starfire look to one another before BB clears his throat.

"Right. Sort of forgot how she is… but dude! I need help; I don't know what to do on a date! The only date I've ever been on was with…" Beast Boy starts to say then his ears lower and Cyborg grimaces, he hates it when BB gets all mopey like that.

"Yeah well then you don't have to talk to Raven, why not ask me, or even Robin for advice BB." Cy reminds and BB blinks before nodding his head with a grin forming on his lips.

"Right! I'll ask Robin for help!" He says then moves passed a shocked Cyborg.

"Yo! What's wrong with asking for MY help!?" Cy demands while following after BB, Starfire right behind the two as the elevator closes and they ride down to the Living Area of the tower. When the Elevator finally stops on the desired floor, BB walks out with an indignant Cy shouting at BB about him being just as knowledgeable on girls as their leader is. Ignoring Cy completely BB comes up to Robin's door and begins to bang on it to get Robin's attention.

Inside the said Boy Wonder sighs upon hearing the racket coming from outside his door. _'Well, I knew the peace and quiet wasn't going to last…'_ He thinks to himself before getting up and walking over to his door, opening it he sees Beast Boy standing in front of him, Cyborg shouting at Beast Boy, and Starfire floating around behind the two… all and all this isn't too odd an occurrence…

"What do you want Beast Boy, I'm trying to work on a case." Robin states while rubbing his Temples and BB grins nervously.

"Uh, Dude… I kind of need some help with a date tonight." Beast Boy offers and Robin stops then looks at BB for a long few moments…

"Your serious?" He asks and BB nods his head, Cyborg and Starfire doing the same… "Wow, that's unexpected…" Robin muses and BB gives an indignant 'Hey!' in response to the Boy wonders words. "Then why are you here?" Robin then asks the green teen with a raised brow and BB nervously shifts in place.

"Well… I've only ever been on one date before and I was kind of wondering if maybe you had any advice…" BB offers and Robin can't help a smirk, Cyborg growling as he crosses his arms over his chest.

"Well, what are you doing tonight?" He asks and BB grins.

"We're going to see Wicked Scary: The Resurrection!" He says proudly and Cyborg and Robin both share a look at one another.

"Your taking her to a horror flick as your first date?" Cyborg asks incredulously and BB rolls his eyes.

"She wants to see it as well dudes." He states and both boys look confused.

"Please, why would seeing the scary movie be bad for a date?" Starfire asks and Robin shakes his head before sighing.

"Well, uh… it's not bad it's just unusually that a girl would go to see one of those movies. Considering how scary the first one was this is probably going to be something else." Robin offers and Starfire tilts her head to one side, still confused.

"I still do not understand…" Starfire then says with obvious confusion and Robin sighs before smiling to the alien girl.

"It's just really complicated Starfire." He finally offers and Starfire shrugs, feeling it is yet another Earth Custom she will probably never understand. "So she likes horror movies, your both going to see one, and your nervous… why exactly are you nervous?" Robin asks the green jester and he looks at Robin incredulously.

"Dude! I don't know what I should wear! What should I say or even do! What if I like totally make a fool of myself! Or even worse, what if she thinks I'm nothing but a furry green geek!?" BB says worriedly and Robin shakes his head with an amused smirk.

"BB, just calm down. If your just going to a movie then wear what's comfortable. As for what you should say or do, if she likes you then just be yourself. She won't think you're a furry green geek if you're both interested in seeing the movie after all." Robin offers and BB blinks for a few moments.

"A-are you sure that'll work?" He asks the boy wonder and Robin smirks.

"Yes Beast Boy. Just calm down and everything will be fine." Robin offers and the green furred Teen breaths out before grinning slightly.

"Thanks Dude!" BB offers before rushing off to his room to get a change of clothes and Robin looks to Cyborg.

"He was the last person besides Raven I expected to start going out with someone." Robin offers and Cyborg nods his head in agreement.

"Yeah, and that's mostly cause the little guy is always so over eager that he freaks out most girls in general." Cyborg offers with Robin nodding his head in agreement. "You want to follow him to make sure he'll be okay, don't you." Cyborg then states and Robin merely smirks before then walking back into his room, Starfire watching the exchange with a confused expression before sighing and making her way back to the Commons Room to clean up her earlier mess…

--

(Jump City Streets…)

A thirteen-year-old girl is silently walking out of a grocery store, her hands stuffed into her pockets. Smirking when she's out of the store the girl pulls an apple out of her pocket and then takes a bite out of it. Happily humming to herself the girl walks down the streets of Jump City. The girl is twelve, with pale skin and long black hair that is pulled into a low ponytail with her bangs curving to half cover one azure blue colored eye while some spikes out.

She wears a blue hoodie, with a pair of red shorts, a red hat on her head, blue shoes with white circles at her ankles and white socks visible coming out of them. However, these clothes are all very old, torn, and have a few holes in them besides being a bit small on her growing frame.

Taking another bite of her newly stolen apple the girl doesn't pay attention as a familiar, brown haired cop looks at her with a frown. _'Now this seems familiar…'_ Snake muses to himself before reaching to his lips and removing his cig, puffing out some smoke before flicking the cig away. Crossing his arms over his chest the man then follows the girl with a frown on his face, wondering if she was half as destructive as Jinx when she was still little.

'_Hopefully she's not. Jill was bad enough and I don't need another one of those types…'_ Snake thinks to himself while watching as the girl soon finishes her apple and tosses it into a garbage can in an alley, then places her hands into her hoodie while walking down the streets. Frowning, Snake moves forward, moving passed the many people on the street before moving to stand in front of the girl, causing her to bump into him and then land on her ass.

"Hey, watch where your…" The girl starts to say only to stop when she sees the uniform the man is wearing. "Uh… hi." She then offers with a nervous grin and Snake frowns towards her.

"Mind explaining why your stealing apples?" Snake asks flatly and the girl blinks then chuckles nervously.

"What apple?" She asks and Snake frowns deeply.

"The one you threw in that trash can back there." He states and the girl gulps while rubbing her arms nervously.

"Uh well, you see there's a very good explanation for that…" The girl starts to say and Snake raises his brow. "And I'd love to tell you all about it but…" The girl then says and quickly shouts a loud 'Bye!' before running off, Snake shaking his head before running after her. Following on the girls tail, Snake instantly notices that she's done this before from the way she's managing to stay just out of reach. _'Just like Jill…'_ He thinks with a frown while moving between people and soon following the black haired girl down a long alley.

Rushing after the girl, Snake rolls his eyes as she quickly climbs up and over a fence behind it, then blows a raspberry at him. Frowning, Snake crouches down then lunges forward, kicking off the fence into the wall at his side then flipping over the fence to crouch behind a now utterly shocked and surprised girl. "Cool…" She says with shock and Snake smirks while standing up and walking over to place a hand onto the girls shoulder. "I'm in trouble now… aren't I?" She asks and Snake merely raises a brow and gives her a look as if to say 'what do you think' to her silently, thus making her grimace.

"Got a name kid?" Snake then asks as he cracks his neck while leading the girl down and out of the alley.

"Danielle Phantom… but call me Dani, with an I." Dani offers simply while pouting slightly as she's lead out of the alley by the old cop…

--

(Tartarus HQ…)

Naruto sat with Gizmo, looking at the tiny terror as he continued to go on and on about the new modifications he was going to make to the X-suit. "Gizmo. I don't really care what you do to the suit. But I have got to say at this rate I'll have gone through a hundred different suits by the time I'm twenty…" Naruto states with a frown and Gizmo blinks a few times.

"Your Seventeen!" He reminds and Naruto smirks in response.

"My point exactly." He states and Gizmo scoffs before crossing his arms.

"Yeah, well at least I'm nice enough to help you with this shit. The least you could do is humor me." Gizmo reminds the blond haired Ex-Shinobi and Naruto waves that off while Gizmo mutters under his breath.

"So what have you figured out about Pinky?" Naruto then asks with a frown on his face and Gizmo sighs.

"Her tech is custom for one thing. So whoever she is either she made it or has contact with someone who made it for her." Gizmo offers and Naruto nods his head slowly with a hum as he rubs his chin.

"Any way of tracking her?" He asks and Gizmo licks his lips for a moment.

"Besides knowing her next target?" Gizmo asked with a raised brow and Naruto grunts while rubbing his face.

"Yeah, like finding out where she goes after her heists." Naruto offers and Gizmo snorts while turning back to his computer.

"Not really, I've checked everywhere for leads on this chick, other than being sneaky as hell and having Access to some nice tech there's really not that much to go on with her, identity wise at least…" Gizmo offers with a grumble and Naruto reaches up and rubs his chin for a moment, a frown on his face.

"Then I'm going to go check on something else…" Naruto offers before making his way out of Gizmo's workshop, one hand cupping his chin as he wonders what he should do next. _'I could probably train a bit, but that wouldn't be really necessary. I'm already at my physical peak… though I could stand to learn a few more Jutsu or Chakra manipulation Techniques…'_ Naruto muses to himself while making his way towards his room with a frown.

The Truth was, Naruto didn't really know that many Jutsu. Sure he was dangerous, and he'd beaten Uchiha Madara, but he wasn't that well versed in Jutsu. He knew The Rasengan and it's variations, though it was a given that he was a master of Wind Manipulation, Kage Bunshin and some of it's variations, Kage Henge, Kawamari, SenJutsu: Sennin Modu (Sage Technique: Sage Mode!), Chidori and it's variations, his One Thousand Blades Jutsu, his Makyou Kaiten, Hiraishin no Jutsu, the classic leaf Shunshin, Kage Shuriken Jutsu, and Kuchiyose no Jutsu, which seemed to be useless in this world anyways… all and all, he knew about two dozen Jutsu and that was it, so if you thought about how many Jutsu most other Ninja knew, that wasn't too many.

"Hey Tempest!" Jinx calls out while rushing to her friend/leader and the boy blinks before looking at her with a raised brow.

"What do you need Jinx?" He asks the pinkette and she grins at the blond.

"I was wondering if you might like a light spar." She offers and Naruto hums in thought before smirking at the girl.

"Sounds like fun." He admits and Jinx grins before flipping backwards before leaning against the door to his holo-room.

"You coming?" She quips with a smirk and Naruto grins towards her while walking to the door as well.

"Someone's in a good mood today." He notes and Jinx shrugs her shoulders with a strange look on her face. "Oh well, what kind of spar?" Naruto offers then asks and Jinx takes a thoughtful expression for a few moments, allowing Naruto to pull on his Mask.

"How about we go with agility and speed over strength this time. And none of that Chakra shit Temp, a fair race, and fight!" Jinx offers then states and Naruto smirks while nodding his head and punching a code into the keypad below the door, setting the holographic environment they will be using.

"After you…" Naruto offers with a wave and Jinx smirks before walking into the holographic imaging chamber. Upon entering, Jinx blinks then looks over to Naruto with a raised brow upon seeing what looks like a wall with a large door. "This Simulation is a series of rooms with different obstacles. The further in we go, the more difficult they become. All of them are based after real life traps, surveillance and so on for maximum training with the equipment encountered on a stealth mission." Naruto offers in explanation and Jinx gives a low whistle in response.

"Nice… no wonder your so good with traps and such." She says and Naruto shrugs before cracking his neck and crouching down, Jinx's eyes lighting up as she does the same beside him. "Ready…" She says to the blond who chuckles as he answers.

"Set…" He offers and both look forward with a grin.

"GO!" They both say at the same time before rushing forward, the doors opening up to show a long stretch of rooftops.

"Now this looks like it's going to be fun." Jinx comments with a smirk and Naruto chuckles lightly in response while running beside of her.

"This is only the easy part…" Naruto reminds before narrowing his eyes and rushing passed Jinx, the pinkette smirking as she then runs forward as well.

"You're pretty fast Temp, but don't forget I hold the HIVE record for track and field." Jinx reminds with a smirk while lunging passed Naruto and jumping over to the next building. Behind the Pinkette Naruto chuckles lightly to himself response.

"Oh, now I'm feeling motivated!" Naruto says as he lunges forward, jumping to the next building while rushing after Jinx. Passing the girl with a chuckle, Naruto sees a target up ahead, shaped like a glowing red beam hitting a circle with an X in it. _'Giz… we seriously need to talk about the whole "X-Shaped" shit you put everywhere for me…'_ Naruto thinks to himself with a slight frown before blinking as Jinx flips over him with a laugh and bounces over to the next building.

"Too Slow Temp!" Jinx calls out to the boy and Naruto narrows his blue eyes.

"Oh, no you don't!" He grumbles before lunging forward, jumping over to the next building and then narrowly sliding ahead of Jinx and landing on the target.

"Hey! No fair, I call foul." Jinx says and Naruto chuckles in response.

"No one likes a Sour loser, Jinx." Naruto quips as the area around them suddenly shifts, becoming a large area with numerous steel beams here and there, most for jumping and climbing, Surveillance cameras around the room. "If we get seen by the camera's, the Gauntlet instantly cuts off." Naruto offers and Jinx grimaces slightly, before schooling her features and crouching.

"You ready?" She asks and Naruto nods his head with an amused look on his face as both then lunge forward, Naruto jumping onto a beam and flipping over to another to avoid the camera's view before running up the side to the upper level. Jinx however jumps up then runs upward slightly with her momentum before jumping up and grabbing a beam as well, then flips up onto it and looks to see Naruto clapping.

"Impressive…" He allows before turning on his heel and making for the target, Jinx blinking before lunging after him, jumping from beam to beam with Naruto just ahead of her.

"Don't think I'm going to make this easy on you, Temp!" Jinx suddenly calls out with a smirk and Naruto chuckles.

"Wouldn't have it any other way!" He calls back as he and the girl rush forward, Jinx suddenly flipping onto his back then leaping off of him and into the goal, grinning as she lands and Naruto slides to a stop on the target with a frown on under his mask.

"Hey, you said you didn't want me to make it easy…" Jinx offers with a smirk as the area around them changes once more, Naruto rolling his eyes before cracking his neck and getting ready for the next leg of the race.

"This next one is going to be a lot harder than getting to high ground Jinx, so be ready…" Naruto states flatly and Jinx nods her head while crouching down and licking her lips with a sly look on her face. However, her eyes suddenly widen as the room changes, and she looks down to see what could very well be a fifty-foot drop.

"Oh shit… how does Gizmo do this shit?" Jinx can't help but wonder and Naruto chuckles to himself.

"Now we're getting into aerial maneuverability. The walls have laser beams; don't let them hit you or the Gauntlet cuts out. Also, dodge falling debris, it has sensors on it so that if your caught under it, the gauntlet cuts out, but use the debris to block the view camera's would have you or…" Naruto explains and Jinx cuts in before he can finish, looking at him with a slight annoyed expression.

"The Gauntlet cuts out. I get it already Temp. Let's just GO!" Jinx says before suddenly jumping down into the chasm, Naruto cursing before following after the pinkette with a frown under his mask. _'What has got her being so playful today?'_ Naruto wonders to himself before then bringing his arms to his side and jetting down passed a startled Jinx. Landing on a falling crate he turns to give the girl a mock salute and she narrows her pink cat like eyes.

Grabbing a nearby crate she rides down as well, jumping over and around the lasers while also ducking around the crate when she approached any Camera's. Once she had ridden the box to a clear section however, Jinx jumped off the box then passed Naruto, the young thief frowning as she does so. _'Seriously, what has gotten into this girl today? I've never seen her so determined to beat someone in my life!'_ Naruto thinks to himself before moving downward after Jinx, kicking off the bottom of the crate he'd been on for extra momentum.

Soon catching up to the Pinkette, Naruto and she both soon come to the final part of the fall. It was unfortunate however, that only a singular hole was placed into a large net of lasers, leading down into the next target, which was only a few feet wide. "As if Gizmo couldn't make this even more annoying…" Jinx mumbles before hearing something and gapes upon seeing something coming down towards them, namely, what appear to be large falling shards of glass.

"You just HAD to Jinx it!" Naruto mutters before jetting passed the girl towards the target. Growling, Jinx then moved down after him, grabbing him in a hug at the last second and causing both to land on the target, the room's holograms changing a second before the shards would have impaled them.

"Well… that was certainly close…" Jinx mutters while Naruto twitches, then gets out of Jinx's grasp and looks around. "So what's next?" Jinx asks and Naruto narrows his eyes while the room changes once more.

"Based on how far I usually get… I'd say this is the last level of the gauntlet. Which some call the "Corridor of Pain"." Naruto offers with a shrug and Jinx looks at her leader with a raised brow.

"Why is it called that?" She asks, not sure she really wants to know and Naruto chuckles before crossing his arms as the room suddenly shifts. This time the two see a long corridor, however, Jinx gapes when she sees the floor looks odd, the walls have laser wires crisscrossing through it, and security cameras lined here and there. "Holy shit…" Jinx offers and Naruto chuckles to himself.

"Yeah. Giz went a little overboard on this one. The floor has two different tiles, the grey ones are pressure sensors, and the white ones aren't. The Laser Tripwires are constantly moving so you have to find a way to see them. And there are Camera's at most of the corners. Also there are some parts of the floor that will fall down into an underground holding pin. Basically, I find this level to be one of my favorites!" Naruto says with a grin and Jinx looks at him like he's completely crazy.

"Favorite! But how the hell would you get through this shit!?" She demands and Naruto chuckles to himself.

"One, I have a helmet with inferred vision. Two, I'm a former Ninja. Three, I love a challenge. And four… I can teleport." Naruto reminds the girl before flipping backwards into the array of wires and traps with a laugh.

"Why that lousy!" Jinx grumbles to herself before then looks around herself and grins upon spotting a ventilation duct. Jumping up to it and using her hex powers to make the screws come loose the girl then moved into the duct and began to crawl through it with a smirk on her face. "Temp has to do everything the hard way because it's a challenge, me, I like the Shortcuts in life JUST fine!" Jinx muses to herself while crawling through the vents, wondering if she's going the right way…

Meanwhile, Naruto is flipping and rolling around the rising and lowering lasers down the hall. Weaving around the pressure Sensitive pads and under the camera's the blond haired thief chuckles when he finally sees the final goal. "Heh, and no sight of…" Naruto starts to say only for Jinx to kick open the last vent and look out before giving an amused wave towards Naruto. "Oh c'mon…" Naruto grumbles before lunging passed Jinx, the girl blinking then jumping after him.

"You know this isn't a Competition right?" Jinx offers and Naruto chuckles.

"Yeah. But I don't like being second…" Naruto offers while passing the girl and Jinx frowns before lunging at him, causing both of them to trip and roll into the goal. Naruto landing over Jinx as the Gauntlet shut off.

"Well… guess you weren't second." Jinx offers with a smirk before blinking and looking at how they'd ended up… "So you caught me… now what are you going to do with me?" The Pinkette asks with a cheeky grin and Naruto blinks for a few moments before looking at how they'd ended up… A second later Naruto got up and brought Jinx up as well before looking at her with his arms crossed.

"We never speak of this again…" Naruto states and Jinx blinks before taking a thoughtful expression.

"Maybe…" She says and Naruto rolls his eyes while making his way to the exit, only to stop and turn towards the girl at the door.

"Also, blue today? Nice." Naruto offers while leaving the room with a laugh and Jinx blinks then her eyes widen before growling.

"UGH! Why do I wear skirts around that boy!" Jinx demands with a blush coloring her cheeks with a twitch of her eyes.

"Because you like him?" A voice offers and Jinx blinks, before then looking around and spotting Duela sitting down, her hands under her chin and still dressed like "The Riddler's Daughter".

"Duela shut up… what do you know about anything?" Jinx mutters towards the violet eyed red head with a frown and said girl snickers.

"My Psychiatrists all say that I'm Bipolar, Delusional, and obviously insane, but I'm NOT blind!" Duela offers with a grin before getting back to her feet and walking off, whistling to herself as she does and twirling her cane. Watching the girl leave, Jinx shakes her head for a moment before following her out of the room.

"She's bat-shit crazy I swear…" Jinx says mostly to herself while the doors to the Holo-Room close behind her…

--

TBC…

--


	29. Enter PinkX Pt4

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

**Chapter 28**: **Enter,** **Pink-X Pt. 4**…

--

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

--

(Jump City…)

Beast Boy is walking into the mall, shuffling nervously as he heads over to the place he and Kitten were meeting up. The green Changeling was currently dressed in a pair of black jeans with a purple shirt and his normal shoes. _'Okay calm down, she's just a girl, she liked talking to me so she isn't going to freak about me being furry, she isn't going to call me a geek for wanting to see this movie since she does too… I can do this. I can do this… Boy I sure hope I can do this!'_ BB thinks to himself worriedly, his nerves really starting to get to him as he sees Kitten sitting down at the table they were at earlier.

"H-hey Kitten." BB offers with a wave to the blond and she blinks then gives a small wave to him with a smile.

"Hey Beasty. Almost didn't recognize you out of "Uniform"." Kitten muses with air quotes and BB chuckles to himself nervously.

"Yeah. I've actually got tons of clothes but I never really have a chance to wear any of them." BB admits while rubbing the back of his neck and Kitten stands up and he sees what his date is dressed in. The girl is wearing a pink Tank top, with a pair of simple black shorts with a grey belt looped around her waist and a pair of white / pink sneakers.

"You don't need to stare at me like that Beasty, I'm not going to vanish into thin air on you." Kitten quips with a smirk and a wink and BB blushes brightly in response, causing the girl to snicker.

"Yeah well… I just never figured you the type to wear black…" BB admits and Kitten looks down at her shorts before smirking.

"Well. Black goes good with almost any color Beasty, even Pink, and Pink is my favorite color." Kitten offers while walking to stand next to the green teen, then takes a thoughtful expression before snapping her fingers. "Wait one second…" She then says to the boy and sees him give her a confused stare. Smiling to him, the girl then brings her fingers into and then down along her blond locks, instantly causing her hair to change, BB gaping as she then covers her eyes with one hand and then pulls them away.

Revealed, is that her hair is now wild spiky and a strange pink color, her eyes are no longer soft, instead they seem more feral and dangerous, her iris also looked… odd, appearing slightly larger than normal and seemed to be pupil-less and has numerous small diamond shapes all the same azure color of her normal eyes while the whites somehow remained. Once finished with that, the girl then ran a finger along her lips, turning them deep red, and then along her nails, turning them all jet-black while allowing them to form into sharp claws.

"Can't have a Titan being seen with the daughter of a known criminal." She states while finishing the changes and BB frowns slightly.

"I wouldn't care." He states and Kitten rolls her Azure-Blue Compound-Eyes and kisses his cheek in response.

"Nice sentiment, Beasty. But I REALLY don't want your friends to find out, especially Robin or Starfire." Kitten states and Beast Boy blinks and looks at her strangely for a few moments.

"Why?" He asks and Kitten grins nervously in response.

"Well… let's see now. I forced Robin into taking me on a date, check. I pissed off Starfire on said date, check. My dad is a known criminal and an enemy of The Batman himself, Check. I'm not exactly known for being miss goody two shoes, Check. And last but certainly not least Beasty, Robin and Starfire both hate me." Kitten offers with a sigh and BB grins nervously before something registers in his mind.

"DUDE! Your dad actually took on Batman!?" BB asks and Kitten rolls her eyes in response.

"Yeah. The glamour of that is way too old though, Beasty. He was nothing but a Second String Villain compared to the bat's usual rouges. He was kind of like Tally-Man, Rat-Catcher, Cat-Man, or even Calendar-Man." Kitten offers off handedly then moves her fingers through her formerly blond, now dark pink locks.

"Dude, I have got to ask, why pink?" BB asks and Kitten rolls her eyes before smiling towards the boy in response.

"Like I said Beasty, Pink is my favorite color, and I have a friend at school with pink hair." Kitten offers casually while then walking off, placing a slight sway to her hips to get BB's attention.

"Whoa…" BB says to himself before shaking his head and rushing after his date. "Then what about your eyes, I mean, they look really cool and all but…" BB then wonders while walking with the girl and Kitten rolled her eyes in response.

"First of all, my eyes are compounded. I can see things faster than normal, in more directions, and I can even see in some other light spectrums." Kitten offers with a smirk and sees a shocked look cross over BB's face. "Secondly. Remember when I said I'd be made fun of for my real looks?" She asks and BB nods his head in response. "Well, surprise Beasty. Your looking at the real me… well… if I was still blond and hadn't messed with my lips at least. I get my eyes from my dad." Kitten offers with a shrug and BB gapes towards the girl as she gives him a familiar fanged grin.

"Dude! I think you look awesome!" BB offers with a grin and the former blond grins and places an arm over Beast Boy's shoulders.

"Thanks, Beasty. That really means a lot." Kitten offers and kisses the boys cheek once more, causing him to turn crimson yet again.

"So. Can you like, use the powers of the things you turn into?" BB then asks and Kitten shakes her head back and forth.

"Nope, I can only use the general skills of changing my form. Basically, I can't do any "Super Human" feats. Sure, I can grow wings, I can make myself as strong or as fast as humanly possible, use cat like or compounded eyes for different visions, but I can't make myself any more than human at my base. I can make my appearance be that of Wonder Woman, or even that of Starfire or Raven, but I wouldn't have their powers or abilities. Just their appearance since I can't become an actual Tameranian, Amazon, or whatever Raven is." Kitten explains to the green furred changeling whom has a look of realization come over his features.

"Oh I get it, so your strictly a meta-morph. You morph but you can't truly change what you are. Hence why you're never able to turn into a boy, an animal, or a nonliving thing." BB muses mostly to himself and Kitten smirks slightly in response while nodding her head.

"Yep. That's also why I can limit my powers to changing only small things. Rather than having to fully change all the time if I don't like the way I look or something." Kitten offers and BB nods his head slowly, he sometimes wished he could do something like that. Combine the aspects of some his animal forms for a more powerful one that is…

"Beasty. Hello? Are you still breathing?" Kitten suddenly asks while waving a hand before BB's face, causing him to blink then grin nervously.

"Uh sorry. I kind of space out like that at times." Beast Boy offers the girl with obvious embarrassment and Kitten merely rolls her eyes.

"Yeah well we might want to hurry to the theatre now. Unless you want to miss the movie that is." Kitten reminds and BB grabs her wrist and pulls her with him. The girl rolling her eyes in response as she runs with BB towards the theatre in town… Behind them a familiar girl with pink hair and green eyes slowly stands up before groaning. She is wearing her normal Shinobi Gear at the moment, though wisely chose to leave her Tanto and Kunai behind so no one would notice them…

"Why am I even doing this again?" She wonders before rubbing her head as her Inner-Self makes herself known.

"_**Because that Ass Kakashi told you to follow her and make sure she did her job… or something like that. Maybe he's just looking for a reason to get you out of his hair."**_ The inner self offers with obvious boredom in her tone while also testing Sakura's mental defenses for any and all weaknesses.

"Oh… right… then why does my head hurt?" Sakura then wonders as she nearly falls over before shaking her head and making her way after the two. As she does, Inner Sakura continues her work. Many times before when she threatened Sakura with taking control, she only did so as threats. NOW however, she was fully prepared to return to the outside of her mind if it meant finally being free of her stupid outer selves numerous rotten decisions.

'_He he, Bitch you better enjoy freedom while you still can, I'm coming home soon and nothing you can do is going to stop me!'_ Inner suddenly thinks wickedly, a twisted grin formed over her lips as she then looks over the numerous locks she'd made. These locks were only to keep Sakura stupid, keeping any of her truly dangerous skills under heavy lock and key. She knew them in other words, just couldn't remember them. Once Inner had Sakura buried in the deepest, darkest pits of her mind, she'd release those locks and kick the ever-loving SHIT out of anyone who got in her way!

Groaning suddenly, Sakura places a hand to her head before slowly making her way after Beast Boy and Kitten. Moving her shaky legs and wishing that one of the others could have been made to do this… but NO, Sasuke just HAD to say it'd be helpful and she just HAD to volunteer…

--

(??)

Snake is sitting at a restaurant in town; the place is called MacMeaties or something and is extremely greasy and utterly filthy. Snake had merely ordered a hamburger and fries while Dani had gotten a meal with several things, including some fries, a drink, some chicken fingers, and of course, she had to have a burger as well seeing as she was just "starving to death". Sitting in front of Snake is Dani with her food and drink, eating like she truly might be starving, now in some new clothes that he had bought for her.

First off, she now wore a new red hat, which was nearly identical to her old one, with a blue band in her hair to hold it back in a ponytail, a Black T-shit with a blue oval shaped spiral placed on the center of her chest, a new blue hoodie that had a zipper for the front which was currently open, a pair of red shorts again, only new, a pair of white socks sticking out of her new blue sneakers with white spots at her ankles and a black ribbon tied around her throat.

"Why dyt you buy nny diz ztuph?" The girl suddenly asks with her mouth full and Snake smirks and chuckles lightly in response.

"Try asking me when your mouth isn't full of food…" Snake offers with an amused tone and Dani blinks then blushes as she then swallows the food in her mouth with a contented sound.

"I was asking why you bought me new clothes, and a meal?" Dani asked once more and Snake rolled his eyes before leaning back in his chair.

"I felt like it." He offers in response and Dani looks at him funny.

"So do you help every little street urchin you see just walking around town or am I an exception?" The black haired girl asks the man and he rolls his eyes in response.

"Nah. I think I have a soft spot for hard luck cases. My "Daughter" Jill was an orphan who stole stuff and lived on the streets as well." Snake offers with air quotes at the "Daughter" part and then leans back into his seat.

"Really? Weird." Dani muses before shrugging her shoulders. "Oh well, like they always say, never look a gift horse in the mouth." Dani muses before starting to eat once more, Snake rolling his eyes as he watches her devour anything she can.

"Don't you have any kind of manners?" The man asks her and she blinks.

"No. Besides I'm an orphan, so it's allowed." Dani then states with an amused look and a smile in her eyes before starting back up.

"Honestly, your less girly than even Jill…" Snake mumbles and Dani twitches for a moment before getting back to her food. However, Snake noticed this and couldn't help raise a brow before narrowing his eyes… Dani had an odd little code Tattoo on her neck, just below her jaw line… _'Hmm… haven't seen one of those for a while, and what's the code itself… DC-DFC-S7-034? Curious…'_ Snake inwardly reads to himself while staring at the code intently.

"What… do I have something on my face?" Dani suddenly asks and Snake blinks then smirks as she does indeed have food all over her face.

"Yeah. A lot of food." He offers and the girl grabs a reflective object, a napkin dispenser no less, and blushes brightly seeing her face. Chuckling nervously, the girl then reaches for some napkins and starts to wipe off her face. "So what's with that tattoo on your neck?" Snake then asks and Dani stops and looks at him funny.

"I don't have a tattoo on my neck… do I?" She says then asks and Snake rolls his eyes before pointing to the code tattoo at the back of her jaw line, just below where her ear was. Blinking, the blue-eyed girl uses the napkin dispenser and moves it to look at her neck, straining slightly she grimaces upon seeing the barcode on her neck. "Oh… I've never actually noticed that before." Dani admits, also inwardly cursing seeing as she'd never been around mirrors long enough to see it… and her "Dad" was a teenager who wouldn't be able to notice it seeing as he didn't notice much of anything if it wasn't pointed out to him…

"Hmm… that's odd. So I guess we'll say it was given to you without your consent, without your prior knowledge, and that it is probably a branding or a marker of some sort in that regard." Snake muses and Dani nods her head slowly with a grimace. _'It's probably my production number and identification code…'_ She can't help but think to herself bitterly while Snake rubs his chin. "That I can understand. What I DON'T get, is how it glows green like that. It's kind of spooky actually…" Snake suddenly says then admits and Dani blinks then raises a brow, wondering how no one else ever noticed a glowing green code just below her jaw and ear on the right side of her neck…?

--

(Tartarus HQ…)

Naruto is lying back on his bed, a confused expression on his face. _'What was up with Jinx in there?'_ He wonders to himself and suddenly has the feeling that someone somewhere in the universe is calling him clueless. Ignoring that odd feeling Naruto sighs then closes his eyes before noticing a weight beside him on the bed. "Kara-Chan, we seriously need to talk about announcing yourself before just dropping in like that …" Naruto says while moving his head to see Raven and the girl rolls her eyes in response.

"Not really my thing. Besides, I like to keep you on your toes." Raven offers her boyfriend with a smirk and Naruto chuckles lightly in response.

"I'm starting to rub off on you Kara-Chan." He notes and Raven blinks then shudders mock seriously.

"Maybe I really do visit you too often…" Raven muses while Naruto gets up and wraps his arms around her, placing his chin on the top of her head with a smirk. "Or maybe I'm worrying too much about it…" Raven then says softly while leaning back and Naruto can't help but chuckle.

"So what brought you here anyways?" He asks and Raven rolls her eyes in response.

"Beast Boy is on a date and the others decided to follow him." She offers and Naruto is silent for a moment before getting up. "Where are you going?" Raven asks and Naruto turns to give her a flat look.

"I need to go check and see if Hell froze over recently…" He offers while getting up, grabbing his mask and making his way out of his room, Raven biting her lip and following after him so she won't laugh and make something of his explode. Following after her boyfriend the violet-eyed girl found herself walking behind him as he pulls his mask on while heading for the garage.

"Naruto, I'm being serious." Raven offers as she follows after her boyfriend and the boy nods his head slowly.

"Beast Boy. I'm going to go and check up on him." Naruto states flatly while opening the garage and Raven blinks.

"Why?" She asks the boy and he stops before turning to look at her.

"He reminds me of myself at that age… and we both know how THAT eventually turned out." Naruto states darkly and Raven frowns, easily able to see several parallels between him when he was younger and the green jester… and that DID somewhat frighten Raven considering how Naruto left Konoha. Shaking her head, Raven also remembered such a betrayal had technically already befallen Beast Boy, though now that she thought about it, what Terra did was more like when Sasuke betrayed Konoha.

"Naruto, you do know that Beast Boy can handle himself." Raven reminds her boyfriend as Naruto gets onto his X-Cycle and then sighs.

"I know. But I don't want him going through what I had too." Naruto states while looking to his girl and Raven sighs, though can't help wonder why he was suddenly so generous. "There's only enough room in this town for one of me after all." The thief then offers with a humorous tone and Raven gives him a look before shaking her head and getting on behind him, a small smile hidden as she does. "Wait, your coming now?" Naruto asks with a confused tone and Raven nods her head matter of factly.

"Beast Boy is one of my friends. He's kind of like the annoying little brother I never wanted nor needed. So if anyone breaks his heart, I personally get to stuff them into a nightmare world from whence there is no return." Raven states flatly with her eyes flashing crimson and Naruto chuckles to himself before firing the X-cycle up.

"Alright, then hold on tight, Kara-Chan! This is going to be a bumpy ride!" Naruto calls out with a laugh before his bike goes screaming into the night, heading for BB and Kitten at high speeds…

--

(Theater…)

BB and Kitten walk into the theater, the green teen explaining his most recent adventures with the team. Hidden from them, is three pairs of eyes watching them intently, first is Robin, then Cyborg, and last is Starfire, all of whom are wearing their Civies at the moment. Robin's was a pair of sunglasses, a grey sleeveless shirt, a pair of black pants with his steel capped boots, and a pair of black fingerless gloves, a few weapons stowed away into hidden places in the black leather jacket he was wearing.

"Man, who is that chick?" Cy wonders while watching BB and Kitten get their tickets before going to their theater. Frowning as he thought she looked somewhat familiar, Robin reached up to rub his chin before looking to Starfire.

"Ever seen her before, Star?" He asks and Starfire instantly shakes her head.

"In all my time at the Mall of Shopping and visiting the many places around the city for Girls, I have yet to make the acquaintance of this girl with pink hair… or that one…" Starfire says then adds while pointing to a pink haired girl, namely one Haruno Sakura, who was stumbling to the theater with a hand on her head.

"Two… aw man, and I thought Pink Hair was rare!" Cy grumbled while thinking of Jinx and Robin frowned to himself, knowing that a pink pigmentation of the hair was rare if not impossible for a normal human being.

"Something is wrong here… she's following them." Robin states and Star and Cy both look to their leader with confused expressions.

"Please, why do you think the pink-haired-girl with the obvious migraine is following Friend Beast Boy and his date?" Starfire asks the boy wonder and Robin sighs before pinching the bridge of his nose, wondering for the millionth time why he was the only one on the team to notice these things.

"One. She was following them because she only went in after she made sure they couldn't see her. Two. She's following them because of the fact she instantly got a ticket for the same movie as them. Three. She's following them because I can read lips, and she's muttering about "Having to follow the green bean Baka" under her breath." Robin explains and Cyborg frowns while a computer translation appears in his eye for the word "Baka" seconds later.

"Japanese for idiot… hmm… sounds about right." Cyborg muses aloud then smirks and Robin rolls his eyes before making his way over to the ticket teller.

"I'll get us all some tickets for the movie as well, if you guys want snacks or something hurry up. We've finally got two suspects for who Pink-X could be now and I really don't want to loose them before I can confirm my suspicions." Robin states and Cyborg frowns while scratching his head.

"How is that?" Cy asks and Robin sighs.

"One. The first pink haired girl, BB's date, she like's Horror, Pink-X wears a Horror based Costume, I should know, I designed Red-X's costume based on fear more than anything. Thus it can stand to reason that she might have a flair for Horror and merely wanted that costume because of that rather than using it to attract Red-X out of hiding as I originally believed. Two, she has several VERY odd features that Pink-X would want to hide beyond her hair; namely her eyes, teeth, and her claws. Three, BB's date has almost the EXACT same body structure as Pink-X, which I find HIGHLY unusual." Robin explains with a frown while cracking his neck.

"Four, that other Pink haired girl was following BB, meaning she might expect X to follow him or us and wants to find him, thus might be the one with the Harley Quinn Complex rather than the first girl. Five, her body structure, while built for power and less speed and agility, shows that she's had more training than a civilian should. Thus, the Pink-X suit could be nothing more than a way to give herself greater agility. And lastly, if it isn't that, the girl wants to follow BB for another reason, possibly even to kidnap him in order to get to us." Robin offers while ticking off fingers then makes his way over to the Ticket Seller, leaving Cy and Star to look at one another for a few moments.

"How does he do that?" Cy asks Starfire, the alien girl shrugging her shoulders in response as the titanium teen sighs. "C'mon Star, lets get some snacks, this is going to be one of those nights…" Cyborg states with a sigh and Starfire nods while wondering which of the many sugar-candies she may which to partake in…

--

(Elsewhere…)

Jinx sighs to herself while walking towards an old house in the bad part of town. It's not hers obviously, if she had a house, she'd make sure it was MUCH nicer than this run down old wreck. Walking to the door she knocks on it for a few moments, then watches as it opens, only to blink upon seeing a girl with black hair and bright azure colored eyes like Naruto's…

"Yo." The girl suddenly offers with a wave of one hand, said hand clutching a drink with a straw which she then partakes in.

"Do I know you?" Jinx asks and the girl blinks before shaking her head.

"Name's Danielle Phantom, but call me Dani, with an I." Dani offers and Jinx scrunches her nose up for a few moments before making an Oh with her mouth.

"By any chance are you somehow related to that one "Danny Phantom" guy?" She then asks and Dani twitches visibly while growling, clenching her hand onto her drink and crushing the Styrofoam cup as her eyes flair bright neon green. "Okay… I'll take that as a yes…" Jinx muses as Dani glares at her with the "Angry Eyes" on full force for a few moments. Sighing soon after the girl's eyes fade back to Azure blue and she crosses her arms over her chest.

"What do you want anyways?" Dani then asks rudely and Jinx glares at her.

"I'm here to see the old man." She states and Dani blinks then snickers.

"That's a new one, if you mean "Officer Jack "Snake" Connors" at least, personally I just called him Pops." Dani offers and Jinx nods her head with a smirk, before then moving passed Dani and into the house. "Hey! You can't just go walking into other peoples houses like that!" Dani says with a glare and Jinx twists to look at her with a catty smile on her lips.

"I'm a criminal, I can do whatever the hell I want." She states and then makes her way into the home, Dani blinking for a moment before following after her. "Yo, Old Man, I need to talk to you!" Jinx then calls out and hears an annoyed grunt as Snake makes his way from the kitchen, wearing a black shirt, old camo-pattern cargo pants, and black combat boots.

"I thought I told you to stop calling me that…" Snake grumbles out irritably and Jinx shrugs her shoulders with a catty smile on her lips. "Anyways, Dani this is Jill Manx, AKA Jinx, she's the girl I told you about…" Snake offers while introducing Jinx and Dani blinks before gaping at her.

"So wait… your name is Jill Manx?" Dani suddenly asks and Jinx nods her head. "And you go by Jinx?" She then asks and Jinx gives her a look in response. "All you did was take the first two letters of your first name and last two of your last name and stick them together!" Dani then says incredulously and Jinx blinks only once before shrugging her shoulders.

"You'd be surprised how often that works with secret identities. Most people are always so busy looking for a connection they'll never think of that." Jinx offers before turning around to see Snake sitting down in an old leather chair.

"Alright, what do you need to talk about?" Snake then asks with an annoyed sigh and Jinx blushes slightly before sitting down on his couch.

"Well… I'm kind of having relationship problems…" She says and Snake twitches slightly before leaning back and placing a hand over his face.

"And your coming to ME of all people for advice?!" He asks and Jinx blinks before grimacing as she remembers how many of his relationships ended up as either one-night stands, or just friendships… then there was that one time a chick tried to kill him or something…

"Err… What about Aunt Meryl, you two were really good together." Jinx offers and Snake twitches while remembering his red haired ex…

"Rule number two…" He grumbled out and both Jinx and Dani sighed before looking at him with the exact same expression on their faces.

"You retain the right to withhold personal information from anyone at any given time." They both chime in sync and then look at one another strangely while Snake nods his head with a frown.

"Good. And that is one of those things…" He grumbles out and Jinx huffs. "But… seeing as you took the time to come down here… why don't you explain what's going on. Maybe Dani can help you more than I can…" Snake offers and Jinx looks to the younger girl as she then flips over the back of the couch and lands on it, sighing happily as she then rests her arms behind her head to watch them…

"I have my doubts on that…" Jinx says flatly before breathing in, then out. "Alright, he's how it goes. I like my friend Red-X, but he like's this other girl…"

--

(Elsewhere…)

Naruto and Raven both stand on a building adjacent from the theater, Naruto looking through the optic enhancers in his mask. They had been watching the building for the better part of the night, Raven leaning forward beside him, her chin resting in her hands as she dully watched on. "So what do you think is going on in there?" Raven suddenly asks while floating beside of Naruto with a bored expression and the blond takes a mock thoughtful expression.

"If it was you and me, alone in a dark theater… hmm… so many pleasing possibilities…" Naruto muses humorously while Raven gives him a glare with a blush on her cheeks. "Your so cute when your flustered." Naruto says with a chuckle and Raven pulls her hood up over her head while turning back to the theater, BB and Kitten both walking out at long last… "What are the fucking odds she'd have pink hair?" Naruto asks with a twitch and Raven blinks before thinking about it.

"Given our luck thus far… pretty good." She admits and Naruto raises a brow, cups his chin for a moment then slowly nods his head before narrowing his eyes as Sakura walks out behind the couple.

"And look who else decided to show up to the party uninvited." He notes and Raven leans forward, only to frown darkly as she sees her Boyfriends bitch of an ex.

"Her." She notes with enough venom to poison a cobra and Naruto nods his head while the Titans walk out after the three, all of them visibly shaking and pale. "Huh… looks like that new one is even more scary than the one I saw." Raven notes with a shiver and Naruto shakes his head, honestly wondering why anyone would WANT to be scared out of his or her mind. Shaking that thought off, he then places a foot up on the side of the building, watching as Sakura follows after BB and Kitten.

"What's she up to?" Naruto wonders before crossing his arms and then leans forward. "I should probably check this out." Naruto notes while crossing his arms and Raven looks at him strangely.

"You want to willingly walk out there with the bulk of my friends just waiting to kick your ass?" She asks seriously with a brow raised in his direction and Naruto frowns towards her in response.

"I've got a pink haired Banshee down there I need to expose. Even if she ISN'T really this pink-X chick, I've got a good Idea who IS now and I want to make sure at least ONE of the Konoha Flunkies ends up in jail… though I doubt they'll be able to hold her for very long since Chakra technically isn't Genetic like Metahuman powers…" Naruto explains, and then admits with a shrug and Raven sighs before nodding her head.

"I'll go get myself lost while you do that. Just try not to be too hard on my friends." Raven says then pleads and Naruto chuckles lightly in response.

"No promises, Kara-Chan."

--

(Below…)

"Man when the Monster ripped the heart out of that one girl then ate it was just so wicked!" BB suddenly says and Kitten grins toothily, and given her row of sharp fangs this isn't too surprising to the green Jester.

"Heh! Yeah that was cool, but I personally liked it when Wicked Scary made all the shadows around them come alive. It kind of reminded me of that Raven-Chick." Kitten replies with a wide grin and BB nods his head.

"Yeah, Raven actually DID that once after she saw the first movie." BB says and Kitten gapes at him before grinning widely.

"Think you can convince her to make a haunted house for Halloween?" Kitten questions and BB suddenly pouts.

"I asked her the same thing, and in her own words, and I quote, "I'm afraid not"…" BB replies and Kitten pouts as well, then smiles and places an arm over BB's shoulders.

"You know, normally my boyfriends hate these kinds of movies." Kitten muses and BB looks at her with a raised brow.

"Really? Why?" He asks and Kitten snorts.

"Most of them were primarily some kind of metahuman. A few found it offensive, and others just didn't like all the blood and gore." Kitten replies with a frown and BB shakes his head.

"Yeah well I bet they were just too chicken to watch it!" BB replies and Kitten laughs with a true smile on her face.

Meanwhile behind the two is Sakura; her skin noticeably pale while Inner-Sakura can't help laugh. _**"Oh that Movie was just KILLER! When I get control of this body I am so going to see that again! You just don't find killer thrills like that in Konoha, man, this world seriously has it all!"**_ Inner says happily while Sakura shivers and jumps at any of the shadows around her with wide eyes. _'They don't have that kind of mediocre macabre fests back home because we have GOOD movies…'_ Sakura replies to her inner self only to cover her ears at her own thoughts.

"_**You are saying that was bad? Girl that was the shit! I LOVE random violence and macabre fests! Actually, now that I think about it, it reminds me of what I want to do to you!! You're sooo asking for it Pinky, I swear, what Naruto-Kun ever saw in a cheating, two-faced, pansy-ass bitch like you I'll never know!"**_ Inner suddenly rants and Sakura reaches up to rub her temples.

"Shut up Ayane, I'm so sick of hearing how you'll "Banish me to the deepest, darkest recesses of my mind" some day, we both know you can't because my will is still dominant." Sakura reminds flatly and hears Inner start to rant, thus making her grunt and never notice the three people listening to her behind her, and the ONE person sitting in a crouch above her with narrowed eyes.

'_Ayane? Oh yeah, I called her "Inner Sakura" that all the time so they would have two names. So she's actually trying to bust her way out and take control. Figures those two wouldn't see eye to eye and be fighting, I swear their more like Sisters than personalities inhabiting the same body. Wait… wasn't she starting to vanish last time I saw… er, heard her? Heh, looks like Sakura did something stupid and she decided to fight for her right to stay.'_ Naruto muses to himself with an amused look under his mask.

Contrary to popular belief, Naruto was well aware of "Inner-Sakura" and had been since he was little actually. Having seen her arguing with her reflection in a stream of all things, when a second angry sounding and more aggressive voice, answered back from her own lips. However, he kept the fact that he knew under wraps as Sakura seemed ashamed of it, and this had been back when he had a crush on her. She eventually revealed "Inner-Sakura" to him when they had been going out for a month, and Naruto had affectionately dubbed her Ayane as it was similar to Ichiraku Ayame's name, his second favorite girl in all of Konoha at the time.

Inner seemed to like him, saying no one had ever been nice enough to give her a name, not even Sakura herself. Inner's anger, her rage, and much of her other flaws were pint up emotions that Sakura had trouble expressing, but they had also somehow compounded to form her, a second Personality within Sakura. Though it seemed that Inner started to mellow out after their meeting, and even wanted to speak to Naruto 'in person'. Sakura didn't want to allow it, but Naruto, by some small act of Kami, coaxed her into allowing it and found Inner didn't mind a lot of the things Sakura hated, one of which was allowing him to just hold her for a while. If he remembered correctly, Inner admitted to having fallen for him before she started to vanish…

Shaking his head out of his revere, Naruto narrows his eyes while watching the Titans follow SAKURA, not BB and his Date, but most definitely Sakura. _'Well what do you know, looks like I won't even have to get involved after all. Won't Kara-Chan be pleased that I didn't have to hurt her friends!'_ Naruto thinks to himself while following them, blending in with the Shadows with his Shadow-Claw Taijutsu. Following them, Naruto also felt Raven was nearby and grinned, wondering how things were going to go till he saw Sakura rush towards BB and his date.

'_Uh-oh… looks like trouble…'_ Naruto muses to himself while jumping to a rooftop and leaning forward in a crouched position to watch the show.

Below the young nin, Sakura has finally had it, her every nerve is frazzled, she's beyond tired, has a headache that you wouldn't BELIEVE, and to top it all off, Ayane had started acting up all of a sudden. Thus, the pinkette could no longer take Stealth, normally sure, but no, now she was pissed and tired, she couldn't take hearing Ayane's mouth any longer and just wanted to head back "Home" so she could finally try to get a good nights sleep!

Stomping to the girl with the green jester, Sakura quickly grabs her shoulder then spins her around to face her. "Sakura? What are you doing out here?" Kitten asks upon seeing her and Sakura scowls deeply.

"I'm following you, we need to have a talk Kitten…" She grumbles out irritably and Kitten raises a brow while BB frowns, something doesn't smell right with this chick, plus she looks TERRIBLE.

"Why would you admit to following us?" BB finally asks and Kitten bites her lip to keep from laughing while Sakura balks at the boy before her eyes snap wide open upon getting a good look at the youngest Titan. _**"Holy SHIT! He almost looks like a short green version of Naruto when he was still sixteen!"**_ Ayane notes with a gaping jaw and Sakura shakes her head then glares at the green jester.

"Stay out of this you damn Baka!" Sakura shouts angrily before slamming a fist into BB's face and sending him flying back.

"Alright, that's all I need to know she's an enemy! Nobody beats on BB like that while I'm around!" Cyborg suddenly says while deactivating his hologram, a snarl on his face as he rushes towards the Pink harpy. Turning to see him, Sakura growls, only for Kitten to quickly duck down and kick her feet out from under her. Kitten then twists into a flip and lands in a crouch before rushing over to check on Beast Boy.

As she does, Cyborg throws a punch at Sakura, the pinkette quickly rolling out of the way and mentally kicking herself for losing her temper. _'Ugh… what am I Naruto now?'_ She wonders with disgust and hears a growl at the back of her mind. _**"Naruto-Kun doesn't loose his temper on innocent people asking a valid question, unlike you bitch!"**_ Ayane reminds angrily and Sakura rubs her temples with a groan, her headache suddenly feeling ten times worse.

Shaking her head, Sakura curses as Starfire comes at her with a kick, holding her arms up to block Sakura is wide eyed and fully awake when she is sent flying from the force of the aliens supper charged kick. _'Holy shit! H-how strong is that girl!?'_ Sakura wonders while Robin then comes at her, the pinkette gawking as he pulls out his Boe-staff and swings it at her. Growling Sakura catches the weapon and glares at the black haired martial-artists vehemently.

"Uh-oh… this is going to hurt…" Robin notes and Sakura grins cruelly as she then twists on her heel and throws the boy-wonder at Starfire, knocking both of them out of the air. Cursing the girl then ducks under a blast from Cyborg's Sonic Cannon. _'What did I do to deserve this?'_ Sakura suddenly wonders while wondering how she's supposed to take down a man made mostly out of metal…

"_**Do you want the whole list of reasons or would you prefer a summery?"**_ Ayane suddenly quips, a pair of wire frame glasses on her nose and a long scroll in her hand. Twitching violently at the mental Image, Sakura roars as she lunges at Cyborg, rearing a fist back before plowing it into Cyborg's stomach, somehow managing to push him back and then grits her teeth and rubs her sore knuckles. Cyborg however grunts as he notes a rather hand shaped dent in his stomach and makes a note to watch out for this chick.

Back with Kitten, the girl rushes to BB's side and helps him sit up, a bruise already forming on his face as well as the fact his eye is closed and seeming to blacken. "Ow… what train just hit me?" BB wonders while Kitten looks at him worriedly, and then turns around in order to glare towards Sakura.

"One named Haruno Sakura, whose about to learn not to mess with me or my new boyfriend…" Kitten growls out angrily, then stops as a shadow appears over them, looking up she is shocked to see Red-X standing above them with his arms crossed…

Meanwhile, Sakura flips back and into a low crouch, growling as Cyborg gets back up and Starfire and Robin soon follow. "Need some help?" A monotone voice quips as Raven appears from the shadows, eyes glowing white beneath her hood. Seeing this Sakura hears a growl in her head, for once not directed at her. _**"Great, now I have to cheer for the bitch who took MY Naruto-kun… this is so bittersweet…"**_ Ayane grumbles out and Sakura screams in frustration, the combination of sleep deprivation, migraine and Ayane's own bitching starting to make her loose it big time.

"Honestly Kami-Sama, what the hell have I done to deserve this! I'm tired, I've got a headache like someone hit me with a sledgehammer, and I've been arguing with a stupid alternate personality all day that wants to take over my body! I just wanted to talk to Kitten, then that Green moron bugs me, I loose my temper and now all of you lousy circus freaks are trying to hurt me!" Sakura suddenly erupts, nearly pulling her hair out as she does so and Robin, Raven, Cyborg, and Starfire all growl angrily at the "Freaks" comment she made about them. Cyborg, Star, and Raven more because of the fact they were NOT freaks, and Robin because he has old friends who WERE circus freaks…

"Titans, take her down, HARD!" Robin orders while throwing a Birdarang at Sakura, the girl roaring as she's FINALLY lost her very last frazzled nerve and lunges forward, under the Birdarang and flips into an explosive dropkick, raising the ground around her up and causing Cyborg and Robin to fall down. Raven and Starfire fly over this however, Raven using the rubble to her advantage and slamming a piece of asphalt into the pinkette, sending her skidding back. Starfire then flies above the girl, tossing several starbolts at her, only to be shocked when she vanishes in a plume of smoke, a piece of asphalt in her place.

"Where did she…?" Starfire started to question only to gasp as Sakura grabbed her from behind then roared as she slammed a fist into Starfire's back, sending the girl slamming into the ground.

"Ha!" Sakura says as she falls to the ground, then evade a piece of Asphalt from Raven and glares at her. "You! You're the idiotic goth bitch dating that moron Naruto Baka…" Sakura says while then slamming a fist into another piece of asphalt that was heading towards her, utterly and completely pulverizing it, while also choosing to ignore the deep scowl now on Raven's face.

"One. I'm not a goth… two, Naruto is anything but moronic. Three, why do you even ask?" Raven asks darkly and Sakura twitches while glaring at her.

"Because he IS a moron, always has been, always will be, I can't even begin to imagine what your doing with him. Hell, I actually thought he had better taste in women than you, but then again, this is Naruto." Sakura muses and Raven snarls, eyes flaring red as tendrils of black energy suddenly form from her cloak… _**"Shit… is she related to that Wicked-Scary monster? And if so, you are SOO dead! Wait, that means I'm dead too… SHIT!!!"**_ Ayane comments then screams as a tendril of black energy snaps forward, slamming into the ground and ripping it open where Sakura had been a second ago.

"**First of all Haruno BITCH! My name is Raven. Not Goth! Second of all, Naruto is still MY boyfriend and if you bad mouth HIM you have to deal with ME!"** Raven growls out in a demonic hiss with a snarl on her face as she snaps her head around to Sakura, the Pinkette paling while backing away from her. **"Third, at least I'll never cheat on him like a certain pink haired Harpy we both know!"** Raven growls out angrily, both Robin and Cyborg gaping at that little tidbit of information.

"W-what the hell are you?" Sakura stutters out, feeling enough killing intent coming from the girl to easily match a Demonically supercharged Naruto at the moment. At the question, Raven grins evilly, rows of razor sharp fangs revealed in her mouth and making Sakura pale even more dramatically while Ayane feared for her life.

"**I'm your worst NIGHTMARE!"** Raven replies while lunging at Sakura, tendrils of ebony energy lashing out at her like whips.

"Should we help her?" Cyborg asks while helping Robin up and the boy-wonder looks to Cyborg with an uneasy expression.

"Which one?" He asks as Raven roars, opening her cloak and lashing out with a pair of now razor sharp claws.

"**What's the matter? Afraid of the DARK!?!"** Raven demands with a nearly psychotic gleam in her eyes and Cyborg cleared his throat.

"Uh… Raven I guess…" Cyborg says and Robin looks over to the battle, which now seems to consist of Sakura running away like her life depended on it, and given the fact that Raven now had four crimson red eyes glowing, that was pretty much assured.

"**HOLD STILL AND DIE!!"** Raven screams and Robin reaches up to rub his head for a moment.

"No. I don't think it's wise to get between Raven and the person she wants to destroy utterly at the moment…" Robin replies with a nod of his head and Cyborg nods in agreement with his leader, then winces as he sees Raven start to throw sharp rocks at the pinkette. "Let's go help Star before we consider saving Pinky." Robin then says and Cyborg nods his head.

"I concur." He offers while fighting to hold back a grin as he and Robin evade the wrath empowered Raven to get to Starfire's prone form. "You okay Star?" Cy asks worriedly then gapes at seeing a bruise actually forming on the alien princesses back.

"That girl… she is stronger than she looks…" Starfire groans out with a headache of her own and Robin helps her back to her feet. "Thank you fried…" Star starts to say, only to stop and stare at Robin for a moment. "You have the most beautiful eyes…" She then says with a blush and Robin's said electric blue eyes widen as he reaches up and finds his sunglasses have more than likely been smashed.

"Well… I guess the cats out of the bag…" Robin mutters while reaching into a pocket, pulling out a Domino mask before placing it over his eyes. "Alright, now I feel better." Robin then says and Starfire pouts, Cyborg gaping then grinning.

"BB is going to be so jealous that we saw your eyes! We ACTUALLY saw what was under that mask! And after all the hell we went through that one time with trying to get you to take it off!" Cyborg says before pumping a fist and Robin looks at him with an annoyed frown.

"Cyborg… shut up…" Robin then says as he, Starfire, and Cyborg watch Raven as she tries to grab the pink haired Ninja with her powers, Sakura jumping and flipping out of her way. "She's trained in martial arts and the same general arsenal of techniques as Red-X…" Robin notes with a frown before seeing a green goat ram into Sakura and slamming her into a building before BB then flips back as a monkey and lands on top of Raven's head.

"**If you value your skin runt, you will get off me NOW!"** Raven shouts and BB quickly rushes over to the other Titans, eyes wide as Raven then looks at Sakura with a cruel expression, only to stop and look up at a familiar chuckle. What they see is Red-X, crouched down on top of the building above Sakura, his arms resting on his legs and his head tilted to one side.

"Wow, lookie here. Everyone's beating on the pink haired bitch I love to hate so much." Naruto notes, a grin hidden behind his mask then winks towards Raven, who can tell he is somehow and starts to calm down.

"Yep. Isn't that just one of the most wonderful sights you've ever seen in your life? Kind of gives you that warm fuzzy feeling inside, huh?" An unfamiliar synthesized and yet clearly amused female voice then quips and the Titans turn and see Pink-X sitting beside of Red-X, one leg over the other and her cape flowing behind her while one hand is resting against her chin.

"Pink AND Red-X in the same spot… this CAN'T be a coincidence." Robin grunts out and Naruto chuckles while waving to Robin.

"Yo kid, Batman says hi." Naruto offers and all is silent until Robin slaps his face.

"You actually went to Gotham… dear lord doesn't Gotham have enough psychotic maniacs to deal with without having you there?" Robin demands and Naruto takes offence to that, true it does but he's not psychotic himself! A clepto maybe, but not psychotic!

"Kid, seriously, you are WAY out of line with that one… I'm nothing like those psychos in Gotham. Believe me I know, I met a couple and one put a sledgehammer to my fucking skull…" Naruto says while crossing his arms with a frown and Robin concedes that he's not psychotic; he's just selfish… maybe a clepto…

"As utterly interesting as this conversation is, maybe we could deal with Pinky down there before we forget she exists." Pink-X offers her male double and Naruto reaches up to stroke his chin with a humm.

"Sounds good doll." Naruto admits while flipping down to land and Pink-X slides down to land in a crouch beside him. "So Sakura, how does it feel to finally be on the receiving end of the powered punches and ticked off girls?" Naruto asks with an amused grin while Pink-X walks forward and grabs the front of Sakura's shirt, glaring into her eyes angrily once she has hold of her.

"Fuck off…" Sakura grumbles towards Naruto angrily and then winces as Ayane starts shouting at her for it. Before she can attempt to deal with that however, Pink-X brings her practically nose-to-nose with herself, her masked eyes seeming narrowed onto the pink haired nin.

"Alright listen up Sakura…" Pink-X growls out in a low whisper to Sakura. "I'm done working with you Ninja Assholes. In fact, I'm done just being around you. It was fun while it lasted but I think I'll keep the money you gave me and do something constructive with it. So thanks for the loot, and I hope you get what you deserve." Pink-X tells the other girl angrily before kicking Sakura, sending her flying away until she lands in the center of the Titans.

"Nice one." Naruto offers while crossing his arms, then tilts his head to evade an oncoming Birdarang from Robin. "Seriously kid, she's all yours. Me and Pinky here have to have a little… no… a very long chat… about stealing my look…" Naruto growls out before glaring over to Pink-X who shrugs her shoulders with a nervous chuckle, just before both vanish in a shimmer of light when Naruto places a hand onto her shoulder.

"Well… they got away." Raven notes and Robin nods his head with a frown before walking over to Sakura.

"But she hasn't." He states, then flips back when a Shuriken nearly pierces his skull, Kakashi appearing suddenly, quickly grabbing Sakura, then vanishing just as suddenly as he had come…

"Dude… where are all the Ninja coming from!?" BB demands at this and Robin grits his teeth in fury.

"I don't know… but they're more of a threat than either of the X's that's for sure…" Robin grumbles out before cupping his chin. "Raven, Naruto is a former Ninja himself, I need to talk to him about these guys. They need to be stopped and fast, they're after something, and their not letting anyone, or anything get in their way." Robin says and Raven nods her head, wondering how Naruto will take having to talk to Boy Wonder tomorrow.

"Say BB, how'd you get all better so quick? After a punch from that chick left Starfire nearly bruised I'd say you'd look awful." Cyborg asks and BB frowns while scratching his head.

"You know, that's the weirdest thing, Red-X used some glowing hands trick like Raven and made me all better." BB offers and Robin blinks in surprise, then wonders what OTHER tricks X has in his seemingly bottomless bag of them…

"Okay… then what happened to your date?" Cy then asks and BB grins while nearby Raven smirks to herself.

"I convinced her to high tail it out of here before she got hurt in the cross fire." BB offers with a grin and Cyborg nods his head, Starfire lunges at the green teen for Details. As that happens, Raven shakes her head, knowing why "Kitten" had actually left since Naruto sent her the details. _'A shapeshifter hero and a Metamorph Thief… what are the odds?'_ Raven wonders to herself as she makes her way towards the Tower, glad she hadn't let her demonic power out too far and she wouldn't have to get her hair again.

--

(Elsewhere…)

Naruto and Pink-X both appear on top of a building on the outskirts of Jump-City. "Thanks for the lift, but did you have to be so convincing with the threat?" Pink-X questions of Naruto with a shiver and the blond thief shrug his shoulders in response.

"The Kid knows how I think, if I didn't make it sound real, he'd know I was lying." Naruto offers and Pink-X nods while pulling her mask off, revealing Kitten and making the thief chuckle. "What are the odds…" He muses and Kitten looks at him strangely.

"Excuse me?" She asks and Naruto chuckles once more.

"Aw nothing, just thought of something funny." Naruto offers and Kitten hums to herself while heading over to her closet. "So seriously, why Pink-X?" Naruto asks and the girl stops and looks at him with a smirk.

"I wanted to get my dads attention at first… I made a whole bunch of costumes just so I could do it too, you know pull a 'Joker's Daughter' as it were." She admits and Naruto shakes his head from side to side, guessing what she meant seeing as he knew Duela. "I had this whole big idea where I'd do a bunch of crimes while disguised as the daughter of various enemies to the Titans until he finally came out of the basement. But… as you can probably guess, I had too much fun as Pink-X and just kind of stuck with it." Kitten admits while looking at the mask then places it on her dresser and turns to look at X with her arms crossed.

"So now I guess you want me to stop, Huh?" Kitten asks with a frown and Naruto hums for a moment, scratching his chin before chuckling to himself.

"Nah." He then says surprising the girl greatly. "I'd be a hypocrite if I did that. Just try and steer clear of Sasuke and the Konoha Flunkies and I'll have no problem with a Pink-X being in town. It could use a few more "Not Psychotic" criminals anyways." Naruto admits and Kitten smiles while nodding her head.

"Thanks X." She offers and then sees Naruto cross his arms.

"Oh, before I forget, break BB's heart with this and I'll break your legs." Naruto warns and Kitten literally pales before clearing her throat and blushing.

"Uh, why do you even care?" She asks and Naruto sighs.

"Lets just say Beast Boy reminds me of me at that age, and I had my own heart broken once… and I don't want to see Beast Boy hurt like I was. After all, there's only room for one Red-X in this town!" Naruto finishes, and then says humorously and Kitten slowly nods her head.

"Yeah. And you don't have to worry, I think I might really like him…" Kitten says with a slight blush and Naruto chuckles lightly.

"Aw, that's soo cute." Naruto mocks with both hands folded together, Kitten glaring at him. "Alright, alright. Eh, enough with the angry eyes already. I better be heading out anyways." Naruto says while getting up and Kitten crosses her arms over her chest, looking at the thief strangely.

"You're not like other villains." She states and Naruto turns his head and grins.

"Who said I was a villain? After all, Good and Evil… to me they're just words. All I'm doing is following my own path. I'll let everyone else decide what little label to slap on me, personally, I'm just a thief…" Naruto offers before vanishing, leaving Kitten to ponder the strangely sage words he'd left behind him…

--

(Snake's…)

Dani lay laughing on Sanke's couch, Jinx glaring at the girl with a blush while Snake shook his head. _'That ninja is seriously in trouble. I'm not even stupid enough to have girls like Jill come after me… but add onto that Raven and you have a double team of super powered death…'_ The man thinks to himself as Dani finally manages to gain control over her laughter.

"That sounds SOOO mush like Danny and Sam! It's not even funny!" Dani then says and Jinx decides she doesn't want to know whom these people are while continuing to glare at her for laughing so long.

"Yeah, whatever. Got any idea's on helping her with her problem then Dani?" Snake asks and Dani blinks then frowns in thought, before promptly shrugging her shoulders.

"I'm thirteen, what do you honestly expect me to know about this stuff?" She asks and Jinx nearly falls over while Sanke rubs his eyes.

"Right… never mind…" He grunts out then looks over to Jinx. "Jill, think you and your friends in Tartarus can handle Dani here? I'm done taking care of street kids." Snake asks and Jinx snaps her head to her father figure before narrowing her eyes.

"No." She states with a frown and Snake gives her a pleading look.

"Seriously Jill, I'm getting too old to be taking in another super powered street kid." Snake states and Jinx frowns, crossing her arms before looking over at Dani, the girl yawning before then rubbing her eyes sleepily.

"And exactly WHAT do I get out of this?" Jinx demands of the man and Snake quickly tries to think up an excuse before smirking.

"How about I get in contact with my old military buddies and get your team some high-tech gear?" Snake offers with a smirk and Jinx bites her lower lip, knowing how much Gizmo would annoy her if she didn't and he found out about it, and also how the tech would probably be used by Gizmo to help Naruto…

"Fine… I'll take the brat in…" Jinx finally concedes and Snake smirks, Dani looking over to him with a strange expression.

"So let me get this straight. You who happen to be a cop who defends the law, is not only allowing a young and impressionable minded girl with supernatural powers to be taken in by a bunch of known criminals and thieves, but also giving them government tech just to take care of said impressionable girl?" Dani asks and Snake nods his head, as if it was the simplest thing in the world to understand. "While I actually like stealing things for a living. Do the words, does not compute, mean anything to you?" Dani then asks and Jinx looks at her strangely, having figured someone related to Danny Phantom would be a hero like him.

"They do. And I'm doing it because I'm sick of taking care of kids…" Snake grumbles and Jinx and Dani look to one another.

"Personally I thought you'd hate this because you'd be a hero like, Danny Phantom if you're related." Jinx admits and Dani snarls once more, eyes glowing bright neon green once more.

"I swear, if ONE more person says something like that I'm going to beat them into a bloody pulp! Just because I'm his clone does NOT make me him Dammit! I have thoughts and feelings of my own! And just because HE'S a big hero now doesn't mean that I am! I've lived on the streets for a long time, and stealing is the only thing I know how to do and I'm good at it!" Dani shouts while floating into the air and Jinx blinks, then looks to an equally surprised Snake.

"Clone huh… that explains quite a lot… I've had bad experiences with clones before." Snake admits and Jinx and Dani both look at him strangely.

"How so?" They ask once more in synch and Snake merely grunts.

"Rule 2." He grumbles out once more and both girls frown towards him.

--

(??)

Kakashi appears back in the Konoha Nin hideout grunting while holding the utterly battered Sakura. Upon seeing the girl's condition, the other Nin look to him and Kakashi sighs. "Well… Sakura got mad…" Kakashi offers as he walks over to a mat and lays her down, the others merely shrugging it off and Sasuke smirks.

"Weakling." He states before leaning back and Kakashi twitches, just wishing he could hurt that bastard sometimes but fighting down the urge.

"Also, seems Pink-X is pissed off at us because Sakura attacked her boyfriend. We need a new plan…" Kakashi grumbles and Ino slams her head into a table, muttering something under her breath as she does.

"Perhaps I can be of some assistance." A cool monotone voice offers and the Nin snaps their heads towards its source, a figure standing in a few nearby shadows.

"Who are you?" Neji asks slowly while getting up, the figure walking forward to reveal a young woman… The woman was as tall as Ino, with a cloth mask that covered the top of her head and face, leaving only her right slate gray eye, and her pale skinned mouth and jaw visible, the mask was orange on the right side with a black mark around the eye ending in an upward point, and with black on the left side without an eye entirely, two long ties flowing behind it with her long stark white hair.

The girl wears a rather odd outfit in the Nin's opinion, starting out with a pale blue skintight material over her upper torso and even her fingers and hands, thick gray patches over her biceps, a collar of armor around her neck, and black armored gauntlets over her forearms, a black tank top over the skintight material with grey straps over her shoulders, a pair of gray handled Katana sheathed on her back. Next was a pair of tight black pants, with armor over each thigh, a gray utility belt looped around her waist, gray knee pads, and a pair of calf length black combat boots with grey soles and grey clips to hold them on tightly.

"My name is Ravager." The girl offers in that same cold monotone while giving a rather curt bow to the Nin, her single slate grey eye never leaving them as she does.

"What do you want?" Kakashi questions warily, something about the girl giving him the creeps.

"Oh, nothing. But I've been watching you all for quite some time now, and the Titans DID kill my father…" Ravager muses, instantly gaining Sasuke's attention. _'Humph, an Avenger without something to avenge is nothing but a mad dog without a purpose… lets give him someone to avenge, lets give him back his purpose.'_ Ravager thinks to herself while resisting the urge to smirk.

"So it's revenge your after?" Sasuke asks, knowing that feeling rather well, and Ravager straightens up while crossing her arms.

"Call it what you will." Ravager offers coolly, then looks to Kakashi. "You need a way to capture Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto, AKA Red-X, AKA Tempest… Am I correct?" Ravager questions with a strange look and Kakashi had to resist the urge to shiver, something really wasn't right about this girl, and how in hell did she know all of his aliases and even his full name?

"Yes." He finally admits while Ino, Sasuke, Neji, and Hinata stand beside him.

"Then you should know that I have both the power and resources you will need for this rather troubling purpose. And I also have a plan I might add…" Ravager offers and Kakashi looks at her strangely once more.

"Really? And what is this plan?" Kakashi questions and Ravager smiles darkly.

"Nah ah ah. First things first…" She says with a wag of one finger, then walks forward, her arms folded behind her back as dozens of Slade's old Commando-drones walk or crawl out of the shadows all around the warehouse in order to completely surround them, Kakashi and the other nin looking around in shock… "Do we have a deal?" Ravager then questions with an eerie smile on her face…

--

TBC…

--

AN: Killer Moth actually WAS The Batman's enemy more than the Teen Titans in the original Comics. Also, Duela mentioned a boyfriend last chapter named Talon. He's an Evil Robin from an alternate Universe they are from. No I'm not shitting you; "Talon" really is an alternate evil version of Robin!

Ravager's outfit is the one she wears in the "Teen Titans GO!" comics, she actually only appeared once and her back-story was radically changed. I'm going to try and stay true to the original Ravager and Deathstroke Back-story's while also changing them to suit the personalitie of Slade in the show…


	30. Know thy enemy

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

**Chapter 29**: **Know thy enemy**…

--

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

--

(Jump City…)

Jinx slowly looked out the door of Snake's home with a frown, having spent the night with her father figure, a bag over one shoulder with some of the stuff he got for Dani. Behind her is the said black haired girl, her hands stuffed into the pockets of her hooded sweatshirt. "What are you watching for?" Dani asks with a frown and Jinx gives her an annoyed look.

"Unlike you I can't become invisible. People WILL notice a criminal just walking down the street." Jinx grumbles before reaching to her left wrist, revealing something in a similar design to a watch, which she presses down on its screen. Seconds later, Dani watches, as Jinx's form seems to shimmer before altering into a disguise.

The older teen now has black hair rather than pink and hanging down to her shoulders, the slits in her eyes are gone and now replaced by normal pupils, her skin is now a very deep tan complexion, but the triangular tattoos on her cheeks still remain with added black tattoos beside of her eyes and deep blackberry colored lips.

The girl also wears a new outfit, which starts off with her choker/collar, a black tube top with a blue bikini like top over that wrapped around her back, a silver chain holding it up around her neck leaving her shoulders completely bare, her right hand and forearm was covered by blue / black bandages, her old blue and black stockings were still present only with a pair of black sneakers with blue toes and spots on the sides, then was a black skirt as usual only slightly longer than normal and with tattered edges, and with a silver belt around her waist with chains arching over each hip from it.

"Whats with the costume Change?" Dani suddenly asked and Jinx, more like Jill Manx, Dani inwardly corrects, gives her a look.

"Giz developed a holographic device so we could walk out in public." Jinx explains then rubs her chin for a moment. "However, this outfit is actually what I want my newer costume to look like, my mother was from East India and I was kind of trying to look the part." Jinx admits with a slight blush before turning and making her way in the direction of the Tartarus HQ. Following after her, Dani looks her over critically and hums for a moment before smirking.

"It ALSO shows off your figure…" She notes and Jinx gives her an annoyed look as she Dani places her hands back into her pockets. "Just saying…" She offers as Jinx huffs, wondering what she did to deserve this… then sighing as she remembered stealing from a priest once when she was hungry…

Ignoring Dani's comment, the disguised pinkette mumbles something under her breath as they head further through Jump-City. Looking back at the girl, Jinx scrunches her nose up for a moment before smirking. "Jealous?" She asks and Dani blinks before giving a look to the girl.

"Considering I'm a clone of a teenaged boy, I find looking even as feminine as I do a god send." Dani replies, having once feared she'd look more masculine, though was pleasantly, and happily, surprised she actually didn't.

"Well I guess I can understand that." Jinx admits with a frown as they come to a stop at a crosswalk.

"Say. Your mom's East Indian so what about your dad?" Dani asks and Jinx rolls her eyes.

"Don't know, all I know is his name was Manx and that he's where I get the slant to my eyes." Jinx offers and Dani scrunches up her nose before sighing.

"Ok. So why did you become a thief?" Dani then asks and Jinx looks at her for a moment before sighing.

"I'm bad luck, there's not much else I could do when you think about it." She reminds and Dani scoffs while crossing her arms.

"That's an excuse." She insists and Jinx shakes her head.

"Also, I lived on the streets all my life, I'm more street wise then a fourth of my team, and I've always had a guy like Snake as my role model." Jinx then reminds and Dani frowns before shrugging, seeing how being a thief wouldn't really be too hard for her in that way. "You?" Jinx then asks and Dani bites her lip for a moment.

"I want to be myself…" She admits and sees Jinx raise a brow. "I'm a clone, whenever people compare me to my "Dad" I feel like nothing but his shadow. I look like him, and I'm part of him, but I'm different. But, having people compare me to him, always being asked what I want to do as a Hero, how I'll help him or take over for him, it always makes it sound like I don't have a choice…" Dani says and Jinx rubs the back of her neck, seeing why Dani didn't like her first explanation now.

"So?" Jinx asks and Dani sighs once more.

"The one who made me, he was a manipulative bastard. He was evil and a major enemy of my Bio-Dad. My Bio-Dad, he's a Hero and everyone knows it. Me… I'm just trying to be me. To find my own path in life, let someone else put a damn label on me. And personally, I like being a thief and I'm good at it." Dani days with a nod of her head, arms crossed and Jinx sees a bit of Naruto in the girl.

"You'll love our leader, he's the exact same way." She suddenly states and a smirk spreads over the girl's lips.

"No thanks, I think he has too many girls in love with him already." She says playfully before laughing and running from an annoyed and blushing Jinx as she playfully chases after her "Little Sister"…

--

(Titans Tower…)

Naruto was scowling, DEEPLY scowling at this point as he stood next to Raven as they rode the elevator up to get to the Ops-Center or "Common-Room". Inwardly, the blond former Nin had to wonder one thing, how the hell Raven managed to convince him to actually do this… "Tell me why I agreed to come here again?" Naruto asks with a twitch and Raven took a mock thoughtful expression.

"Because I asked you to." She offers while sounding surprising playful and making Naruto grunt.

"I hate that I can't say no to you…" He mutters and Raven rolls her eyes before patting him on the back. "Then again, it could be worse." He admits as the elevator opens and Raven walks into a hall, Naruto following behind her. "So I guess my interrogation will be a public affair…" Naruto notes blandly and Raven gives him a look before rolling her eyes, knowing Naruto and his odd mannerisms by now.

"It's not an interrogation." She states and Naruto frowns for a moment.

"With the kid, an interrogation is almost assured babe." Naruto retorts and Raven raises a finger to argue but Naruto beats her to the punch. "His teacher, Batman, he holds guys over the sides of buildings before dropping and catching them at the last second. I know for a fact the kid had to learn a little something from him." Naruto states and Raven shudders, having only known rumors about Batman it was slightly frightening to here what one of his methods were…

Shaking her head, Raven leads Naruto into the Common-Room and they both see the Boy-Wonder sitting in front of a computer, watching the screen silently. "Where are the other Ki… Titans?" Naruto starts to say only to quickly correct himself, Raven shrugging while Robin got up and turned to them.

"The others went out for pizza." Robin replies and Naruto frowns slightly before crossing his arms behind his head.

"Alright, so what do you want to know then?" Naruto asks the boy-wonder, Robin promptly turning and typing on the computer, bringing up pictures of Sasuke, Kakashi, and Sakura on the Titans TV… which apparently also doubled as a monitor, explaining why it was so fucking big.

"These three Ninja have been spotted in the City. The girl and the one with the mask both wear a "Spiral-Leaf" shaped symbol, while the other one could somehow generate lightning and carried a sword and was supposed to have an ability called the "Sharingan" but we couldn't figure out what that meant." Robin explains and Naruto rolls his eyes while walking over to the black haired teen, Raven making her way to get some herbal tea. "What I want to know is if you're familiar with these three, and if any of your contacts might know if they have any accomplices." Robin replies and Naruto reaches up to rub his chin, wondering how he'll make his explanation sound…

"Alright, let's see here… That symbol that those two wear is the symbol of the "Hidden Village" Konohagakure no Sato, Or the Village Hidden in the leaves. The black haired kid is one of Konoha's "Elite Uchiha Clan". However that same clan was very nearly wiped out about ten or so years back, leaving only three members left at the time. Sasuke, if I remember his name correctly, was told his brother killed the clan, he became an avenger and eventually killed him, only to learn that it was someone else who was the cause of his families death and went to kill him next, last I heard he was still obsessed." Naruto explained and saw a deep scowl on Robin's face for one reason or another.

"He thinks he's some kind of an Avenger? More like a fool. All he did was become as bad as the one who destroyed his family." Robin states and Naruto nods his head before cracking his neck. "Alright, what about that Sharingan thing? What is it supposed to do?" Robin then questions and Naruto hums in thought for a few moments.

"The Sharingan or "Mirror Wheel Eye" when activated is able to instantaneously copy any technique that it sees. The ability itself is actually more of a Genetic mutation in the eyes, refered to by Shinobi as a Doujutsu Kekkei-Genkai or "Eye Technique Bloodline Limit". It gives him a photographic memory as well as increased reaction time, also allowing him to see much quicker than normal. He activates it by using a special form of energy that all Ninja of Konoha learn, known to them as Chakra. It also has several stages of release, the normal three stages are beginner, intermediate, and expert, thus placing a Tomoe into the eye for each stage, the forth stage or "Mangekyou" is activated by killing your best friend, granting some special abilities but makes your start to go blind, and the "Final" stage of the eye is achieved by using the eye of a relative." Naruto replies and then sees a look of shock and horror etched onto Robin's face.

"H-how far is Sasuke's eye along?" Robin asks and Naruto frowns.

"Mangekyou. He can't use his Sharingan excessively anymore or he'll go blind. He activated it by killing his older brother." Naruto replies and sees a snarl form over Robin's face.

"That guy is no man, and that Bloodline should be destroyed and forgotten." Robin growls out and Naruto nods his head.

"I always thought of the Sharingan as a Thieves tool… just watching and stealing the hard learned techniques of others for themselves. But in all actuality a Thief who steals something works harder at what he does than the Uchiha Clan with their eye." Naruto says and Robin grudgingly nods his head in agreement with the blond.

"Alright. As far as I'm concerned Superman can lock this guy up in the Phantom Zone and then smash the projector." Robin growls out and Naruto makes a note to ask Raven what the "Phantom-Zone" was and if she thought it could hold Sasuke. "But what about the other two?" Robin questions and Naruto grimaces.

"Also residents of Konoha. Hatake Kakashi is the silver haired man; he's a Jounin, or High Ninja, one of the higher ranks. He also has the Sharingan eye and it's Mangekyou level. However, he didn't kill his best friend, the guilt from watching him die in front of him and being unable to help him, his sensei, or his last remaining teammate over the years caused it to activate. His eye allows him to warp things into a pocket dimension. He is also always two hours late to meetings, a pervert who reads a book called "Icha-Icha-Paradise" and has both copied AND mastered a thousand techniques." Naruto explains and sees a grimace form over Robin's face, then frown in thought.

"Alright, that's two down, now what about that one with Pink hair? She seemed to know you personally, and Raven really, REALLY didn't like her." Robin notes and before Naruto can speak, the other Titans finally return home.

"Dude! We got the pizza!" BB calls out with said pizza held over his head and Cy rolls his eyes, Starfire flying into the room quickly grabs Naruto into a hug as soon as she sees him.

"Friend Naruto! It is a pleasure to see you once more! You should come and visit us all more often, Raven's friend who is a boy!" Star calls out happily and Naruto grunts, Raven growling when she sees this. _'Kind of possessive aren't you, Kara-chan.'_ Naruto notes and sees Raven give him a look.

'_Shut up…'_ She inwardly grumbles, a blush on her face vanishing as she pulls her hood up to hide it.

"Uh Star, could you let him go he's still trying to explain about our enemies and their abilities." Robin pleads and the princess blinks before nodding her head and releasing the poor blond former Nin.

"Thanks…" Naruto offers then clears his throat. "The Pink haired Bitch there is Haruno Sakura, she's a Chunin or "Middle Ninja", and the apprentice to Senju Tsunade, the current Hokage or "Fire Shadow" of the Leaf Village. She's also my EX-Girlfriend who I caught cheating on me with Sasuke…" Naruto growls out angrily and Starfire blinks in confusion while Robin frowns in obvious distaste.

"She actually likes that sociopath?" He asks incredulously and Naruto snorts.

"She's had a crush on him since we were in the academy." Naruto offers in response and Starfire floats over to Robin.

"Friend Robin, how did this girl "Cheat" on Friend Naruto with another boy? Were they playing a game or something?" Starfire asked naively and Robin grimaced, and then pulled on his collar while trying to think of a way to explain.

"Star, what are relationships like on Tameran?" Naruto asks and Starfire turns around while crossing her legs under herself.

"Relationships? You mean like courting yes?" Starfire asks and Naruto nods his head. "Courting is… hard to explain. We Tameranians are ruled primarily by emotion rather than logic. Repressing them is unheard of for my people. Thus, our "Courtships" are normally very short." Starfire offers and Naruto can take a wild guess that they merely ask one another if they are attracted to each other.

"I'm guessing you haven't had many suitors huh?" Naruto asks and Star blinks.

"Oh no, I have had hundreds of them. I merely did not love any of them." Starfire offers with a smile and a shrug and Robin gapes at her for a moment, unaware of that fact and making Naruto snicker.

"Well that figures. Anyways, courtship in Konoha is the same as it is around here. I'm guessing since you guys on Tameran are ruled primarily by emotion that you're all also polygamous right?" Naruto asks and Starfire blinks, then frowns are she tries to figure out the word in Tameranian.

"It means to allow more than one spouse." Robin offers and Star makes an Oh with her mouth before giggling and floating into the air.

"Yes. That is very common on my world. In fact, it is almost required due to the fact there is only a fraction of Male Tameranians left after the Gordanian attack on my homeworld." The bubbly alien offers cheerfully, BB passing out and Cyborgs eyes wide in shock by her blunt answer.

"Damn… Ero-Sennin would kill to go there…" Naruto mumbles with wide eyes then sees the looks he's being given. "Er. Anyways, Star, is there some way to hurt someone emotionally on Tameran, like, being attached to one person and then going behind their back to be with someone else?" Naruto questions and Starfire frowns, and then takes a thoughtful expression before scowling deeply, frightening Naruto slightly as he's never seen her do that before.

"Unfortunately, yes. Garlocks. The Defiled Ones. They are ones who would use someone's emotions to get close to another, and then abandon them thoughtlessly. They are very rare and are punished VERY severely whenever they are found out. A persons emotions should not be used or toyed with, doing such a thing to a Tameranian is equal to what you refer to as a "Sin" and can gravely damage a Tameranian." Star states simply and Naruto chuckles nervously in response.

"That sounds like Sakura alright, she once made me promise to bring Sasuke back to her. I failed of course seeing as the only way to stop him would be to kill him. Then she said we'd get him back together… well, long story short we were in a relationship for a while, I was actually happy with her, even given the fact she punched and abused me for no good reason most of the time. And then when I'm in a hospital after nearly dying to save that Teme Sasuke, I wake up, then find her screwing him…" Naruto explains and then sees a blank expression on Starfire's face before she snarls once more, both he and Robin taking several steps away from her.

"That little Garlock will PAY and pay DEARLY! Next time she is near me I'll show her not to EVER hurt any my friends like that ever again!" Star growls out angrily, eyes steaming green at this point, and Robin clears his throat to draw her attention to him.

"Uh Star, calm down." Robin says and Starfire nods while then dropping to the ground, teeth grinding as she stomps her way over to the sofa and sits down with her arms crossed, eyes still a blazing green. "I didn't expect her to react so violently…" Robin muses while Raven makes her way over to him and Naruto.

"Her people are ruled by emotion. To her, hurting someone emotionally is worse than hurting them physically. Doing both at the same time… well… lets just say I'd rather not be Sakura when Star gets her hands on her." Raven offers while floating over to the two, BB and Cy coming up from behind the couch.

"Dude. She might kill that girl if she fights her like that!" BB says with shock in his tone, Cy nodding his head in agreement, Star turning to face them and give them both a look of annoyance.

"I will NOT kill her… I'll make her WISH for death." Starfire states angrily and both boys pale while backing away from the furious princess.

"Alright, enough of that. Sakura has two things you guys should know… wait, make that three. First. She's strong enough to break solid concrete with her bare hands and feet." Naruto says and Robin gapes at him, and then looks at him strangely.

"You said she'd punch you around, right?" He asks the blond former Nin and Naruto nods his head. "Then how did you survive her?" He asks seriously and Naruto reaches up to rub his head for a short moment.

"Uh… lets just say I have a very hard head." Naruto offers and Robin frowns before nodding his head, he could actually buy that. "Anyways, she's also a Med-Nin and can heal people with some of her Jutsu. If you fought her and didn't see this, she was probably tired and lacked the focus needed to do this." Naruto then explains and Robin grimaces, seeing as that combined with Kakashi and Sasuke as heavy hitters would be a very dangerous combination.

"And the third thing?" Robin asks and Naruto chuckles nervously.

"She's got a split personality… and the other one probably still kind of likes me." He offers with a nervous grin and Robin grimaces.

"That will be hell… what's the difference between them? Judging by how violent Sakura is, the other must be pretty calm." Robin muses and Naruto tries to resist but laughs at that assumption.

"No. Ayane is MORE violent than Sakura. She's violent in everything, foul-mouthed, hot headed, and generally wants to murder Sakura most of the time and take their body solely for herself." Naruto offers and Starfire crosses her arms and then hums.

"I wonder if I can hurt the Sakura-Garlock without hurting the Ayane girl as well…" Star wonders with a thoughtful expression and Naruto frowns in thought.

"Yes actually. Ayane is very resilient; from what I learned about her she also likes to seal away abilities Sakura has just so she can make her weaker. I tried to get her to stop but she doesn't believe that Sakura deserves those skills… hate to say it but I'm glad she didn't unseal them now. She's also mostly separate from her and doesn't feel whatever happens to Sakura physically, one of her main pet peeves I might add." Naruto explains casually to the alien princess and sees her smile.

"Alright. Now Naruto are their anymore Ninja in Jump City to worry about?" Robin asks and Naruto nods his head with a frown.

"Three. First is Hyuuga Neji, he's a prodigy with the "Byakugan" or "White Eye"; it allows the user to see Chakra as well as Tenketsu Points in the body. Combining this with their "Gentle Fist" Taijutsu style they block these paths, allowing them to cut Chakra off to various parts of the body. However, unfortunately for him you guys don't have those since you don't use Chakra." Naruto explains then grimaces as he remembers who the last two Nin are.

"Then comes Hyuuga Hinata, she's Neji's cousin and the heir to the Hyuuga Clan. Unlike Neji and the bulk of the Hyuuga, Hinata is very shy and nice. She once even said she loved me but… anyways she's not like the others, try to go easy on her but don't take her lightly. Unlike Neji she mastered her own special attack, which sort of resembles lasers that can cut through anything she forms with her chakra." Naruto explains and sees shock on Robins face.

"She'll be a problem…" He notes and Starfire frowns.

"Excuse me friend Naruto. Why is it you say Hinata said she loved you?" Starfire asks and Naruto clears his throat.

"Because she did. However, Hinata always tries to change herself to be with me. When she thought I liked long hair she let hers grow out, when she thought I liked bold confident girls she tried to fill that role. Plainly put Starfire, I don't want a girl to have to change herself to be with me, I just want her to be herself and be happy." Naruto offers in explanation and Starfire nods her head.

"Thank you for sharing." She offers and then sighs while leaning back.

"Right. Anyways, last is Yamanaka Ino. She will be the tough one for you guys. Her family has specially designed Jutsu that allow her to posses another persons body." Naruto explains and Robin frowns deeply.

"Meaning if she did she'd have all their skills at her disposal… that's a dangerous power." Robin notes and Naruto nods his head before chuckling lightly.

"It is, but if you're like me or Sakura, she can't do it. With me I have a rather unique mental block, and Sakura has her second personality to fight her off. And when she uses the Jutsu and is forced out of the body in that way she's left relatively weakened afterwards." Naruto explains casually and BB suddenly blinks.

"Dude! Raven could take her easy!" He states and gets looks from those present. "She's got like a dozen emotions in her head running around like spare personalities, duh!" He reminds and Raven blinks then slowly nods her head before looking at BB with a surprised expression.

"You actually had a good idea… your new girlfriend is already showing herself to be a blessing." Raven muses and BB lets out an indignant hey while Cy snickers and Starfire smiles.

"Anyways. Those are the only Ninja I know that are in Jump with special powers and skills… minus myself, and X seeing as we aren't really trying to attack you guys or hurt anyone." Naruto offers and Robin gives him a look before deciding to let it go and walks over to the computer.

"Right. I need to put down this information while it's still fresh. Raven, you can have the night off as promised." Robin says and Raven gives Naruto a smirk, making the blond chuckle.

"Thank's Bird boy, lets go Kara-chan." Naruto says and holds out an arm to Raven, the violet-eyed sorceress rolling her eyes as she takes his arm and then envelopes them both in her cloak.

"Dude… you actually agreed to give Raven a Night off? I know you've been giving her some slack with dating and all, but normally you at least keep her on call encase of an emergency comes up." BB asks then reminds with obvious surprise and Robin nods his head.

"Those Ninja. They aren't like other criminals. Their similar to ones I fought in Gotham, at least this "Sasuke" is. He has a total disregard for human life; all he cares about is getting more power. Someone like him being on the loose is dangerous, I'm hoping the information Naruto gave me will help me figure out where they're hiding out so we can stop them." Robin states and BB frowns.

"Dude. Why give Rae the night off then?" BB asks and Robin sighs.

"She's earned it." He offers in response and BB looks to Cy and Star, both shrugging their shoulders. "She convinced him to come didn't she? And I can tell you right now, he HATES the thought of being in the Tower for too long." Robin reminded then explained and BB blinked then nodded his head.

"Good point. Man, for a guy who dates Rae he really doesn't like being in the tower for some reason." BB notes and Robin rolls his eyes.

"It's because he's a Ninja. Former or not he doesn't like being so out in the open like he is in the Tower. Sure, no one knew he was here, but to him the Tower is just too big a temptation for villains to blow it up with a missile or something." Robin explains and BB make an oh with his mouth…

"So wait… COULD some random Villain just blow us up with a missile or something?" BB then asks and both Robin and Cyborg blink before grimacing.

"Uh… yeah…" Cy admits and Robin twitches for a few moments.

"Then why are we in a giant Tower and not underground?" BB then asked and Cy gaped for a few moments then cleared his throat.

"I'll explain it later…" He says while waving the younger teen off. "Like when I figure it out myself…" He then mutters to himself while trying to see the logic of actually making a massive tower shaped like a capital T in the first place…

--

(Gotham City…)

Batman stands upon a high rooftop, looking down at a crime scene with a frown on his face. "So Two-Face left us a calling card I see." Batgirl muses while landing on the roof and walking to stand beside of the Dark-Knight, the masked vigilante silently nodding his head. "So what do we got on him?" Batgirl then asks and Batman frowns towards her.

"Usual MO. He's hitting places that have some kind of link to duality, or just twos in general." Batman replies and Batgirl has to wonder about Two-Face's sanity once more, then remembers the story about how he once thought he was some kind of a judge and actually tried to kill himself as well as several other villains.

"Alright. So where do we start looking for him?" Batgirl asks and Batman frowns in response.

"Nowhere. You're not coming." Batman states and Batgirl gives him a look.

"Didn't you get over this back when I first joined the team?" She comments with a frown on her face and Batman gives her a look.

"Yes. And that's not what I meant." Batman grumbles out while turning around, the Dark-Angel chasing after him. "Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn are both still at large and haven't made a single move since getting out." Batman states flatly while reaching into his cape and then handing a file over to Batgirl.

"Okay… so as per usual you're leaving it to me to track them both down…" Batgirl guesses and the nod from the Dark-Knight is the only answer she needs. "Great, this'll be just like old times." Batgirl muses with a look on her face that says she'd much rather do anything else than look for the psycho blond and plant obsessed red head.

"You're the one who wanted to be a "Plucky Sidekick"…" Batman reminds the girl and she grimaces, wishing she'd chosen her words better when she was younger. "However, them being out isn't the problem, the problem is they haven't done anything in the recent crime wave besides letting all of those Arkham Inmates loose." Batman reminds, causing Batgirl to stop and frown.

"Right. That is weird, and no attempts to find Joker by Harley either…" She notes while jumping off the building with Batman, both landing in the Batmobile as its tank like cover comes over both of them. "So what do you think they're planning?" Batgirl questions and the Dark-Knight narrows his eyes for a moment.

"According to Penguin, they were looking for transport out of Gotham. By now, I'd say they're long gone…" Batman replies with a deep frown on his face, causing Batgirl to blink in surprise.

"What? But where else would they go?" She asks, seeing as most criminals stay in one city to "Play the game" with the resident hero.

"Not sure, but Two-Bit should be able to fill in the blanks." Batman replies and Batgirl grimaces once more. She had to wonder how Two-Bit had managed to gain his vast Spy network, though heard his hearing was so good he'd listened to Criminals while they plotted and schemed, then used this information and slowly managed to build up his empire.

"So what does he want this time?" Batgirl asks and the Dark-Knight points to a black bundle beside of them. "But that's…" Batgirl starts to say with shock and Batman nods his head.

"He's wanted it for a long time. Looks like he finally gets to have it." Batman notes and Batgirl shakes her head before leaning forward and strapping the bundle to her lower back while the Batmobile heads for Two-Bit's home…

--

(Tartarus HQ…)

Naruto and Raven both appear in the Tartarus Living Room, both noting that someone was sitting on the couch and watching TV. However, it was the fact that neither of them had ever seen her before. "Yo…" The girl offers with a rising of her left hand and Naruto arches a brow.

"Who are you?" Naruto asks and the girl turns to him before tilting her head to one side with a raised brow.

"Why do you have one of the Teen-Titans with you… and who are you?" She asks and Naruto twitches while crossing his arms.

"Red-X… and because she's my girlfriend." He states with a frown and Dani blinks for a moment then looks at him, then Raven and lingers on the older girl.

"You look like Sam…" She notes while pointing to Raven, making her arch a brow in response. "Oh, sorry. My name is Dani, with an I, Phantom." Dani offers with a grin and holds her hand towards a confused Naruto. "Jinx is my "Adopted" big sister." Dani offers in explanation, since for all rights and purposes Jinx would be her big sister thanks to Snake.

"I didn't know Jinx had any adopted relatives…" Naruto states suspiciously, just in time for the said Pinkette to walk into the room, frowning deeply and without her holographic disguise. "Yo Jinx, what's with bringing the kid here, and where did the others head off to?" Naruto asks and Jinx blinks before looking to Dani and rubs her face.

"Snake asked me to take her in, said he'd give us some government tech to do it… As for the guys, they took Blackfire out to a club, Duela is somewhere around the base, and Mammoth is sleeping, and Gizmo is working in his lab. I decided not to bug any of them about meeting Dani and let her watch some TV." She explains to her blond leader and Naruto raises a brow in response.

"Alright… That makes some sense about where the guys ran off too… Kind of hope Blackfire isn't too much of a party animal though." Naruto muses then hopes and Raven shakes her head, feeling somewhat sorry that the Tartarus males have to deal with "The Queen of the Galaxy". "But still, Snake's a cop… and he's letting a band of known thieves take in an impressionable young girl… while also giving us government tech to do crimes with… Do the words "Does Not Computer" mean anything to you?" Naruto asks and Dani snickers into her hands, a smile formed over her face.

"I said the same thing." Dani offers the older teen and Naruto reaches up to rub his face, then looks to Raven and sees an amused look on her face.

"What's so damn amusing, Kara-Chan?" He asks his girlfriend and she chuckles.

"Oh nothing." She offers while Dani then flips over the couch and hovers in the air before a now shocked and wide eyed Raven. "Is she Tameranian or something?" Raven asks while Naruto blinks in surprise, then grins, adding another flying member to his mental roster for Tartarus.

"Nope. Part ghost." Dani offers and the connection clicks in Raven's mind seconds later, making her grimace.

"Are you related to Danny…" She starts only to stop when Dani snarls and her eyes flair a luminescent green color.

"Do NOT finish that sentence!" She warns while poking Raven in the chest and the dark Titan gives her a look.

"Alright, I think that's enough hostility." Naruto says suddenly and Dani huffs and crosses her arms. "Okay so what all can you do by being part ghost?" Naruto then asks the young girl and Dani blinks before looking at him with a smirk.

"First of all, I'm a thief and I like doing that. But I absolutely HATE the thought of being a hero OR a villain for different reasons." Dani offers and Naruto smirks, finding something he can agree on with the girl already! "Add onto that I am part ghost, thus I can walk through walls, disappear, and fly, manipulate my Ghost Energy into different shapes, forms, and attacks and I'm a force to be reckoned with!" Dani offers with a grin and Naruto is silent for a moment a thoughtful expression on his face.

'_Alright, lets see now… I've got a girl here, who can walk through walls, turn invisible, fly, and manipulate energy into attacks. She's also a tomboy from her actions, or at least less feminine than Jinx or Kara-Chan… add onto that she hates both the Hero and Villain ways and… Oh yeah, I can work with this.'_ Naruto thinks to himself as an idea suddenly comes to mind, a wide grin stretching over his features as it does.

"Walk through walls, Disappear, Fly, and Manipulate you ghost energy into attacks, huh…? Oh I think I know what I'm going to do with you! C'mon we got work to do Imouto!" Naruto says while grabbing one of Dani's arms and pulling her with him and making the girl give a startled yelp as he does, Raven and Jinx both blinking once the two are gone.

"Did I just hear him call her 'little sister'?" Jinx wonders and Raven decides not to think on it before flying after them. "Hey! Wait up!" Jinx says as she rushes after her crush, Sister, and rival…

--

(??)

Batgirl sighs to herself as she drops down into Two-Bit's home through the skylight in his study. According to rumor, he had had it made when Batman started showing up at his place for information and didn't want to replace any windows. Looking around, she frowned upon seeing that the man was gone… "Ah Batgirl, I was wondering when you'd come…" The said former thief announces while walking into the room from what appears to be his bedroom. Closing the door behind him, Two-Bit then reaches up to loosen his tie and cracks his neck.

"So then, what can I do for Gotham's Dark-Angel tonight?" Two-Bit questions while giving a curt, mocking bow and loosening his cuffs at the same time Batgirl merely frowning in response. The man can't see, Batgirl is painfully aware of this after seeing his eyes burned from his head with acid, but his hearing was supposedly as good as a bats was now.

"Harley and Ivy escaped from Gotham recently. They also let loose several other inmates during their initial escape." Batgirl replies while walking over to Two-Bit, standing in front of him while the man nods his head for a moment before turning and sitting down in a chair. "But I suppose you already knew that, didn't you?" Batgirl then comments while crossing her arms and Two-Bit shrugs his shoulders, the tiniest of smirks formed over his face.

"So what do you want? Surely you didn't come just to find out if I knew or not? After all, I am Two-Bit… and I'm sertain you've captured most of those escapee's, though I hear Two-Face managed to make a grand escape…" The man reminds then muses to himself and Batgirl reaches up to rub her eyes for a moment, and then cross her arms over her chest.

"Where did Harley and Ivy run off to? Besides Gotham, neither of them have anywhere else to go." The woman questions then reminds and Two-Bit hums for a moment before smiling towards her.

"Payment." He states and Batgirl twitches while reaching to a pack that was strapped to her lower back. Pulling it off, she reveals a black bundle, which she then unfolds revealing it to be the cape and cowl of Batman… a spare one sure, but still worth more than a mint to some avid collectors.

"Why do you even want that? You already have one of his Utility belts and more than half of his gadgets in your stash. Not to mention one of my belts, one of Robins, some of Huntress, Spoiler, and Batwoman's stuff and just as much of our own crap… So do you really need anymore Bat type paraphernalia?" Batgirl questions curiously, though obviously a little annoyed with him, while Two-Bit reaches out to take the mask and cape gently, holding it in his hands for a moment before shaking his head.

"To tell the truth, when I was young I was a fan of Batman, even wanted to meet him someday." Two-Bit offers while standing up and makes his way over to a safe in the wall. Leaning towards it and listening, Two-Bit opens the safe before placing the Cape and Cowl away.

"If you were such a fan of Batman, why become a thief… Silence?" Batgirl questions while using Two-Bit's original name, the former thief smiling and shaking his head as she does.

"I guess… I got tired of waiting and decided to go out and meet him face to face. And though I never did, I did get to play with you and your old "Birds of Prey" for a good long while." Two-Bit offers with an amused grin and Batgirl frowns. _'So he decided to "Play the Game" as well… figures…'_ She inwardly muses to herself while then crossing her arms and giving the former thief a look.

"Alright, you've got one more bat themed knickknack for your collection. Now where are Harley and Ivy heading Two-Bit?" Batgirl questions while crossing her arms and Two-Bit reaches up and rubs his chin for a moment.

"I'm guessing that Batman is still looking for Two-Face since you're the one to come here." He muses and Batgirl frowns, knowing he couldn't see her. "Well anyways, and straight to the point. My sources claim that Harley is heading for Jump-City with Poison Ivy in tow." Two-Bit offers and Batgirl grimaces as the former Thief rubs his chin for a moment. "I believe that a mister "Red-X" left a note to Harley, saying to "Drop in" if she was ever in tone, and maybe they both might want to pay Robin a little visit as well." He offers to the Dark-Angel and Batgirl frowns before nodding her head.

"Thanks for the Information." Batgirl offers while making her way out of a window, Two-Bit sighing as she does…

"Honestly, does no one ever come to see me just to visit anymore?" He wonders mostly of himself then shrugs his shoulders and makes his way over to a mini-bar…

--

TBC…

--

AN: Jinx in the original Teen Titans is an East Indian Sorceress and her real name is never given. So I decided to give her counterpart some back-story, here she's half and her father was named Mannx.


	31. The Apprentice

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

**Chapter 30**: **The Apprentice**…

--

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

--

(Tartarus HQ…)

Naruto watched Dani fly around his Holo-Room with a smirk on his face. The Holo-Room had taken on a new shape as per-usual, for one, the area around them looked to be a recreation of the Forest of Death. Also, several giant bugs and other such creatures were flying around, trying to Attack Dani, the black haired girl laughing as she dodged and weaved in and out of them, causing them to comically bash into one another and the many trees around them. _'Flying looks like it's fun… I wonder if I could try something similar with a little Wind Chakra or…'_ Naruto mused then started to think only to be broken from his thoughts by Jinx's voice.

"What's going on here?" She asks with a frown, Raven beside her watching Dani fly around while they walk into the room. Upon seeing the two Naruto blinks then rubs the back of his neck and gives a nervous grin in response.

"Just checking out her skill level…" Naruto replies while Dani forms a ball of green energy into her hands and fires it at a nearby bug, smashing it instantly. Looking around, the girl then sees several more insects head her way and yawns while becoming transparent, the bugs and beasts slamming into one another as she casually floated out of the mess of beasts and then laid out in the air as if reclining while floating slowly towards Naruto and the two grey skinned girls.

"You know, I like this room. It's a sci-fi geeks dream come true! Tucker would absolutely love it!" Dani suddenly says before looking to Naruto with a grin. "So. What did you think?" She then asks with a smile and Naruto hums in thought, stroking his chin for a moment before smirking.

"First of all, work on your concentration, Computer Freeze." Naruto comments before ordering, Dani blinking before slowly turning around and paling upon seeing a thirty-foot tall giant snake, it's teeth inches away from her…

"Oh… yeah, I think I'll work on that…" Dani says lowly, skin paler than normal with her eyes wide and Naruto chuckles lightly in response.

"Don't worry, I had the same problem at your age." Naruto offers and Dani twitches for a moment.

"And how old do you think I am?" She asks with an annoyed frown and Naruto frowns in thought while looking at her.

"Twelve, maybe thirteen." He offers and she grits her teeth.

"Try FOURTEEN." She growls out and Naruto raises a brow, making her cross her arms and pout. "I'm short for my age okay!" She says indignantly and Naruto bites his lower lip, an amused expression on his face. _'Seriously? I had the same problem! Man, if this girl's a prankster as well I'm getting some blood tests done to see if I somehow had a female clone made.'_ Naruto thinks to himself before rolling his eyes and casually wrapping his arms behind his head.

"Don't give me that look, kid. I was short at your age too, so trust me when I say you'll grow out of it." Naruto states and Dani gives him a look before floating into the air and crossing her legs under her with a bored / annoyed look directed at him.

"Alright, now what?" She asks and Naruto has to refrain from gaping at the girl. _'Seriously! She just channeled Kara-Chan! Forget clone, maybe future Daughter or something like that… it's happened before after all.'_ Naruto thinks to himself, having heard of a few Super-Heroes meeting up with their kids after they were somehow sent backwards in time…

"Now I want you to slow down and show me your energy manipulation. I have a similar ability and I want to see if they're similar enough for me to teach you a few tricks with it. Chakra Shaping IS one of my specialties after all." Naruto explains and Dani scrunches up her face before holding a hand to the side, closing all but her index finger down, Dani then closed one eye and fired a beam of green energy at a nearby tree. The blast hit, slightly scorching it and making Dani turn to him with a smirk.

"There." She offers and Naruto nods his head slowly, holds up a single finger and looks at it for a moment. _'Hmm… I wonder if I could condense the Rasengan or Rasenshuriken down do that size? Might be an interesting experiment at the very least.'_ Naruto thinks to himself before looking at Dani.

"What else?" He asks and Dani opens her hand, palm up and closes her eyes for a few moments. Seconds later, a swirling ball of glowing green energy formed into her hand, Naruto's eyes bolting open in surprise. "That looks like my Rasengan…" Naruto notes, Jinx gaping at the similarities while Raven flies over and looks at it.

"No. It's more unstable." She notes seeing the wildly arching pattern of energy within the sphere of energy.

"Oh? How so?" Naruto asks curiously, wondering if he could form a similar attack given the energy manipulation didn't look too hard.

"Take a look. The energy isn't swirling, it's wrapping around a much small sphere." Raven replies and Naruto thinks of a mini-Kaiten around the Rasengan, which makes him get an idea of how exactly it worked. _'Alright, the attack starts off with a small orb of condensed energy, then, she places layers of swirling energy over it to keep it from leaking. Upon throwing the energy, it spirals into a "Beam" where it then explodes on contact rather than grinding into you… nice, I'll have to see if I can make my own version of that.'_ Naruto notes to himself once more, putting said idea onto a backburner while then looking to Jinx.

"Anything you want to add?" He asks and Jinx blinks for a moment.

"Not really. But I have to say, I almost thought she used your Rasengan." Jinx offers and Naruto nods his head, Dani raising a brow towards him.

"Rasengan?" She asks and Naruto nods his head, holds up his right hand and forms the technique causing Dani to gape. "Whoa…" She whispers and Naruto grins before then dispersing the Rasengan.

"That is a Technique created by my father, unfortunately it's only useful if you can hit your target with it. I improved it by making a version that utilized wind and another version you could throw. Later on, I made a larger version of the technique and then an even larger one than that still. Those are the Odama Rasengan (Big Ball Swirling Sphere) and the Dai-Odama Rasengan (Great Big Ball Swirling Sphere)." Naruto explains and Raven wonders what those two can do when compared to the average Rasengan… though given his use of the attack she can't help feel they were more for destroying things than anything else.

"Cool!" Dani says with a grin, practically buzzing with excitement. "So what am I going to learn then?" Dani asks and Naruto crosses his arms for a moment, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"First, do you have any other abilities?" He asks and Dani nods, flying into the air she holds her right foot out and a glowing ball of energy forms at it, Naruto gaping. "Shit… even I've never thought to do that…" Naruto says before Dani kicks with her leg, an arc of energy flying from her foot and cutting a tree, causing it to fall down and making Naruto look at her strangely. Dani merely giggles at his look before quickly flying up into the air where she holds her hands out and fires a pair of blasts from them, slamming them into a tree.

"That was like a more focused version of a Tameranian's Starbolts." Raven notes and Naruto nods his head in agreement.

"Oh, I got more than those!" Dani says while then forming a green swirling dome like field around her body, Raven's brows arching in surprise.

"Seems similar to that "Kaiten" thing you mentioned the Hyuuga using, right?" Raven asks and the gaping jaw Naruto has is all the answer she needs. "Thought so." Raven mutters while Dani then brings the dome down and forms a glowing green shield like barrier in front of herself, Raven twitching while Jinx smirks.

"That one is like one of Raven's own shields." She notes seeing as it was not omni-directional unlike the first one, but probably more stable and durable than the dome like version. As soon as she was done with that, Dani licked her lips and held her hands at her sides. Forming two spheres into them she then clasped her hands over the spheres, a pair of green energy blades forming in her hands, which she then used to slash around the air with…

"Nice one that would be so useful if I can make a version of it with Chakra…" Naruto says with a nod of his head before watching Dani absorb the energy of the two blades and then hold her left hand to the side, closing one eye while concentrating, forming a glowing green field of energy over her arm that seemed to solidify into a green armored gauntlet with claws… "Whoa!" Naruto offers while Dani shakes her head and floats to the ground, placing her gauntleted hand to her head. "You okay?" Naruto asks with concern and Dani nods her head slowly.

"I think I jus used too much energy. I'll be fine in a bit and at least I'm not melting like I used to when I used too much power." Dani offers while sitting down and Naruto's eyes bolt open.

"MELT! Why the hell would you melt, Imouto?" He demands loudly and Dani blinks then slowly nods her head with a grimace.

"I'm a Clone of "Danny Phantom" hence why I absolutely HATE being compared to him… I'm NOT his shadow after all!" Dani grumbles out and Naruto nods his head, knowing how it felt to have someone's shadow always hovering over him… "Anyways, the guy who made me used damaged DNA. He couldn't salvage the Y-Chromosome or something when he made me, thus I was a born as a girl. When he noticed this he released me early, so I was only twelve by that time in his incubation tank, hence why I'm younger than my original." Dani explains while sitting down and Raven frowns while crossing her arms.

"You were unstable." She states rather than asks and Dani slowly nods her head. "What happened?" She then asks with a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Danny used some junk that supercharged my ghost half, I haven't really felt weak or drained since, though I do still get tired." Dani explained and Naruto frowned while he and Raven looked to one another, then walked over to Dani and grabbed her. "Hey! Where are we going?!" Dani demands and Naruto looks at her flatly.

"Boosting your powers like that wouldn't fix the instability. I should know I make Clones all the time with a special energy technique, they're also unstable, but they're supposed to be like that and go out with a single hit. If what your saying is true, all that should have happened was a boost in power before you'd start to melt again. Something is fishy and I want to know what." Naruto explains and Dani pales, having never considered that part of her stabilization a factor since nothing had happened since.

"Let's see Giz, he's in his lab and has all the equipment we'll need." Jinx offers and Naruto nods his head, walking down the halls he then turns into Gizmo's lab and the Tiny-Terror sighs.

"I heard it on the monitoring devices, sit the Shit-Stain down somewhere…" Gizmo says and Naruto sees a view of the Holo-room on one of his monitors…

"Talk about being paranoid…" Naruto mumbles while releasing Dani, letting her sit down, her body twitching with worry. Turning around, Gizmo got down from his seat and muttered under his breath, walking over to the girl with a brush he pulled it through her hair, nodding he then pulled a long black hair from the brush and walked back to his seat, Dani blinking.

"That's it?" She asks incredulously and Gizmo smirks.

"It is if I'm right, Shit-Stain." He says, confusing those present as he then places the hair into a scanner, then watches as a view of its DNA comes up on screen. It looked like a average Double-Helix at a passing glance, only several spaces of it were replaced with odd green parts. "And it looks like I was right…" He muses while rubbing his chin, Dani and the others looking to him for an explanation. "Huh, or right. She's fine, her DNA was stabilized alright." He offers and Dani breathes out a relieved sigh.

"But how?" Naruto asks with a confused frown and Gizmo sighs.

"Ectoplasm is the element discovered to be the makeup of most "Ghosts". The shit works by absorbing memories and emotions from deceased humans, and it is actually partly sentient. Thus the angrier, sadder, or so on and so on a human is when he or she dies, the more powerful the ghost is, though it doesn't mean that person's memories or personality will carry on, more like the Ectoplasm develops one of its own. Basically, when her "Dad" supped up her Ghost Form, it absorbed her will to live on into itself as well. This caused a reaction in the Ectoplasm, since it is partially alive it wanted to live on as well, thus allowing it to bond more completely to her DNA and thus fixing the problems it had in the first place to stabilize her." Gizmo explains flatly while looking over the DNA, then frowns in thought.

"That ALSO explains why she can use her powers so well in her "Human form" unlike Danny Phantom himself. She's practically more ghost than human, thus allowing her powers to generate easily in either form. Basically, she's a lucky little bitch who should be a puddle right now, but like I said she was lucky." Gizmo then muses mostly to himself while Jinx looks at him strangely.

"Where the hell did you learn all that shit?" She asks and Gizmo sighs.

"I read up on Ectoplasm on "" and then did a few scans to see what was going on alright!" He grumbles out and Dani twitches, though is thankful it solved why she wasn't a puddle of goop by now.

"So what… I'm normal?" Dani asks and Gizmo makes an Eh sound.

"More like Two-Thirds ghost rather than half. Like I said, that's why its so easy for you to use your powers in either form, your "Human" part is so minor that you've got Ectoplasm running even in your human bloodstream. This allows you to store even more power than ever and use them in your human form. At least that's what I figure is going on with you, Shit-Stain." He replies and Dani gapes, and then blinks as that actually registers in her mind.

"Meaning… I'm NOT a genetic copy of my dad anymore?" She asks and Gizmo nods his head slowly, the girl suddenly flying up through the roof happily and laughing to herself while loudly chanting, "I'm not a clone!" to herself over and over as she does.

"Well someone sure is happy about this… especially considering the fact she's more dead than alive." Naruto notes and Raven gives him a look in response.

"How would you feel to constantly be in your parents shadow?" She reminds and Naruto grimaces in response.

"I kind of was…" He reminds, causing Raven to wince.

"Sorry." She offers and Naruto rolls his eyes.

"No problem, but how do we get her down?" Naruto asks humorously and gets a series of shrugs from his three companions. Seconds later, Dani flies into the room and hugs Gizmo tightly, twirling him around for a moment before flying to Raven and hugging her, doing the same to Jinx, and finally Naruto before back flipping and landing in her seat, a wide smile on her face. "Alright… at least you didn't start dancing or kissing anyone…" Naruto notes and Dani blinks for a moment before blushing brightly.

"Actually I did, there was this weird girl in makeup on the roof." She offers and Naruto grimaces as the said, "Weird Girl" AKA Duela flips into the room, Jinx screaming bloody murder at seeing her "Joker's Daughter" persona and hiding behind him with wide eyes, Raven biting her lip to keep from laughing while Gizmo and Dani feel no such compulsion and laugh outright.

"What?" Duela asks while looking around and Naruto sighs.

"Jinx is terrified of clowns thanks to Joker." Naruto offers and Duela makes an Oh with her mouth before grinning widely.

"Yeah, dad has that affect on people don't he." She notes and Jinx twitches while continuing to hide behind Naruto with wide eyes. "So whose this little cutie?" Duela then asks while patting Dani on the head, the young teen frowning as she does.

"My name is Dani, with an I," Dani states and Duela blinks before grinning.

"Well hello then Dani with an I, I'm Duela! The Joker's Daughter!" Duela offers with a grand bow, still grinning and Dani looks over to Naruto.

"Is it legal for crazy's like the Joker to even HAVE children?" She questions seriously and Naruto sighs.

"Duela's bipolar and… ah to hell with it, she's not REALLY the Joker's Daughter she's just crazy alright. She even escaped from Arkham once…" Naruto offers and Duela nods her head with a wide smile, Jinx still hiding behind her leader, Raven twitching at that tidbit while Dani looked her up and down.

"Is it just me seeing this, or all the psychotic crazy women of the world just born hot?" Dani then asks seriously and Naruto blinks before taking a thoughtful expression.

"Duela, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Tayuya, Karin, and Anko… yeah, more or less." Naruto muses while ticking off fingers before nodding his head to Dani.

"Figures." Dani says to herself while Raven clears her throat.

"As interesting as that is, me and Naruto have a date." Raven reminds the blond and he grins nervously.

"Right. Sorry Kara-Chan. Giz, see about making a costume for Dani would ya?" Naruto asks and Gizmo looks at the girl before nodding his head. "Thanks man." Naruto then offers before holding a hand to Raven. "So, ready?" He then asks and Raven nods her head, pulling them both into the shadows of her cloak as the vanish…

"Man, I love that power! Even if it IS really similar to what the guy who made me could do!" Dani says while Jinx suddenly hides behind her while looking fearfully towards Duela, the said girl still grinning widely and trying to bite back laughter at the expression on the pinkette's face…

--

(Titans Tower…)

Robin sits in his room, looking over the information on the Konoha Ninja's with a frown. _'Damn… I thought once we got rid of Slade things would slow down… instead things are steadily getting worse.'_ Robin thinks to himself before looking to the side of his desk, to a case with his R symbol emblazoned on the front. _'Maybe it's time I take up a new mantle… I've been the "Boy" Wonder for so long now that it's almost ridiculous… and the constant nicknames are getting annoying.'_ Robin thinks to himself while looking at the case, and then shakes his head when a light flashes on his computer.

Raising a brow at the bright and bold "Incoming Transmission" on his computer, Robin accepts it and is rewarded by seeing a familiar grinning redheads face. "Barb?" He asks with shock and Batgirl chuckles before giving him an amused look.

"Long time no see Rich, how are things with you?" The older red head asks and Robin quickly shakes his head before grinning at his childhood partner in crime fighting.

"You know, same as ever, we got a band of Ninja down here trying to capture the boyfriend of one of my teammates for one reason or another." Robin offers casually and Batgirl rolls her eyes, since in their business that really could be considered normal.

"Well I got good news, bad news, and worse news for you if that's the case." Batgirl suddenly says and Robin blinks before sighing tiredly, placing a hand to his head as he does.

"Bad news first, Barb…" He offers and Batgirl gives him an apologetic look.

"Harley Quinn is on her way to, or already in Jump-City." She offers and Robin twitches before slamming his head into his desk, groaning as he does so.

"Worse news?" He asks and Barb grimaces.

"She has Poison Ivy with her." She offers and Robin grunts once more, then reaches up to rub his eyes, frowning as he does so.

"Alright, then what's the good news?" He asks and Batgirl smirks slightly.

"Go look out your window." She offers and Robin raises a brow before doing as told. Walking over to his window he looks out of it and sees something heading for the Tower. Narrowing his eyes he blinks upon seeing the Bat-Wing and then walks back over to his computer. "Surprise Rich, the good news is that I'm also coming to town." Batgirl says with an amused grin and Robin chuckles while crossing his arms.

"Guess this'll be like old times then, huh Barb? Me and you working together again." He asks then muses, reminiscing his old times in Gotham with Batgirl and Batman for a moment, Batgirl shrugging her shoulders in response.

"Not really. Now we won't have a certain oversized bat we both know to deal with." She reminds and Robin slowly nods his head, though almost wishes his mentor would make an appearance and help him deal with those Ninja… ALMOST being the key word there.

"Right. What's your ETA?" Robin asks and Batgirl looks at her instruments for a moment then grins.

"About ten minutes give or take, also I might need to refuel when I land." Batgirl offers and Robin nods his head.

"No problem, Barb." Robin says and Batgirl winks at the young leader of the Titans.

"Could you be sure not to let your friends know I'm there, I want it to be a REAL surprise for them when I show up." Batgirl then says with a certain sparkle in her eyes, Robin laughing for a moment before nodding his head.

"Sure thing, I could actually use a good laugh at the guys expense anyways." Robin muses, though inwardly wonders how Starfire will react to Batgirl… given her track record and his history with Batgirl, not very well was a thought…

"Thanks Rich, this is Batgirl, signing out." Batgirl says while the screen she had been in vanishes and Robin smiles for the first time in what feels like weeks. _'Barb hasn't changed… And I actually get to work with her on a case again… yeah… I think that might be nice, setting out on my own has been nice and all, but I sometimes forget I still have some backup to call when things get rough.'_ Robin reminds himself before stopping and turning to a newspaper clipping on his wall, a smirk spreading over his face.

"Right… Bruce?" He asks while looking at a shadowed silhouette of The Batman himself in the picture…

--

(Tartarus HQ…)

Dani is sitting in Gizmo's lab, Duela and Jinx had wandered off but from the screams and laughter, they figured Duela was "Playing" with Jinx. "She really is crazy isn't she…" Dani notices and Gizmo nods his head in agreement.

"So did you ever wear a Costume before this, Shit Stain?" Gizmo suddenly asks and Dani blinks before nodding her head.

"I did but it's a little tight in the chest and hips now, as well as too small on me…" Dani offers and Gizmo twitches before looking at her, seeing a playful twinkle in her eyes as he does.

"Oh great, you're a prankster too… I swear you'll fit in with us so well its scary." Gizmo muses while shaking his head and Dani blinks.

"Really? Why do you say that?" She asks and Gizmo sighs once more.

"We're all thieves, we're all teens, we're all pranksters, we're all wearing costumes and most of us have powers too… What do you think Bitch?" He offers and Dani made an Oh with her mouth before blinking and smiling.

"Oh yeah… I never actually thought I'd even fit in… well, anywhere." Dani admits with a smile over her lips and Gizmo snots in response.

"Think about it Shit-Stain, I'm a bald Midget with an IQ of 210 and I manage to fit in. Mammoth is an Australian with hair all over him, a cast iron stomach, and the strength of twelve men. Jinx is a half Indian with powers over bad luck and grey skin. We also got an alien princess, a guy who can talk to himself without being crazy, though that's actually debatable, a teleporting teen with red eyes, a guy with one big eye, and a military teen who has super strength. And last but not least, Red-X or Tempest is a Ninja with skills in energy manipulation… I think just about ANYONE would fit in just fine here." He reminds and Dani looks at him before nodding her head.

"Now change into your ghost form, I know Danny Phantom has one thanks to the Internet so I need to see yours. It MIGHT have started growing faster than you if nothing else due to you being two thirds ghost." Gizmo orders and Dani frowns before doing as told, her body glowing before a pair of black and white rings formed over her body to change her form.

Now what was left was a girl even more pale than Dani, her eyes a bright emerald green, her hair was just as long as it was before, only now it was snow white in color, add on her lips had turned green and she had some slight black circles lining around her eyes and the white luminescent glow around her body and she hadn't really changed much. Her clothes however, he noticed looked to be slightly stretched on her frame, with her biting her lip from obvious pain as the shirt seemed to be painfully tight.

Her clothes started with a pair of white boots, mostly covered by a pair of baggy black pants with white stripes along the sides, next was a shirt that left her midriff exposed it was white from her right shoulder down her arm, white around her collar, and had a white ghostly DP mark on the chest, while the rest of the shirt was black, her right glove was black, and her left glove was white.

Barely batting a lash, Gizmo reached to the side and used a familiar device, a field going over her form to get her measurements. "Alright you can change back to what you call "normal" now…" He offers and Dani does so quickly, very happy to be back to normal. Once she was, Gizmo scanned her again to get her lower legs data since her costume had mostly covered them from the scanner.

"Okay… so now what?" Dani asked the boy and Gizmo looked at what he had to work with.

"Your short for your age, Shit stain…" He notes and Dani twitches.

"So are you…" She reminds and Gizmo gave her a fierce look.

"Yeah, and I have missiles with me!" He reminds and Dani smirks.

"I'm part ghost, I'll just phase through them." She states while crossing her arms and Gizmo frowns.

"Alright, enough witty banter…" Gizmo grumbles and Dani pouts.

"But I LIKE witty banter!" She says and Gizmo twitches, inwardly wondering how she keeps channeling Naruto's personality.

"Right. Anyways, any preferences for you costume, notes or things you want?" Gizmo asks and Dani frowns while floating up into the air.

"Maybe alter the "DP" on it so I can have my own, and I'd like it to be just as durable as the old one." She admits and Gizmo nods his head.

"Would you mind terribly if I gave it a mask?" He asked and Dani thought about it before shaking her head.

"Go ahead, my dad never did for reasons I cannot comprehend but I'd MUCH rather have one so certain people won't ever recognize me." She responds and Gizmo nods while typing on his computer, a new variation of her costume with numerous changes coming up. "It barely looks like my old one…" She notes while looking over his shoulder and Gizmo nods his head.

"You don't want to be in either fathers' shadow, so I'm not basing it after the design your creator used, or on your "Dad's" outfit." He replies and Dani slowly smiles, thanking him silently so he wouldn't get a big head.

"So when will it be done?" She asks and Gizmo looks at the designs and then rubs his chin for a moment.

"Since its not like X's suit, which takes anywhere between days to weeks to make, it should only take a couple hours for my machines to produce it for you, Shit-Stain." The Tiny-Terror replies and Dani looks at him with obvious surprise.

"That fast?" She asks and Gizmo snorts.

"Yeah. The way I make costumes is simplified since I don't have the skill to sew or anything. My machine uses the measurements and data I got with that last device, calculates your exact body structure, and then makes clothing based off of that. The machine can make a normal "HazMat" suit like your dad wears in about an hour's time." Gizmo replies and Dani looks at him in surprise before nodding her head slowly and sitting back, both blinking when they see Jinx run by the door to the lab, a giggling Duela following after her soon after…

"Why is she chasing her?" Dani asks and Gizmo sighs.

"Don't know… but she IS crazy remember…" Gizmo reminds and Dani nods her head before then stretching and leaning back in her seat, waiting for her new costume to finally be ready so she could get out of the old one…

"You didn't put any of your camera's in any of the bathrooms in this place did you?" Dani suddenly asks the Tiny-Terror suspiciously and Gizmo blinks before looking at her strangely.

"Why? Interested in watching videos of Jinx, Blackfire, and Duela or something like that?" He quips with a smirk and Dani blushes fire red before glaring at him.

"Regardless if I might, I meant are their any in the bathroom so you can't watch me!" She states with her arms crossed and Gizmo blinks before rolling his eyes.

"I live with three very violent women that could kick my ass from here to Gotham and back, so in the name of and because of my need for self preservation, no I don't do that." Gizmo grumbles out angrily and Dani blinks before nodding her head and then leaning back to close her eyes…

--

(With Naruto…)

The blond haired thief is lying next to Raven on a hill outside of Jump-City, the couple looking up to the stars. "Ahh… now this is the life…" Naruto says while cracking his neck and Raven silently nods her head. The two had been to her Café earlier, Raven and Naruto both noting Neji's absence from his job. "I wonder how long this will last…" Naruto mumbles and Raven turns her head to see him and raises a brow in response.

"What do you mean?" She asks and Naruto smiles before looking upwards once more and sighs.

"I wonder how long until the Konoha-Flunkies do something really stupid and I have to really hurt them." He replies and Raven frowns before leaning her head onto his shoulder and silently breathing in.

"Don't think about it. The Future comes soon enough…" She whispers and Naruto smiles before placing and arm over her shoulders and leans his own head onto hers while looking to the sky.

"Your wise beyond your years, Kara-Chan." Naruto notes and Raven smirks.

"Considering the company I normally have, that's to be expected." She replies, considering she was sometimes the main voice of reason among raving lunatics back at the Tower.

"Heh, true. Although the Kid isn't as bad as BB, Star, or Cy." Naruto notes and Raven nods her head slowly.

"But he can still be pretty wild." She replies and Naruto doesn't doubt that. "So how is Blackfire? I forgot to ask earlier." Raven asks her boyfriend and Naruto is silent for a moment.

"She's fine more or less. I'm guessing that most of the guys took her out dancing cause she was moping around. None of them will admit to it, but we look out for our own pretty much like family. Gizmo is trying to fix her armor, but he's missing one final piece that's hard to find." Naruto explains and Raven nods her head before deciding she didn't want to know anymore. "It's too bad we can't do this more often." Naruto muses and Raven smiles faintly while looking to the older blond.

"True, but that makes it more special." She notes and Naruto nods his head in agreement with the purple haired teen. Silently, the two continue to look to the stars, Naruto wondering what was going to happen next…

--

(Tartarus HQ…)

Jinx silently crept out of her hiding spot, creeping her way down a hall while making sure Duela was nowhere in sight. She knew it was irrational to be so completely afraid of Duela, and that most likely Duela wasn't even related to the Joker. But to be perfectly honest with herself, she really didn't care, clowns were just scary and she didn't want to be face to face with Duela anytime soon when she was in her "Joker's Daughter" train of thought. Looking around silently, Jinx made her way towards Gizmo's workshop when a pair of slender arms wrapped around her waist.

"Hey Jinx, I found you!" Duela offers with a giggle and Jinx screams, though Duela somehow manages to hold her, showing strength she normally wouldn't have before comically falling back and bringing the Pinkette with her. "Awe c'mon Jinx, what's so scary about a cute lil' clown girl like me?" Duela asks sweetly and Jinx turns to look at her, seeing bright red hair, painted red lips, painted white skin with black around her nearly glowing violet eyes…

"Y-your a clown! I HATE CLOWNS!!" Jinx shouts while trying to extricate herself from the crazed clown girls hold on her, Duela laughing loudly as she does so.

Elsewhere, Gizmo rubbed his temples upon hearing the racket, Dani's costume was done and she'd left to find a room to change into it in, thus leaving Gizmo to his own devices at long last. _'Why the fuck does Jinx have to be such a screamer? Ugh… bad thought.'_ Gizmo can't help but wonder then think to himself with a grimace while looking at his computer, then sighs while continuing his search for the final piece he needs to fix Blackfire's armor.

"Lets see now… Axion Labs? No… Wayne Inc? No… STAR labs? No… Lex-Corp… Bingo!" Gizmo says then silences himself and pales, Lex-Corp, of all places it just HAD to be Lex Luther's big business, didn't it!

Meanwhile, a familiar black bird made of ebony energy appears in Naruto's room, and then forms back into the shape of Raven and Naruto, the blond yawning. "Thanks for the lift Kara-Chan." Naruto says before leaning forward to kiss her cheek, Raven blushing in response. "See you tomorrow?" The blond asks and Raven nods her head with a small smile before then vanishing into thin air, leaving the blond to his own devices. Nodding her head once she was gone, Naruto made his way out of the room, then walked to Gizmo's lab and saw him banging his head into his desk.

"I take it something bad has come up." Naruto notes and Gizmo grunts.

"Lex-Corp… the thing I need to fully fix Blackfire's armor is in Lex-corp!" He says before slamming his head back into his desk and Naruto frowns while remembering an earlier trip into a Lex-Corp facility, namely, the warehouse he got that Xinothiam Scanner from…

"So do you know if the part is in a Lex-Corp facility here in Jump?" Naruto asks and Gizmo sits up and rubs his face.

"Yeah, that's the only GOOD news I've got…" He replies and Naruto reaches up and rubs his chin for a moment. Slowly, the blond thief gets an idea and smirks while crossing his arms.

"Giz, get Duela, Jinx and Dani, we're going on a heist tonight." Naruto orders simply before turning on his heel and walking back to his room to get his suit.

"What about Mammoth? I could wake him up…" Gizmo offers and Naruto shakes his head.

"We need Stealth, Mammoth is a heavy hitter but he's not to subtle nor is he particularly stealthy. Besides the big guy has been doing triple the work while trying to fix up this old place, let him get some rest." Naruto reminds and Gizmo blinks before nodding his head in agreement, it wasn't that unknown after all that he and Jinx were better at theft while he was mainly the muscle they needed when taking on the Titans. Sighing, Gizmo then got up and made his way out of his lab, then headed off to find the three girls so they could go out and rob someone.

As he did that, Naruto entered his room and pulled his X-Suit from it's case, smirking as he then started to pull it on…

--

(Later…)

"Alright, so what's the plan?" Gizmo asks while he and the rest of the group Naruto wanted stand on a roof adjacent to the Lex-Corp facility. The blond now dressed in his X-Suit while Jinx kept a fair distance away from a grinning Duela while Dani is floating next to Gizmo in her human form.

"First of all, what are the diagrams for this place Giz?" Naruto asks and Gizmo pulls his control out and rapidly types on it, a hologram sprouting from his pack to show the layout of the building. "Nice. Now then, what about the security, where is it located?" Naruto asks his tiny teammate and Gizmo frowns.

"They don't have a set route. But the main Security monitors are up around here…" Gizmo says while pointing to a red highlighted area on the map.

"Alright. Any skylights or vents for access?" Naruto asks while looking to the building and Gizmo frowns while going over his information.

"No vents, Luther isn't' stupid you know, he didn't make anything large enough to sneak in without his security noticing. They DO have a skylight however; it's on the roof. While the main Security hub is around the fourth floor… and I don't know where they've got their R&D department in that place…" Gizmo notes and Naruto nods his head, and then crosses his arms with a frown.

"Dani. Think you can sneak in, get to the main hub, and disable the Security?" Naruto asks while the girl looks out over to the building before grinning.

"Sure, no prob." She offers and Naruto nods before looking over to Gizmo.

"Gizmo, give Dani one of those Transmitter Transceiver things so she can hook it up to the main computer." Naruto orders and Gizmo grins, typing a few things on his control his Pack opens and a device pops out, Dani catching it as it does. "Good, Duela, you, me, and Jinx will be on the top floor. Giz you stay here, tell us when Dani takes out the security and you've hacked into the system." Naruto orders and Gizmo nods his head, taking a seat while looking at his controls while a screen forms in front of him. "Alright Dani, ready?" He asks and Dani nods her head before allowing the familiar black and white rings to form over her body.

Her physical appearance was the same, however, she now had her new costume on. This one started off with a pair of knee high combat boots with black steel over her toes, white leather armor placed over her knees as a part of the boots and two black straps to hold them on, one over each ankle and one below her knees on each leg, she also wore a pair of tight black pants with black armor placed down her hips and thighs now for more protection, a white belt with a rappelling harness built into it around her waist, and a white pouch strapped to her right thigh in a manor similar to a Kunai-Case.

Her shirt still left her midriff bare, however it was now mostly white with black forming over her ribs, two black bands around each bicep, over her neck and down over her collar is black, black stripes reaching from her collar over her shoulders to end at her biceps, the DP mark on her chest was now more jagged and black as well, with a pair of forearm length black gloves like her old ones with white fingers and pads at the back of each fist. Over her facer was a white Domino mask with black mesh over her eyes to conceal them, a black facial mask below that like what Kakashi wore, and a green hair band with a skull emblem shaped like the Skull on Red-X's mask.

"She has an inverted version of Robin's mask… and an almost a black and white feminine copy of his costume why?" Naruto questions of his teammate while looking at Gizmo and the boy rolled his eyes for a moment.

"No she doesn't." Gizmo states and Naruto gives him a look.

"Steel capped boots, forearm length gloves, domino mask, tight pants…" He lists off and Gizmo frowns towards him.

"The boots are knee high with armor! The gloves have white fingers and padding on them, her mask is inverted yes but she has one over her mouth and such and her pants have armor as well as a different type of belt!" Gizmo retorts and Naruto narrows his eyes on the Tiny Terror.

"Her gloves are black, her pants are black, those bands on her biceps are black, and her collar is black… all of which nearly matches Robin's own color scheme…" He reminds and Gizmo blinks for a moment, knowing that Robin had green gloves, pants and sleeves which his collar was black… and her shirt was white, Robins was red, her belt and pouch were white, robins belt was yellow, and her boots were inverted like her mask… but still…

"Er, it was because she wore a black and white costume before this, this looked like a good pattern for her to wear." Gizmo offers in his defense and Naruto crosses his arms over his chest while looking back to Dani.

"Her "DP" is made out of jagged lines like Robin's R is…" He reminds and Dani looks at the DP and does see a very slim resemblance between them in terms of shape… although hers was larger and at the center of her chest unlike Robin's.

"It works don't it…" Gizmo reminds and Naruto grudgingly nods his head, inwardly promising to find out why the girl was in a near rip off of Robin's costume, Duela looking at Dani's costume as if fascinated before giggling to herself.

"Does it conform to her body enough, Giz?" She teased and Gizmo blushed while glaring at the red head.

"Shut up!" He growled out and Naruto cleared his throat to get his teams attention back onto himself.

"Alright. Now you know what to do Dani, so get to work." Naruto orders quickly and Dani salutes to the blond boy before flying towards the Lex-Corp building and fazing through a wall and into it. As she does, Naruto places his hands onto Jinx and Duela's shoulders and teleports them all to the roof of the building while Gizmo monitors what Dani is doing inside.

Within the building Dani's head pops through a wall on the fourth floor before she looks around. Turning invisible she then flies around the rooms on the floor before finally finding the main security hub. Seeing a guard at the controls Dani frowns before flying over to him, then slams a hand into his head, knocking him out. Pushing him to the side the girl sits down and looks at Gizmo's Transmitter / Transceiver and plugs it into the first spot it looks like it'll fit.

Once she does, Gizmo grins while quickly hacking his way through security and finds the location of the device they need. "Got it, Temp. It's on the thirteenth floor, two levels below you. Dani, head that way as well, I'll deal with Security for you…" Gizmo says and Dani flies upwards, through the many floors and to the thirteenth floor. As she does, Naruto uses his claws to cut through the glass of the skylight, then opens it and allows Duela and Jinx to jump into the building, Naruto following.

"Got the pressure sensors down Giz?" Naruto asks and Gizmo licks his lips before grinning.

"Got it!" He says and Naruto jumps down to the ground before motioning for Duela and Jinx to follow. As they do, Duela reaches back and into her own backpack pulling out… an umbrella?

"Alright, I'm going to find Dani, you girls deal with the Guards on the floor before securing our exit while I get what we need." Naruto says and both girls nod their heads. Once that is done, Naruto turns invisible with his suit and vanishes, Jinx looking over to Duela once he's gone.

"Why do you carry around an umbrella around with you?" Jinx asks Duela with a raised brow and Duela silently smiled.

"I thought you were afraid of me?" She questioned and Jinx frowns.

"I might be afraid of clowns, but I'm not going to lose my cool on a job." Jinx replies while keeping at a distance from Duela. The clown girl giggled lightly before both she and Jinx turned at a voice behind them.

"Freeze!" A guard said and as she raised her hands Duela pulled a trigger on her Umbrella, a mist of some kind firing from the very end of it and at the man. "You're both… under…" The man started before falling down, fast asleep and Duela giggled.

"A trick I learned from Uncle Penguin… remind me to send him a fish." Duela comments before whistling to herself and leaning the umbrella against one of her shoulders, Jinx shuddering as she follows after her.

As the two girls continued to bring the guards down, Naruto finally reached the Thirteenth floor. "Where is Dani?" Naruto asks Gizmo while looking around and Giz quickly typed on his computer.

"She's stationed right in front of the door you need to bust through, she's dealt with a few guards in that area already." Gizmo offers and Naruto nods his head while making his way through the floor, being led by Gizmo before he then comes skidding to a halt at his destination. Turning off his stealth function, Naruto crossed his arms and walked over to the door.

"Bout time you got here." Dani mused while appearing as well and dropping to stand at his side. "So… how are we gonna get in?" She then asked and Naruto hummed in thought for a moment.

"You can make other people faze right?" He asked and Dani nodded her head. "Then lets go." He offers and Dani nods while placing a hand in his and pulling him through the door. "That feels so weird…" Naruto states once it's over and then shakes his head. "Alright Giz, we're in, where is this thing?" Naruto asks and Gizmo quickly types on his controls for a few moments.

"Keep going the device is in a vault nearby." Gizmo replies and Naruto and Dani walk around, seeing all manor of odd gadgetry before coming to a vault. Looking to Dani, Naruto held his hand to her and once more they walked through the door and into the vault.

"Alright Giz, what are we looking for?" Naruto suddenly asks and a picture of a device comes up in his HUD, making him frown. "Kind of small isn't it?" Naruto asks and Gizmo twitches.

"It's small but it's not supposed to be big if it's inside her armor!" Gizmo reminds and Naruto concedes his point before making his way into the vault with Dani, looking around for the device. Chuckling when he finds it, Naruto takes the device and places it into his belt before turning to Dani. "Top floor please." He offers and Dani rolls her eyes before pulling them both to the top floor of the building. Landing and seeing Jinx and Duela both sitting down, both seeming relaxed even if Jinx does have a few things between her and Duela, Naruto Chuckling in response.

"We got the goods, and not a titan in sight. Lets move." He comments before ordering and Jinx holds one of his free hands as Duela takes one of Dani's. Naruto then teleports them to the roof, then back to Gizmo quickly. Looking over to the Tiny Terror he sees him grin while rapidly typing on his control. "What are you doing?" Naruto asks and Gizmo holds up a finger then finishes.

"I just wiped all memory of the device from their main hard drive. Even if they know someone was here, when they take inventory it won't show up." Gizmo explains and Naruto nods his head, the Tiny Terror then presses another button. "And that caused the transmitter-transceiver to self-destruct so they can't use it to locate us." Gizmo then added and Naruto chuckled lightly.

"I love it when the good guy wins." He comments humorously before tossing Gizmo the device, then looks to Dani. "Alright, that clenches it. Dani, we need to get you a new handle, "Dani Phantom" is technically already taken." He states and Dani shrugs her shoulders.

"What did you have in mind?" She asks and Naruto rubs his chin for a moment.

"Not sure, think of something later. But for now, welcome to Tartarus." Naruto offers and Dani grins under her mask. "Also, if you're interested, I could teach you a few things about Energy manipulation and the finer points of thievery." Naruto offers the girl and Dani blinks before looking at him for a moment.

"Will I be learning that Rasengan thing?" She asks him curiously and Naruto rolls his eyes for a moment.

"Yeah, we'll see if you can make one. As well as other Ninja type skills and techniques I'm just SURE you'll love." He offers and Dani's eyes bolt open for a moment before a wide grin spreads over her face.

"Cool! Sounds like fun!" She says while floating up into the air and Naruto chuckles with a shake of his head. "So now we'll be teacher and student right?" She asks and Naruto frowns while rubbing his chin.

"More like Sensei… and Apprentice."

--

(??)

The Konoha Nin all sit down around Ravager's base, or sleep in Sakura's case as Kakashi had ordered her to rest. The white haired girl herself sitting with her fingers laced together while watching a monitor, observing the Titans and Tartarus like a hawk. Smirking as she sees Naruto take young "Dani Phantom" as his apprentice, the girl chuckles under her breath. "He's so much like you father… it's kind of scary when I think about it…" She whispers to herself while then leaning back, thinking of her own apprenticeship to her father, other wise known as Slade…

--

(Flashback)

_Two swords clashed, a girl held one blade back with her own, wearing a black mask with a blue stripe down the center of it and red lenses over her eyes. Gritting her teeth she pushes back with the blade, causing another, a man to be pushed backwards as she then lunges at him with a roar, swinging her blade and slicing through his shirt. Panting the girl backs up as he comes at her with a swing of his own sword, then quickly lashed out with a fist to the girls face, sending her flying back before skidding along the ground, then bumps into a wall._

"_You need to focus more my dear." A calm, cold voice comments the man, hiding in shadows as the girl slowly raises up, reaching up to wipe some blood from her lip. Growling she then lunges forward, swinging her blade once more, bringing it down on him, the man merely blocks with his own blade before kicking her in the stomach, knocking her back as he then raises a hand and beckons her with a single finger._

_Roaring out, the girl lunges at the man, swinging at him wildly, soon seeing red as she steps forward and stabs forward. The girl pierces flesh, a grunt coming from the man as she then jumps into a kick, knocking him away and onto his back. Landing in a low crouch, the girl pants heavily before her eyes widen when she sees the man isn't moving. "Father?!" She asks in a panic and rushes over to him, seconds after, the man lashes out, swinging his own blade the man quickly slices through the left side of her mask with a splash of blood._

"_Absolutely pathetic." The man grumbles out while rising back to his feet, the girl holding her face through her mask as blood seeps from between her fingers. "You're such a… disappointment…" The man mumbles while then casually pulling the sword from his side with a grunt and tossing it to the ground. The man then drops the other sword as well, the girl turning her head to look up at him._

"_I'm sor…" She started to say only for him to lash out once more, knocking her back to the ground. The man then folds his arms behind his back and walks towards her, revealing Slade, his half copper, half black mask standing out against his black and grey armored suit. Standing over his fallen daughter, Slade looks coldly at his daughter before shaking his head in distaste._

"_No. No more chances my dear. If I cannot even count on my own flesh and blood to take up my power… I will find another. One more capable and better suited to it than you are. I will find… the perfect apprentice." The man muses to himself before turning on his heel, walking away from the girl and leaving her to bleed._

'_Father…' The girl thought weakly as the man vanished into the shadows, causing her to bow her head… 'I don't care what you say, I'll earn your respect!' The girl then thinks while reaching up and throwing off her mask, revealing Ravager, only with her left eye slashed, blood flowing down from the wound. 'I'll prove that we aren't different… that I'm just like you…' The girl thinks as her single slate grey eye darkens and narrows on the shadows…_

(End Flashback)

--

Ravager was suddenly brought out of her memories as Sasuke stood beside of her, making her frown inwardly. She had spent a great deal of time watching not only Naruto and the Titans, but these Konoha Nin as well… Plainly put she was NOT impressed with any of them in the slightest. While their Chakra and Jutsu were all highly effective, a true assassin had no need for such flashy tricks. Hence her interest in Naruto himself was heightened, because he reframed from the flashy Jutsu in favor of more stealth orientated techniques…

"What do you want?" Ravager then questions of Sasuke coldly and the black haired boy smirks.

"You seem powerful, I just thought I'd…" He started to say only for Ravager to lash out, grab his arm and twist it painfully into his back while slamming him forward. She inwardly thanked her father for using a special type of Gene-Tharapy on her like was used on him, increasing her strength, speed, endurance, intelligence, and agility to beyond normal human limitations… much like he himself had.

"Listen, boy, I have no reason nor want to be near you. You are a useful ally against a common enemy… nothing more. Do not overstep your boundaries with me, or else I will personally show you why my father was feared as "Deathsroke The Terminator" by ALL the so-called heroes of the world…" Ravager growled out before throwing Sasuke back, the other Nin choosing to ignore him while Sakura slept.

"She doesn't seem intimidated or charmed by him…" Neji notes and Kakashi frowns while looking towards Sasuke as he rubs his obviously sore arm.

"She's nearly emotionless. She's basically a ROOT AnBu, only more ruthless from what I can tell. She also doesn't use Chakra, all that strength was "Natural" as far as I can tell, or at least augmented genetically." Kakashi muses while reading his book, ignoring an angry Sasuke as he stalked over to a wall and then sat down.

"She's also kind of crazy." Ino offers and Kakashi nods his head.

"It does seem that her father did a real number on her psychologically." Kakashi notes and Hinata remains silent while looking to Sakura.

"Do you think it's wise for us to trust her?" Neji asks and Kakashi frowns.

"No. That is the last thing we want to do. She's ruthless, cunning, emotionless, and without any form of Human compassion as far as I can tell. She's more a machine with a goal than a girl." Kakashi states then snaps his book closed. "Whatever her mission is involves Naruto, and the Teen Titans. And as I explained, those Titans may not have Jutsu, but they have skills and powers that can be even more deadly if we're not careful." Kakashi says and Ino frowns while seeing what he's trying to say.

"Do you honestly think we can use her Kakashi, if she's like you say, she'd gut us in our sleep for even thinking something like that." Ino reminds and Kakashi nods his head with a frown on his face.

"True. But she's also our only real lead on Naruto, and she's right about her resources… we need her in order to get to him. I'm not fully capable of the depths of depravity that she obviously is. Whatever it takes, no matter how many bodies she has to walk over, no matter how many innocents get in her way, she'll bring Naruto to us, but for what purpose remains to be seen." Kakashi says then looks over to see the scowling Sasuke stealing glances towards Ravager.

"He's taken with her…" Neji notes and Kakashi scoffs.

"If there's one thing this mission has taught me, it's that Uchiha Sasuke isn't interested in any form of human interaction. This Ravager on the other hand, she's powerful; she practically oozes power out of every pore, and that is what Sasuke is interested in. Add onto that she's a sort of avenger and Sasuke sees her as the perfect match for himself. Cold. Ruthless. Powerful. Yet also completely emotionless and driven to destroy her enemies almost like he is." Kakashi states and Neji nods his head in agreement with the silver haired Jounin.

"Talk about your match made in hell…" Ino mumbles while inwardly wondering what the shock of learning this would do to Sakura's own dwindling sanity…

"I know. That's what worries me… Sasuke's sanity is on a hair trigger lately. If he doesn't have every little thing he wants he looses it. What I wonder is what'll happen when he realizes the girl he wants, wants nothing to do with him." Kakashi wonders mostly to himself and Neji actually smirked towards him.

"That sounds like poetic justice to me…" Neji muses and Kakashi thinks about it for a moment, before then nodding his head, as that had been many a Fangirls unfortunate path thanks to Sasuke's cold brooding ways…

--

TBC…

--

AN: In the old Comics, Ravager stabbed her own eye out to prove to Slade she was "Just like him". However, Slade is much more cold and ruthless in the series, his actions would suggest he was looking for an apprentice. In the TTG comics Ravager was raised from an early age to be his apprentice, yet never was for reasons I truly can't comprehend. My idea is to combine both, thus, while Ravager WAS raised to be his apprentice, she didn't meet with his expectations of her, thus sliced her eye out and left her to find a better apprentice, AKA Robin. That's how their back-story goes for this story.

As a side note, Dani's new costume is based after the color scheme and design for "Dan Phantom" rather than Robin, though they somehow look similar to one another, (yes I CAN draw, I just don't have a scanner or I'd put up pictures) the shirt is the most changed part as it has more white than black than what Dan wore and has a Black DP mark rather than white, hence why it would resemble Robin's outfit.


	32. Girls night out Pt1

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

**Chapter 31**: **Girls Night Out Pt.1**…

--

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

--

(Jump-City Outskirts…)

The group of six who'd gone out and stolen from Luth-Corp made their way back to the HQ. Duela and Jinx were yet again, on opposite sides of the group, Duela humming a nameless tune to herself while Jinx looked towards her warily. "So do you really think you can teach me some of that Ninja stuff?" Dani asks her new Sensei, still in her ghostly form, and Naruto slowly nods his head in response. "Cool! Danny may have been a Samurai once, but I get to be a Ninja." Dani says happily, Naruto blinking in surprise at the "Samurai" bit…

"Wait, he was? When did this happen?" Jinx asked suddenly and Dani sighed.

"When you have friends in the Ghost Zone, you learn a lot about my dad really quick. Ember, a Ghostly Rocker Chick, and her girlfriends like hanging out with me sometimes since I turned fourteen and didn't shove them into a cramped little thermos as soon as I met them. But as for the samurai thing, according to my other friend Desiree, dad once went back in time and learned how to channel his ghost powers through a sword to fight my creator when he tried to take over the past. Ironically, he did so in ancient Japan and even dressed up as a Samurai." Dani explained with a shrug of her shoulders and Jinx shook her head.

"It's amazing how many friends you can make when you don't instantly attack or hate on them." Gizmo notes and Dani nods her head in full agreement with the rather diminutive genius.

"Yeah. It's the same for Mammoth and his sister." Jinx notes and both Naruto and Dani look to her with raised brows.

"How's that?" They ask at the same time and Jinx sighs.

"Mammoth and his sister are Australian, when their powers manifested everyone treated them like crap, one day, when Mammoth defended his sister they were both run out of town, even by their own parents…" Jinx replied and Naruto winced, seemed like he and Mammoth both got the short end of the stick…

"So basically, every one of Mammoths old friends or even his relatives think of Mammoth and his sister Shimmer as freaks." Gizmo finished with a deep frown on his face, arms crossed over his chest.

"Poor guy…" Dani said softly and Jinx rolled her eyes.

"He's over it, and he's taken care of Shimmer ever since. He sends her money whenever she needs it, she comes and visits him and us during the holidays, that kind of thing." Jinx offers and Naruto slowly nods his head.

"So, do you think you'll be able to fix Blackfire's armor now Giz?" Naruto asks of his diminutive friend and the Tiny Terror frowned for a moment.

"Yeah, it won't be as efficient as Blackie's old armor but with this baby, it'll be more than enough to restore her powers." Gizmo replies as they come upon their HQ, Naruto raising a brow when he sees the open door…

"Anyone else got a bad feeling about this?" Dani suddenly inquired and they all nodded their heads… Save a smiling Duela as she happily skipped over and inside the building…

"Honestly Temp, why do we keep that grinning psycho around?" Gizmo suddenly questioned of his leader and Naruto chuckled nervously.

"Eh… because she's so crazy that when she changes personalities she also changes her costume and method of attack, making it hard for the Titans to get used to her…" Naruto replies and Gizmo blinks before slowly nodding his head, seeing how that could probably be useful against the Titans. Walking into their HQ, they suddenly noticed Duela was grinning wider than ever, and that all the other members of their team were sitting on the sofa, Billy visibly pale.

"Alright… who died?" Naruto questioned only to suddenly be tackled by someone from off to the side, Duela laughing loudly as he was.

"Hiya Skull face!" The voice of one Haleen Quinnzel, AKA Harley Quinn, said happily as the woman sat on him, Jinx screaming bloody murder as she ducked behind the sofa with wide eyes, she could somewhat handle Duela, but TWO Clown Girls in the same room was just too much! "What's her problem?" Harley then asked and Dani decided to answer for the frightened Jinx.

"She's afraid of Clowns, apparently the Joker got his hands on her once…" Dani explained and Jinx squinted her eyes while looking at Jinx, recognitions suddenly appearing as she grinned.

"Oh yeah! Hi Jill!" Harley offers with a wave, Naruto raising a brow. "I remember now, we met back then, I was the clown girl holding the gun to ya head!" Harley offers with a wide psychotic grin, holding one finger to her own head and Jinx screamed once more before jumping and hiding behind Seemore with wide eyes.

"Harley?" Naruto suddenly questioned with obvious shock and some fear on his face, also wondering WHY Harley had held a gun to Jinx's head. "Uh… how's it going? And why are you here?" Naruto asked nervously, and then noted the woman was in costume, Batman's off copper colored belt around her waist, and seemed to be grinning wider than normal. "Oh shit… I left her that didn't I?" He asked himself quietly while someone cleared her throat.

"Well to put it bluntly, Harley over there wanted to visit…" Came a different voice and Naruto looked passed Harley and nearly had a monster nosebleed at what he was seeing before him.

It was a woman, about Harley's height and age he guessed with pale green skin with beautiful chiseled features and full womanly curves, painted red toe and fingernails, deep red lips, her eyes were an odd glowing neon green color like Dani's ghost form, and as she flipped her long blood red curly locks a sprinkle of pink dust wafted from them, her entire body looked almost like it was covered in what appeared like living vines, forming some kind of organic "Henna Tattoo", leaves forming into a pair of panties, and an orange prison type shirt with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows and the word and numbers "ARKHAM 24SP.775899-22" on the back the words "P. Isley Arkham Asylum" on the right side of her chest, with only two buttons done to close it over her impressive chest leaving most of her cleavage and midriff bare…

"Whoa…" Naruto muttered while a shocked Gizmo suddenly fell backwards, fainting, with a furious blush over his entire face, Dani blushing with wide eyes under her own mask. "Uh… who are you?" Naruto asks and the woman pouts slightly before smirking as she walks towards him with an obvious sway to her hips.

"Call me, Poison Ivy, Harley over there decided to bring me along for her little getaway." Ivy offered the blond and Naruto gave a look to a grinning Harley while Dani floated towards the painted clown girl on top of him.

"Uh, Harley right?" Dani asks her and Harley blinks before nodding her head. "Think you can get off him, he's kind of got a girlfriend already…" Dani states and Harley grins down at Naruto, making him grunt in response. _'Way to go Dani…'_ He thought sarcastically as Harley pulled both herself and Naruto up to their feet.

"So Skull-Face has him a girl! Aw isn't that sweet red?" Harley asks Ivy while hugging the young blond thief, the green skinned woman rolling her eyes in response before crossing her arms lightly over her chest. As she did, Naruto affixed his Apprentice with a "You WILL pay" look and Dani gave him a nervous grin.

"Harley, I don't really care, you're the one who knows him, not me." Ivy reminds blandly, Harley blinking and then pouting for a moment before grinning back towards Naruto widely.

"So whose the lucky babe your dating then Skull-Face?" She asks and Naruto twitches, and then quickly pushes himself out of her hug while wondering why she insisted on calling him that all the time.

"None of your business, Harley…" He states and Harley pouts before grinning once more as she then walsed on over to stand next to Duela. "Alright, now why are you two here exactly? Don't you have like… oh I don't know THINGS to do in Gotham or something?" Naruto asks pointedly and Harley places an arm over Duela's shoulders, Duela doing the same with a happy smile on her face.

"You said I could visit in ya letter skull-face, and do you know how often me or Red get to go anywhere that Bats won't follow?" Harley offers in reply and Naruto grunts for a moment, and then groans as he walks off.

"Someone show them to a guest room… I can't deal with them or their quirks right now… I need some sleep…" Naruto grumbles out and Kid-Wykkyd is the first up and he bows to Harley for a second.

"So you're taking me and Pammy to our room den?" She asks and Kid nods his head slowly. "Alright then Red-Eye, c'mon Pammy, I'm beat too, lets hit da hay!" Harley says with a yawn and Ivy rolls her eyes before following after her clown-like partner and the young Kid Wicked…

"That was the single hottest pair of women I have ever seen…" Private HIVE suddenly says and gets nods from Seemore and for some reason even Danielle as well when he does so.

"Hot as hell and Crazy as fuck…" Billy offers in reply with Jinx and Blackfire nodding their heads, Jinx still hiding with wide eyes.

"Someone needs to get Gizmo to bed…" Dani notes before looking around. "Not it!" She shouts as she flies away, hurrying towards the room Jinx set up for her. Sighing at this Jinx looks to Blackfire, the older, black haired girl frowns for a moment before sighing and walking over to the laid out tiny genius.

"Blackfire, Gizmo has a device that he needed to finally fix your armor with him, if you want you could finish it." Jinx offers and Blackfire nods her head, smiling as she made he way into the HQ.

"So now we have two of Gothams hottest AND most wanted villains staying with us for an undetermined amount of time." Duela muses with a thoughtful expression before suddenly giggling to herself. "Neat!" Duela then says with a laugh as she heads off to bed as well, the rest of the team soon following and wondering what new hell would be brought upon them next…

--

(Titans Tower…)

Cyborg yawned while walking towards the Commons Room of the tower, smacking his lips lightly and rubbing his head as he does. "Dude! Whose turn is it to make breakfast today?" BB asks while coming up beside his titanium-plated friend.

"Your up early…" Cy notes with a raised brow and BB chuckles nervously.

"I'm going on a date with my Girlfriend tonight… I wanted to make sure I'd have enough time to get ready." BB admits and Cy looks at him for a moment before rolling his eyes as Raven floats towards them with Starfire.

"Rae? You're usually the first one up besides Rob, what happened?" Cy asked his female friend and Raven twitched while looking to a brightly smiling Starfire.

"Star wanted details…" She grumbled out and Starfire chuckled nervously while rubbing her right bicep.

"Ah. Oh well, let's all get some breakfast, I'm making waffles!" Cy announces and BB frowns towards him.

"Can they be non-dairy this time?" He asks and Cy gives him a look that seems to say, "What do you think?" to the green changeling…

"… so you REALLY made that suit without a security switch or anything?" A female voice echoes out of the common room, all the Titans blinking when they here a nervous Robin answer.

"Ah… yeah… I was worried that any kind of electrical discharge produced by Xinothiam might have a negative effect on the person in the suit…" Robin admitted while Cy turned to his friends.

"Did you guys know Rob was having a friend over?" He asks and Star growls angrily before stomping towards the doors. "Ho boy… here we go again…" Cyborg then mutters and both BB and Rae are inwardly thankful their own significant others aren't as possessive as Starfire can be… "C'mon let's go and save whoever Robin's talking too from Star…" Cy then says while walking into the commons room, BB and Raven shrugging as they follow him.

However, upon entering the room the two find Cy gaping and pointing and Starfire looking confused. "Looks like they finally decided to come in, huh?" A female voice quips and Robin chuckles, Raven blinks at this, then follows the gaze of her two friends before her own eyes widen as seeing a red haired woman with blue eyes… in a costume reminiscent of a bat…

"B-b-b-b-bat…" Cy managed to get out while BB jumped onto his shoulder and gaped towards the red head.

"BATGIRL! We have BATGIRL staying here, in the tower?!" He demanded before launching over to shake her hand. "Dude! It's like such an honor to meet you!" BB says and Batgirl bites her lip to keep from laughing.

"What's she doing here? I thought she worked with "Batman" or something…" Raven asks with a raised brow and Batgirl nods her head.

"Yeah, I'm here on business but I wanted to catch up with Robby here." Batgirl says while nudging over to Robin the younger boy glaring at one of his oldest friends.

"Shut it Barb…" He grumbles out lowly while Starfire floats over to the woman.

"I have never heard of you before… Please, how is it that you know Robin?" She notes then asks the older red head and Batgirl twitches before crossing her arms and giving a look to Robin.

"Uh… yeah, I never really talk about Gotham…" Robin offers her and Batgirl frowns once more, silently promising to get him for that.

"Right, but seeing as I'm here, let me see if your descriptions were accurate on your team…" Batgirl says while looking to the red haired alien princess. "You must be Starfire…" She notes and Starfire nods her head slowly. "Then this one…" She says while patting BB on the head, the green jester grinning. "… is Beast Boy. That must be…" She says while motioning towards a still completely shocked Cy. "…Cyborg. And last is Raven." She says while finishing and points to the said girl. "Nice to finally meet you all, Robin's told me all about you." Batgirl says pleasantly and Starfire looks at the older red head strangely.

"Please, are you Robin's older sister? You speak much like my own Sister Blackfire did when she came to visit…" She asks then notes and Batgirl and Robin look to one another, Robin blushing and clearing his throat.

"I need some coffee…" He mumble's lowly and Batgirl shakes her head.

"Actually, we used to work together for a long time, I even used to threaten to take him shopping with me when we were little." She admits with a smile and Starfire blinks for a few moments.

"How is that bad?" She asks and Batgirl gives her a look.

"I could take hours just to look at shoes and make him carry my stuff for me." She says with a smirk and Starfire frowns.

"Shoes are not that interesting to me…" Starfire states and Batgirl shrugs her shoulders in response.

"I was fifteen. What do you expect?" She quips in response then looks over her shoulder to see Robin frowning towards his Coffee. "Anyways…" She then says while turning back around to face the Titans. "Ever since a little… incident… Batman and Robin haven't really spoken to one another." Batgirl admits before mentally glaring towards Robin. _'Not that its really BATMAN'S fault… this time… stupid stubborn Robin, he was only worried about you…'_ She mentally grumbled while crossing her arms.

"Dude! What happened? They were the dynamic duo! The Caped Crusaders! Batman and Robin! What could have torn such a perfect team apart?" BB asks with wide eyes and Batgirl grimaces while hearing Robin growl.

"Batman happened… sort of…" She admits and Robin scowls from his own spot.

"How's that?" Raven asks while floating over, Starfire nodding her head, while a still stunned Cyborg just continued to point at Batgirl and gape.

"Uh… well… The Joker kind of Shot him once…" She admitted sheepishly and Robin twitched at Starfire's gasp.

"It was only my damn shoulder, and it only happened once!" He shouted angrily once she did and Batgirl sighed.

"What about the time Two-Face nearly beat you to death when you were still only sixteen?" Batgirl asks flatly and Robin growls towards the girl, turning and slamming his hand into a counter.

"I WAS YOUNG!" He shouted before taking a breath, arms crossed and Batgril sighed while shaking her head.

"THIS is why they broke apart…" She states and Raven nods her head, seeing that it was more ROBIN that broke up the team than Batman… at least that's how it looked.

"Please, so Robin once worked with both you and this "Batman" why have we not heard more about you then?" Starfire asks with a confused expression and Batgirl turns to Robin with a frown.

"Dick, please tell me you haven't been wearing your mask twenty-four seven and not talking about who you really are? Batman is bad enough without you inheriting his traits…" She asks then states flatly and sees Robin try to sink in on himself. "Dear lord… X was right, you ARE way too serious… and I actually thought he was only exaggerating about it…" Batgirl grumbled lowly and Robin blinked before gaping towards her.

"Wait, you actually worked with that thief? Why?" He demands and Batgirl gives him a look in response.

"Because he was trying to help a friend of his… though he did steal Batman's belt…" Batgirl admits then mutters and Robin chuckles.

"I would pay money to have seen the look on his face." He states before turning back to his coffee and readying it.

"WE HAVE BATGIRL IN THE TOWER!?!" Cyborg suddenly shouts loudly with shock and the said girl looks at him and blinks…

"What's with him?" She asks and BB grins.

"He thinks you're hot." The green teen offers the red head and she rolls her eyes.

"As if more than half of Gotham's men already didn't…" She mumbles to herself while Robin nods his head, being a member of the particular half of Gotham that thought she was hot as hellfire…

"So why is she here anyways?" Raven finally asks and Robin takes a sip of his coffee before turning to face his team.

"Because, Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy escaped from Arkham recently, Batman sent Batgirl here to find them." Robin explains and BB gapes.

"DUDE! We have THE hottest villains in all known history in our town!?" He demands and Robin nods his head to his green teammate. "Cy, did you hear that?! Harley Quinn AND Poison Ivy are in Jump City as well!" BB says in shock and Cy falls over backwards, obviously passed out…

"That's new…" Raven observes and Batrgirl shrugs.

"To much shock in one day will do that to anyone, and it's not to common for Gotham Villains to leave town." She reasons and Robin and Raven nod their heads.

"Excuse me, but why are the Harley of Quinn and Poison of Ivy in our city?" Starfire asks the older red head and Batgirl shrugs her shoulders in response.

"To hell if I know, Red." She states and then blinks when she realizes what she did. "Sorry… I used to have a friend with red hair and we'd call one another "Red" all the time." She admits and Starfire merely shrugs, not really that surprised by the nickname considering how often people used it with her. "Anyways, I'm going to get to work on finding Ivy and Harley, Dick, think you can check some sources for me?" Batgirl asks the boy wonder as he finishes his coffee and smirks.

"I'll go talk with the Police Chief and Officer Connors, he's a lot more astute than a normal officer, and a hell of a lot better than Bullock. I'll see if they've seen or heard anything suspicious. I'll hit some of my other sources after that." He states while crossing his arms over his chest and Batgirl nods her head.

"While I'll look threw the city directory for any empty botanical gardens or joke shops they might've used as their hideouts." Batgirl states while moving over to the computer, Robin walking out the door while Raven and Starfire look to one another…

"Is it just me, or are they really efficient…" Raven notes and Starfire nods her head in agreement.

"They do seem to have done this before quite often…" Star notes and both turn over to see BB fanning Cy.

"Dudes! Could you help me wake up Cy or what?!" He demands and both girls nod before helping their green friend…

--

(Tartarus HQ…)

Gizmo woke up with a groan, and then lifted a hand to his head. "What hit me?" He wondered while looking around and sees a smirking Blackfire… floating? "Huh… when did I fix your armor?" He wonders and Blackfire merely rolled her eyes in response before stretching out her limbs. The new-segmented armor was nearly Identical to her old armor, save the thicker plates that were on her biceps, and the redesigned forearm / wrist protectors.

"It's not bad… kind of wondering why some of it is different…" Blackfire says then asks while looking at her hands and Gizmo frowns.

"Because I saw this one picture of Starfire in Armor like yours and based it after that…" He grumbled and Blackfire raised a brow before making an Oh with her mouth.

"This would be styled more after a thicker battle armor then, Starfire always used to wear hers more for actual protection after all." She notes before twirling around and cracking her neck. "Oh well, and by the way, you passed out because you saw that "Poison Ivy" woman." Blackfire states and Gizmo blushes while wondering how one woman could BE that hot! "Also, I was the one who finished the armor, and now I'm going to go sunbathe in it to get a little energy back." Blackfire states before making her way out of the room, humming to herself while Gizmo slapped his face.

"I hate this, I'm in a base with some of the hottest women in the world, and all of them can easily ring my neck and use me as a dart board… why can't I catch a break and NOT be around super powered chicks!?" Gizmo wonders to himself before sighing and making his way over to his workstation, bringing up the schematics for Batman's weaponry before starting to modify it with Robin's and his own technological advances… "With this, Temp will be tough enough to take out all those Titans and those lame ass Ninja permanently!!"

--

(??)

Naruto slowly opened his eyes with a groan, moving a hand to his head as he slowly stood up. "What hit me?" He wondered to himself while standing up fully, looking around he noticed he was in his Red-X costume… but he had a long purple trench coat worn over it… "What the hell?" Naruto wondered, finding a few seals in the coat, most of which were stuffed with dozens of knives and exploding seals. "Weird… wait, why am I in this coat?" Naruto wonders to himself before checking around his body, finding his sword was gone, as was his normal Kunai and Shuriken.

'_Great, looks like someone kidnapped me and stuck me with an assortment of Joker knockoff stuff…'_ Naruto grumbles to himself while placing his hands into the pockets of the coat… _'Though I do admit, I kind of LIKE the coat, but it needs a better color than purple.'_ Naruto muses before looking around his surroundings this time, wondering where the hell he'd managed to get himself.

He appeared to be in Arkham, how he got there he didn't know, but what he did know was that the sky was odd, the moon was full, and yet the sky had turned blood red with black clouds floating above him. _'Ugh… talk about creepy.'_ Naruto notes before noticing that the place also seemed extremely different to the Arkham he'd visited.

The "Mansion" he'd seen the first time was still there, however, several of the buildings appeared to have been modified, he could see a botanical garden to one side, guard towers with lights here and there, several other buildings with guard towers here and there, and of course was the large locked doors everywhere, a dock to the opposite side of the Botanical garden, eerie, nearly dead looking plants all around, and of course the place was surrounded by hills and cliffs while the waves washed up against the sides since it was on an island, and last but not least the eerie gates with the word Arkham on them were still present…

"Whoa, talk about renovation." Naruto notes, seeing as the place was even more guarded NOW than it had been! But it couldn't be Arkham; he'd only been there a… month? Yeah, a month ago! "Something fishy is going on." Naruto notes to himself before reaching up to rub the chin of his mask. At the moment, he was on a cliff and upon looking down he spotted several guards. Frowning, the blond hit a few switches on his belt to bring up his H.U.D., thus checked how his suit was running. An added bonus of this being his suits ability to scan and display the amount of Chakra he had stored in his body for use.

Thus the blond was shocked to see he was at five-percent of his Chakra capacity and that his suit was running on it's backup. Not only that, but several key systems seemed to have been tampered with and were "Locked" for lack of a better word, leaving him with a pair of Grappling hooks in his gauntlets, the scalloped blades on them, and his normal X-shuriken, all the rest of his gadgets and gear locked to his use… "Oh fuck me… what the hell happened last night?" The blond wondered to himself while shaking his head, then sighed before he saw a message come up on his HUD.

[Want to play a Game?] The message questioned and Naruto frowned.

"What kind?" He asked then grimaced, how could someone hear…

[A fun one.] The message printed out and Naruto's eyes widened.

"Where are you?" He asked suspiciously and the message changed.

[Somewhere…] It offered vaguely and Naruto grunted.

"Alright, what kind of game?" He finally asks and another message pops up.

[Find the inner most Chamber of the Mansion… I'll be waiting…] The message states and Naruto looks over to the mansion with a frown. _'Well, might as well find out what the hell is going on here.'_ Naruto muses before he looking around them aimed a grapple towards a Guard Tower. Zipping up to it quietly, Naruto lunges up and slams the guard's head into the side of the tower to knock him out.

'_It'll be best if I remain undetected until I can either unlock my other gadgets or regain some of my Chakra.'_ Naruto notes with narrowed eyes, then spots an odd little device nearby. Walking over to it, Naruto reaches to it and holds it up. The device seems to be a digital recorder of some kind, with a plug for speakers or amplifiers to be plugged into it. _'Hmm… well… it never hurts to know a little about the crazy's around here, or it could always be Guard Routines or something, might as well check it out.'_ Naruto notes inwardly before reaching to his belt, taking a seat in the tower and then plugging it into the device…

[**The Gem was born of evils fire**…] A strange, demonic voice echoed from the speakers in his helmet. [**The Gem shall be his portal**…] The demonic voice chants out and Naruto shivers. _'Alright, I think that's enough of that…'_ Naruto notes while unplugging the device… [**He comes to claim, he comes to sire**…] The voice continued, Naruto's eyes widening before he smashed the device, and then backed away from it. [**The end of all things Mortal**!] The odd voice finished while Naruto shivered violently.

'_Okay, even for me that registers like a twenty on the weird-o-meter…'_ Naruto thinks to himself, then turned on his heel, looking to the mansion, Naruto looked down and grimaced seeing men guarding the main doors. _'But, they have a vent shaft above them… if I could somehow reach that undetected…'_ Naruto mused to himself, then saw the graveyard and frowned in thought. _'That DOES provide ample coverage for me, and it wouldn't be TOO weird to walk over the graves…'_ Naruto notes to himself before quickly jumping back down from the Guard tower and to the ground below.

Landing in a low crouch, Naruto hides in the shadows of the tower, and then narrows his eyes as he looks around for any guards. Not seeing any, the blond haired ex-nin quickly ran over to the graveyard and leaned back against a grave. Breathing a sigh of relief the blond chuckled to himself. "Wonder who I have to thank for the help?" He wondered to himself while turning to the grave, only for his skin to turn deathly pale…

_**[Here lies Uzumaki Namikaze Kushina Beloved wife and mother R.I.P.]**_ The grave had read and Naruto quickly shuffled away from it, his eyes wide and his heart thumping in his ears. "M-mom?" He wondered then shook his head, quickly fired a grapple at the side of the mansion and pulled himself to the roof of the building. Coming onto it, the blond continued to shiver, even though he knew it COULDN'T be his mother, the sight of her "Grave" still scared the ever-loving shit out of him. Breathing in shaking pants of breath Naruto looked around, wondering if he'd somehow gotten trapped in a Tsukoyomi… even though Itachi was long dead…

'_What is going on here, why is everything going… crazy?'_ The blond haired Shinobi wondered to himself before deciding he didn't want to know. Firing a grapple to the side of the mansion, Naruto quickly swung over to a spot above the main door. Crawling up the side of the wall, Naruto gently removed the grate above it then crawled his way into the building. Coming out in a simple room, Naruto blinked upon seeing a door at the end. _'Why do I have a bad feeling about this?'_ He inwardly wondered before walking over to the door and pulling it open.

Blinking, the blond found a hall, and then walked out into the hall and looked around. "What the hell… why does it feel like this REALLY shouldn't be here?" Naruto wondered before jumping when he heard a door slam. "Dammit, stupid Baka it's just the wind…" Naruto chastises himself before turning to the door and opening it once more, shocked to find he came out in the hall once more… "W-what the hell!?" He demands before turning around, thus backs away when he sees the doorway from before is now completely gone.

'_T-this can't be happening, this CAN'T be happening!'_ Naruto thinks to himself, seeing as the laws of physiques, nature, and reality all seem to have been broken in the span of a few minutes… _'Why couldn't it be Murphy's Law that was broken?!'_ Naruto inwardly grumbles before turning and running down the hall, hell-bent on escaping this insane Madhouse… ugh, bad pun.

Slowing himself down, Naruto placed a hand on one side of the hall and closed his eyes. _'What the hell is going on… last night I go to bed in the HQ, then I wake up in Arkham… what… did Bird Brain catch the girls and me and throw us all in here before I could wake up? No… that's stupid, besides that it wouldn't explain my Chakra or how my suits gadgets were locked, and the fact I have a coat filled with weapons and explosives that are native to Konoha…'_ Naruto thinks to himself before opening his eyes, gaping when he finds himself in, of all places, outside of The Kyuubi's Seal…

"Shit…" Naruto mutters as a pair of bright red eyes open beyond a veil of shadows cast by the cage, a Cheshire cat grin opening beneath them. "What the hell do you want, fur ball?" Naruto demands angrily and hears a deep demonic Chuckle, but it's not from Kyuubi…

"**Such a disrespectful Mortal. How can you stand the whelp Kyuubi?"** The new voice notes and Kyuubi nods, four glowing red eyes opening above Kyuubi.

"**True, but the Gaki's is amusing… and at least he's not as troublesome as your Daughter has proven to be, Trigon."** Kyuubi says with a roll of his eyes in "Trigon's" direction while Naruto backs up, then turns and finds himself face-to-face and mask-to-mask… with Slade.

"I was wondering when you'd finally get here." Slade muses in a deep monotone voice and Naruto turns back to the demons before glaring at the masked madman.

"Alright Candy-Corn-Face, what the hell is going on here?" Naruto demands and Slade looks at him for only a moment.

"You'll know soon enough…" He answers cryptically before darkness suddenly claims Naruto, all things falling into shadow around him…

--

(Tartarus HQ…)

Naruto suddenly sat up in his bed with panting breaths, then fell back and placed a hand over his eyes. _'Ugh… just a dream… but man what's with these nightmares lately? I feel like I might've inhaled a truck load of The Scarecrow's Fear-Toxin or something…'_ Naruto notes to himself while rubbing his face tiredly, then cracks open an eye and looks to the side. He sees the hour, thus sighs before rolling out of bed with a grunt. Slowly pulling himself to his feet the blond stretched and yawned at the same time before walking over to his door.

Exiting his room with drooping eyes Naruto yawned once more while making his way into the kitchen; upon entering he turned and stopped at seeing Harley making what looked to be pancakes with a bob of her head… now dressed in nothing but a familiar orange button up shirt and black lace panties… "Dear lord Harley, must you be so scandalous as to dress like that around teenage boys?" Naruto demands while rubbing his head and the girl turns to look at him and blinks…

"Skull face?" She asks and Naruto nods his head. "Wow, and here I thought I was de only person who'd be out a costume around here… and you really are a blond." She notes with surprise and Naruto snorts before seeing the drooling visages of his friends Mammoth, Kid Wykkyd, Private HIVE, and Seemore… though he could easily tell that none of them were really hungry for food…

"Would you guys PLEASE stop staring at her like she's a piece of meat…" Naruto growls out at the other males of his team, each of them turning to him and blinking, till his eyes flare red. "I SAID BEAT IT!" He shouts and the four quickly get away and Naruto crosses his arms with a frown.

"Aw c'mon Skull-Face, don't be so hard on 'em. I don't mind de looks dat much." Harley states while turning her head to look at Naruto, the blond reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose before sitting down.

"I have to enforce a few rules around here Harl, one of them is NOT to stare at the girls on our team, which means NOT to stare at our female guests either… especially when one of them controls mutant plants and would likely kill them before allowing them to look at her, or her friend, like that." Naruto states in rebuttal while rubbing his aching temples, while Harley looked at him confused for a moment before frowning.

"Why do ya have to enforce dat rule anyways?" She asks and Naruto rubs his face for a moment.

"I'm on a team with numerous boys, two of which have super strength, most of which are just perverts. When they stare or get perverted with the girls, I have to stop them or our teamwork will be shot all to hell…" Naruto explains with a frown over his face while Dani comes into the room, yawning and wearing her white PJ's before hopping onto a stool next to him.

"Hey, whose da twerpette?" Harley then asks while pointing to Dani and Naruto looks to his apprentice before sighing.

"This is Dani, she had white hair last night because she's half ghost…" Naruto states and Harley shivers, thus gaining a look from the blond teen.

"I'm kind of afraid of Ghosts…" She admits with a shrug while looking at Dani and the black haired girl rolls her eyes.

"Whatever, so Sensei, what am I going to be learning first?" Dani asks and Naruto looks at her with one eye before nodding his head.

"First, you need a new Villain name." He states and Harley grins.

"Oh cool! Can I help?" She asks excitedly and Naruto looks at her for a moment.

"Sure, what do you got Dani?" He asks and Dani frowns.

"The Spirit?" She asks and Harley sneers.

"There's an immortal dude wit dat name already toots." She states and Naruto wonders how she knows that exactly… was there a magazine with information like that or something? "How about Phantom?" She asks with a thoughtful expression and Dani growls low in her throat.

"My dad is "Danny Phantom"… so no way in hell." She grumbles and Harley shrugs her shoulders.

"What about Specter?" Naruto asks and Dani frowns.

"No… There's a psychologist ghost named "Spectra" and she makes you miserable and then absorbs all the misery into herself. No offence but I REALLY don't want a name similar to hers." Dani states and Harley shivers violently at the thought, she was technically a clown after all…

"Poltergeist?" Naruto offers and Dani snorts.

"Do you even know what a Poltergeist is?" She asks and Naruto nods.

"A very territorial and vengeful spirit." He states and Dani nods.

"Yeah, and I happen to know one, her name is Kitty and you can piss her off really easily, especially if you're her boyfriend. Anyways, she gets angry really easily, and I mean even more so than me and comparing me to my dad ever could." Dani explains and Harley frowns before turning back to her pancakes and flipping them to make sure they wouldn't burn.

"What about Revenant? I've heard dat used with ghosts and the like before." She asks then explains and Dani raises a brow.

"Those are ghosts held to the mortal plane by something of value to them… no, that one really doesn't seem to fit." Dani says and Naruto wonders how much the girl knows about spirits and such.

"Hmm… Definitely not Howler, Banshee or Siren…" Naruto notes, having learned allot about spirits and such from Raven.

"Frightened, Screaming, and Singing Ghosts… all sound based so no… Unless I pick up my dads "Ghostly Wail" and call it a "Banshees Scream"…" Dani says and then notes with a frown while Naruto reaches up to rub his eyes.

"How about Yurei." He offers and Dani looks at him.

"Yurei?" She asks and Naruto smirks in response.

"Japanese Ghost." Naruto offers the girl and she frowns.

"No. Yurei just sounds weird…" She states and Harley blinks.

"Why not just "Rei" it means soul or Spirit right?" Harley offers and Naruto blinked for a moment.

"You speak Japanese?" He asked the blond woman strangely and she nodded her head in response.

"Took a course during college, learned a little, not much, but I remember Rei meaning spirit." She states and Dani frowns for a moment before nodding her head.

"Alright, Rei it is." She states with a nod of her head and Naruto looks around.

"Where are Jinx or any of the other girls?" He wondered and Dani snickered.

"Jinx is hiding in her room, said something about too many clowns for her to come out." The young ghostling girl responded and Naruto chuckled. "I think Blackfire went out to sunbathe or something, and Duela was using the Holo-Room last time I saw her." Dani then listed off and Harley blinked.

"Holo-Room? You mean a room with tons of holograms and stuff?" She asks with a gaping jaw and Naruto merely nods his head. "Boy, what am I doing in Gotham, this town has everything!" Harley states with a raised fist before suddenly sighing and looking forlorn. "Well… everything cept Mistah Jay…" She notes and Naruto slaps his face while Dani shakes her head.

"Right… wait… where's that Ivy chick… and now that we're on the subject why are you wearing her shirt?" Naruto asks and Dani blushes when a few ideas come to mind as to why she's wearing the red heads shirt…

"Uh… lets not talk about the shirt thing, but as for Red, I think she found a garden or something." Harley replies and Naruto blinks before frowning.

"Probably mine…" He grumbles and both Harley and Dani look to him strangely. "What?" He asks irritably and Harley blinks.

"Your garden? Wow, will you never cease ta surprise Skull-Face?" Harley asks and Naruto smirked in response.

"Most Surprising Ninja isn't just a moniker doll-face." He quips and Dani rolls her eyes while Harley laid out some Pancakes. "Never would've pegged you as being able to cook." Naruto notes and Harley snorts.

"I have too, Mistah Jay can literally burn water. And I do mean literally, I've seen him do it!" She retorts before getting some syrup and pouring nearly a quarter of the bottle on her pancakes. "Here ya go!" She offers handing the bottle to Dani, the ghost girl looking at her strangely.

"Did you need THAT much syrup?" She asks seriously and Harley shrugs.

"I like sweets." She replies and Naruto ignores that while pouring himself some syrup then handing the bottle back to Dani.

"Why does that NOT surprise me?" Dani asks and Naruto looks at Harley and shrugs his shoulders.

"Because she's a funny Clown girl who seems almost childish." He offers and Dani takes a mock serious expression.

"Hmm… true." She muses and Harley gives them both a look.

"Anyways Dani, I'm thinking about starting you out with some basic shape manipulation. We'll start with that and work our way up, learning what we can and can't convert from my Jutsu into your powers." Naruto offers and Dani grins widely, seeing as the only person who'd ever really taken the time to teach her anything was her female ghost friends' and most of them were busy a lot of the time.

"Okay, sounds good Sensei." Dani offers cheerfully while Duela suddenly flips into the room, looking around for something.

"Duela… are you seeing things again?" Naruto suddenly asks and Duela looks to him and then looks around nervously.

"No… not this time. Uh… just trying to keep you on your toes." She says while looking around, then reaches into her backpack and throws down a sphere, smoke and confetti flying everywhere, as Duela seems to vanish.

"Skull-Face, where da hell did you find dat chick? I really want one!" Harley suddenly exclaimed with a wide grin and Naruto rolled his eyes for a moment.

"Well… to put it plainly, she seemed to have just escaped from a mental asylum when I found her." Naruto offers and Dani mutters an "of course" while Harley frowns for once.

"Oh… what's wrong with her then?" She asks and Naruto shrugs.

"Bipolar and Delusional, she seems to think she's the daughter of most of Batman's major villains. Thus far I've seen Two-Face, Penguin, Riddler, Joker, and even Cat-woman… man I loved that cat suit of hers." He replies and Harley looks at him for a moment before smiling widely.

"She really IS the daughter I never had…" She notes and Naruto shudders. "Good, cause I'd rather NOT go through the JOYS of Child birth…" Harley then says with obvious disgust at the thought and Naruto decides he'd rather not comment on that.

"C'mon Dani, lets get your training started while the holo-room is clear, and maybe try to coax Jinx out of her room." Naruto says while getting up and placing his dishes away, then walks out of the room with Dani following closely behind her sensei. As they leave, Harley then crosses her arms and leans back on her stool.

"Huh… what to do… what to do…" She wonders to herself, before an idea comes to mind that causes her to grin monstrously. "Oh boy! Now dat sounds fun, I better go get red, we're having a girls night out for once tonight!" Harley says to herself before flipping over to the door and running to find the garden…

--

TBC…

--

AN: Incase no one can tell, I've been playing Batman: Arkham Asylum recently, loved the game! And incase anyone is wondering why Naruto was in a purple coat, with his Chakra Sealed and his suits gadgets locked, it was an Idea I have for a Spin-Off / future sequel to this story, featuring Red-X / Naruto going through the Asylum with Batman.


	33. Girls night out Pt2

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

**Chapter 32**: **Girls Night Out Pt.2**…

--

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

--

(Tartarus HQ…)

Dani panted while trying to keep up with Naruto, the older teen seemed to have her completely outmatched. _'Considering he's been doing this kind of stuff three times as long as I have it's not too surprising…'_ Dani inwardly admits before trying to form the newest shape Naruto was showing her with her Ghost Powers. The two were currently in the Holo-Room, which was on a neutral setting at the moment. It was basically a plain field with a starry sky above them; though Dani had to admit it was calming at this setting, allowing her to keep her cool even though she was really frustrated.

The First thing that they had covered forming it over her skin to absorb impacts, it was something she REALLY thought Danny could use for his Ghost Fighting. The next thing they covered was ironically forming the energy over her body in human mode. And over an hour later she could do so, however he told her to keep practicing with it. Ghost Mode seemed to be best for training as she managed it much faster, but he said that she wouldn't always have time to transform and that mastering her powers in human form was essential.

However, now he was teaching her a rather…unique… technique. And that was how to make claws out of her spectral energy. She'd watched him do it, forming small blades over his nails that arched outwards like the fake claws of Catwoman. She'd then tried to copy it; it wasn't easy as she nearly melted her fingers the first time. He'd explained that she would have to learn how to form a very small shell around the energy over her fingers before that wouldn't happen.

"Why am I learning this anyways?" Dani suddenly questions while waving her fingers, her ghostly healing factor kicking in to fix her nails. Hey, what could she say, being half supernatural being rocked!

"Because sometimes you don't want to walk through walls when people know that's your thing. Keep them on their toys, if cops or a resident super hero figure out where you are or find a pattern to your thefts you might get caught. Thus, never steal anything the same way in a row. I never do any of my heists with the same method of entry, makes me unpredictable and no one can plan ahead of my heists." Naruto replies and Dani frowns for a moment before sighing and looking at her hands.

"Then how do I form a shell that small?" She asks the older teen, hiding her frustration at not being able to get this right. Honestly, she had every right to be frustrated; her ghostly self was an energy manipulator by typing! All her best skills and abilities were in energy manipulation and shaping, just like Danny's was diverse in abilities, and Vlad's had been in control of his energy rather than its manipulation, thus while he didn't really have MORE power than them he was better at using what he had more than they were.

"Alright, listen this time Imouto." Naruto states firmly before kneeling down before the girl, the blond then held his hands apart and concentrated, a sphere of chakra appearing in his hands. "First I want you to make a shell like this." Naruto states and Dani frowns before holding her own hands apart and trying to form the circle, merely making a larger than average Ecto-Blast instead…

"Huh… I didn't know I could make them bigger…" Dani mused and Naruto frowned before deciding it wasn't a TOTAL waste since she learned a new shape to manipulate her energy into… just not the one he wanted her to…

"Imouto, focus. Don't push so much into it. Try to limit it and make it hollow." Naruto tells the girl with a frown and she blinks before reabsorbing the energy into herself. Licking her lips nervously Dani tried once more, spinning a ball of energy into her hands in the form of a sphere. "Good, but it's still energy, it isn't solid…" Naruto states while Dani bites her lip, trying to will the small sphere into a solid shape.

"It's… not working…" Dani grits out and then reabsorbs the energy before slumping, Naruto sighing as he pulls the shell of energy back into himself.

"Don't worry Dani, no one gets it right in one go." Naruto states and Dani gives him a strange look.

"How long did it take you to learn that?" She asks and Naruto grins nervously before rubbing the back of his neck…

"I actually made that… in about a week." He admits and Dani slumps once more. _'He MADE it… great, now I feel even worse…'_ "Imouto, it's not about who made the technique, how long it takes to learn or any of that. You have to remember that it's a technique your learning, one you need to master at your own pace, no one else's." Naruto states and Dani rolls her eyes before falling backwards and looking up into the starry sky.

"I really like this room…" She muses and Naruto smiles before looking up to the sky as well.

"Yeah, I think this is my favorite room in the HQ." Naruto admits and Dani looks at him for a moment before sighing.

"Where did you get the idea for this Claw thing anyways?" Dani suddenly asks and Naruto smirks while crossing his arms behind his neck.

"I wanted to be able to always have a weapon on hand, and back then, I really didn't want any Uchiha to steal my technique, nor did I want to have to buy a weapon of some sort and have a storage seal tattooed on me. So, instead of going through that amount of hell, I decided that I'd make a Claw Jutsu instead… found out a week later how hard it was and well… I almost gave up and got that storage seal." Naruto admits with an amused grin, Dani smiling, seeing as it probably HAD been utter and complete hell for him to create the technique.

"I once tried to learn to Teleport… I ended up splitting myself in half… literally down the middle." Dani says with a shudder, her body being in ghost form had allowed her to reform, but she hadn't tried to use that ability again since.

"Wow, talk about a splitting headache." Naruto notes with an amused smirk and Dani gives him a look.

"Please no puns. My dad loves them…" She grumbles and Naruto rolls his eyes for a moment.

"You know, hating on your father won't solve anything." Naruto comments and Dani gives him a look in response.

"Oh, and how do you know that?" She counters and Naruto takes a thoughtful expression for a moment.

"Because, first time I met my dad I punched him right in the face." Naruto comments offhandedly with a shrug of his shoulders and gets another look from Dani. "My dad… kind of ruined my life, but I figured what the hell, I'm his kid, I need to get over it." Naruto offers before biting back an angry growl as Dani frowns in thought for a moment. He'd not gotten over it, his dobe self had, he personally was still royally pissed off, not for Kyuubi, but because he knew that his "Father" had probably noticed the seal on his memories when he'd fixed Kyuubi's seal… and yet he left it alone… bastard…

"That really isn't a good argument." Dani finally says and Naruto takes a thoughtful expression before nodding his head.

"Then just agree with Duela, like I do… Father's suck." Naruto offers casually and Dani smiles before nodding her head.

"Amen." She then says with a nod of her head and Naruto chuckles for a moment.

"C'mon Imouto, lets go make sure Poison Ivy hasn't mutated any of my plants into bio-weapons of mass destruction or something…" Naruto states and Dani blushes brightly at the thought, mainly because Ivy would probably be wearing next to nothing without her shirt…

"Uh… right behind you Sensei…" Dani says while following after Naruto, the Holo-Room returning to it's basic setting as they walk down a few halls, Naruto turning to a sliding door. Once the door opened, Dani was surprised to see a beautiful garden, filled with all manor of flowers, though most prominent were roses, violets, and for some odd reason, Black Roses… "Who grows Black-Roses?" Dani suddenly questioned, though inwardly knew Sam would have LOVED those plants.

"I do." Naruto states flatly, keeping it to himself that Raven like Black Roses and Violets.

"Your garden is quite healthy and the plants are all very happy." Came an off handed comment and Naruto looked around, his eyes soon falling upon Poison Ivy, her attire now having changed to a sleeveless and shoulder-less leotard, bicep length fingerless gloves, and a band around her left ankle, all of which were made of a combination of leaves and vines…

"Ivy." Naruto acknowledges and Ivy turns to look at him and Dani and smirks.

"Whose the little one?" She asks, Naruto easily able to tell by her dull tone that she doesn't care, while Dani bristles at the "Little One" comment due to her height.

"Dani with an I! But my Thief name is Rei." The girl states and Ivy raises a brow before shrugging her shoulders.

"Whatever." She says nonchalantly, Naruto easily able to tell that the woman was very out of touch with her humanity.

"So where'd you get the foliage to make the outfit? Or do I even want to know?" Naruto suddenly questions and Ivy looks at him for a moment, before turning back to the many flowers he's tended.

"I made them from my vines." She reports and Naruto decides that was creepy enough and then looked at her for a few moments.

"You know, it's kind of been bugging me, but I've got to ask, why didn't you or any of the other Super Criminals back in Arkham try to get me to bust you out?" Naruto asks and Ivy snorts.

"With Joker out there, Arkham was the safest place in the city." She reports with a shudder of fear. No one was without fear of the Joker, she was the least susceptible to that emotion when concerning Joker, but knowing the lengths he was willing to go when he had a Joke in mind meant one needed to be cautious…

"Yeah, I should have known." Naruto muses while looking around his garden, Dani seeming bored until she's knocked over by Harley, the said blond then bowling Naruto over and sitting on his back.

"Hey Red! I know what we should do while we're in town!" Harley tells the girl excitedly and Ivy arches a brow before looking at the blond woman with a bored expression over her pale green features.

"And what exactly would that would be, Harl?" She questions with a dull tone, before being grabbed by her bubbly blond friend and pulled over where Harley then grabs Dani, all while still sitting on a VERY annoyed Naruto.

"Me, you, and da rest of da dames around here are gonna to be having a Girls Night Out!" She calls out loudly and Ivy blinks, before a slim smile crosses over her pale green features.

"Sounds Interesting, Harl." She admits, as the thought of herself, this "Blackfire", Jinx, "Rei", and of course Harley and Duela would make a rather interesting team up for a night filled with robbing Jump City blind… as well as a little experiment Ivy wanted to conduct…

"Yeah! And think about it Red, three fifths a those Titans are male, and one a dem happens to be old Bird Boy!" Harley then reminds and Ivy grins as she can see how the gears are turning in her bubbly friends head.

"Why Harley, I do believe you've come up with a perfect way to spend our vacation." Ivy muses aloud, seeing as she eventually did want to get back to Gotham, something about the city, no matter how old, rundown or decayed it was, just… drew her there… for lack of a better term. Squealing with delight, Harley released her two captives before flipping off of Naruto, out of the door and off to get her costume.

"Ugh… why does Harley have to be so… happy?" Naruto suddenly wonders while propping his cheek into a fist, Ivy smirking down at him while getting off of him. She'd talked with his plants, and knew he had a girlfriend, she didn't want to ruin his life like she would others, he was NICE to her babies after all, and always took good care of them as best that he could given his profession.

"She's always been that way. But do you mind if me and Harley borrow the women of your team for the night?" Ivy asks the blond and Naruto looks up at her, then to a blushing madly Dani.

"Knock yourself out… just try not to destroy the whole city and I'm fine." He offers with a shrug and Ivy smiles strangely before grabbing Dani and making her way to find the rest of the girls on the team. "Oi… now maybe I can get some relaxation…" Naruto muttered to himself before standing up and stretching out his limbs, and then narrowed his eyes on the plants. "You guys didn't tell her about me and Kara-Chan… did you?" He suddenly questioned while looking around at the many plants, not really expecting an answer, and of course not getting one…

--

(Titans Tower…)

Robin walked into the Commons Room with a deep scowl across his face. "I take it you didn't find anything." Batgirl muses from her spot at the computer, Cyborg, BB, Star, and Raven all trying to keep busy.

"No. The chief hasn't gotten anything on Quinn or Ivy. Looks like their laying low." Robin reports and Batgirl frowns before typing on the computer keys for a few moments, her eyes narrowed until she crosses her arms.

"Weird… no sign of them in any Plant or Joke themed warehouses or hideouts anywhere…" Batgirl notes and Robin frowns while walking over to her and looking to the screen over her shoulder.

"Just what we didn't need, them starting to get out of their usual habits." Robin grumbles while crossing his arms and Batgirl starts to check a few more places, easily hacking her way into numerous systems.

"Hmm… no sign anywhere in the main city… and there's no land lines out to the buildings around Jump." Batgirl muses before taking a thoughtful expression, the rest of the Titans all suddenly behind the two defenders of Jump and listening in on their conversation. "You know its kind of hard to think with so many people behind me…" Batgirl notes with a frown and Robin turns to look at his team as they quickly go back to what they had been doing before…

"Ugh… guys…" Robin mumbles to himself with a shake of his head then turns around to look at Batgirl. "Got any options Barb?" He asks the red head while the rest of the team listen in on them.

"Options, I'm trying to guess what those two are up too at this point. Normally they'd hit a museum, pull a heist, or even rob a store for clothes and some jewelry, but as of now they've been dead quiet, it's never taken them more than a day to do something!" Batgirl grumbles before reaching up to rub her temples, the rest of the team still listening in on their leader and his oldest friend.

"Chill Barb, have you checked for anything that might be up their usual alley?" The spiky haired teen asks Batgirl, said girl heaving a slight sigh before typing the computer, a confused Beast Boy looking to Robin.

"Dudes, what are you two talking about?" BB finally asks and Robin blinks before looking to Batgirl.

"Let me guess, your criminals aren't really that into their own asthetics?" She asks and Robin nods his head, Batgirl huffing. "Why does it seem like you manage to get all the normal criminals while Gotham has all the freaks?" She wonders while turning back to the computer and Robin chuckles slightly, though inwardly admits that their gallery of rogues don't compare to Batman's…

"Uh, well Beast Boy. In Gotham most of our criminals are insane. So insane that they are very caught up in their own aesthetics, or in layman's terms, if anything has even a slight similarity to their chosen theme, more than likely they're going to try and steal it, or if it's a building, use it as a hideout. As of yet The Riddler is the only one I know who isn't like this though does leave clues for us to find his hideouts." Robin explains to the green furred Jester and BB plainly gapes towards his friend.

"Dude, if Batman's normal rogues are all like that, how come he isn't able to track them?" BB asks and Robin frowns.

"Because Gotham City is at least three times the size of Jump City, it's also surrounded by dozens of abandoned factories and warehouses that the rogues can use to hide. Finding them there is almost literally like looking for a needle in a haystack." Robin explains and the green Jester makes an OH with his mouth while Batgirl frowns for a few moments and then stretches out her arms.

"Robin, I've looked through everything, there's nothing special with their themes they'd want to steal here in Jump… in fact the only thing of value any of Batman's usual rogues would want is the original Manuscript for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and we already caught The Mad Hatter a week ago…" Batgirl suddenly says and Robin frowns before crossing his arms with a thoughtful expression.

"Meaning we'll have to wait for THEM to make the first move…" He notes with a frown, and knowing those two it would probably lead to something really bad…

"Right. So in the meantime I'd enjoy having something to eat." Batgirl says before spinning her chair around and making her way over to the kitchen where Starfire is. Seconds after she is gone Cy reaches and pulls Robin over by his cape, BB following Cy and both looking at Robin.

"Uh… guys… what's wrong?" Robin asks while looking at his two male friends, both boys looking to one another before then giving him a look.

"Why didn't you TELL us Batgirl was coming over?!" Cyborg demands in a hushed tone, Robin blinking before grinning nervously.

"Uh… would you believe she wanted to surprise you guys?" He asks and Cyborg blinks a few moments.

"Wha?" He offered intelligently and Robin shakes his head.

"Yeah, Barb's always had a pretty wicked sense of humor… you should have seen her back when we both worked with Batman." Robin muses, smiling fondly at the memories while BB frowns.

"Dude! It's not good for you to keep people like Batgirl a secret from us! What if the tower had been a complete mess and we looked like total slobs or something?!" BB demands and Robin grimaces slightly.

"Trust me, she'd be fine with that… besides I remember eating cookies with her when we weren't fighting crime this one time. In fact we got along great till the tension with Batman started." Robin mused aloud and BB and Cy gape towards the spiky haired youth in shock.

"Wow, never would have guessed…" Cyborg says and BB nods his head, before both lean in towards the boy wonder with silly grins.

"So dude, do you like have a thing for Red-Heads or what?" BB asks and Robin blinks before gaping towards his green furred comrade.

"What?!" He demands and Cy smirks.

"Starfire, Batgirl…" Cyborg started to list and Robin smacked him upside the head with a scowl over his face.

"How is that any of your business?" He demands through gritted teeth and BB shrugs his shoulders.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of if you do dude, just asking…" BB comments, though the edges of his lips are slightly curled.

"Then shut up BB, I only ever kissed Barb back when…" Robin started to say before slapping a hand over his mouth and then sees shocked looks on both boys' faces.

"You actually KISSED BATGIRL!?!" Cyborg demands loudly and Robin groans before wishing he could slither away, Starfire suddenly lunging over to hear what was going on while Batgirl snickered into one hand.

"Did he really?" Raven suddenly asks Batgirl and the Dark-Angel of Gotham can't help it as she smirks.

"Yes." She states and Raven looks at her with no small amount of surprise.

"When?" She asks and Batgirl takes a thoughtful expression.

"Well, it was a while back…" She muses and Raven frowns.

"So you two used to date?" She asks and Batgirl rolls her eyes.

"Sort of, there's a bit of an age difference as you well know… But then again when I came back to crime fighting after a three year long break, he'd really grown up and…" Batgirl left off while Robin was now trying to pry his way free of his overly curious teammates, Raven and Batgirl watching.

"Would you date him again?" Raven wondered and Batgirl frowned.

"No, and its because the reasons we broke up. One, he accused Batman of manipulating me into crime fighting again, he also got really serious and uptight, and lastly he also got mad that I never told him who I really was under my mask. When Batman figured it out, he felt betrayed even though it wasn't my fault, he accused me of only not telling him and… well… you get the point" Batgirl states and Raven winces, seeing as that was eerily similar to what happened with Terra the first time she had been around. "You ever had that problem with your boyfriend?" Batgirl asks and Raven offers a slight tilt of her lips as response.

"No… me and Naruto share almost everything about each other." She responds while Robin is now pulling himself away from Starfire, who had taken hold of him, was now demanding information of the Boy Wonder.

"Almost?" Batgirl asks with a raised brow and Raven sighs.

"My past… and some of his… we really don't like to talk about them." Raven responds once more and Batgirl nods her head slowly before turning back to the scene of Robin still trying to escape an overly jealous Starfire. "She's going to skin you alive, you know that right?" Raven asks and Batgirl looks at Raven strangely.

"You're not serious… are you?" She asks worriedly and Raven turns a smirk towards the Dark-Angel.

"Starfire is from an alien race of warriors, that are descended from Cats, and from what I've been able to guess they're very territorial… Not only that she's as strong as twelve men, can fly, is invulnerable, and can form beams of green light out of her hands and eyes…" Raven responds in kind and Batgirl looks over to Starfire before slowly inching towards Raven.

"Uh… I think I really need to hide from her then." Batgirl muses while half hiding behind Raven, the dark cloaked girl shaking her head with an amused look.

"I'm Starfire's best friend, don't even think about trying to hide behind me." Raven states before vanishing into thin air, Batgirl gaping before looking around and then ducking to safety… hey, Batman only beat Superman because he had a kryptonite ring in his utility belt in a lead lined box at all times… so she was NOT taking on a jealous, super powered, alien that didn't have such a readily available weakness!

--

(Tartarus HQ…)

Harley Quinn stood in an altered costume, this one was a red and black patterned suit the top half being black on her right side and red on her left, a pair of forearm length gloves her right one being red and left one being black were worn over her arms with white fingers and red diamonds on her left glove, a white collar with tassels on it that ended in powder puffs, and a hood with the same colors as her top, only with bells at the ends of two short tails coming off her head. Around her waist is a red corset with black trimming and buckles down the front, while the bottom half of the suit is patterned with red on her right leg, black on her left leg with black diamonds on her right thigh and red diamonds on her left calf, a pair of short boots covering her feet, the right one being black and the left one red, with a green bag slung over one shoulder and a black eye mask over her face with white mesh covering her eyes and her usual paints.

Looking before herself with her arms crossed and Ivy beside her, Harley looked over the Tartarus girls critically. For the most part, she didn't have a single clue what she really needed to look for in the girls. Also, she was completely clueless to their abilities save that "Jinx" was supposed to be able to cause Bad luck. Duela, was probably more insane than a lot of people gave her credit for. Blackfire, who was supposedly able to fly and had martial arts training. And lastly that "Rei" was able to use ghost powers.

However, given the fact that Harley was very insane, also very forgetful, it was also well known that the woman was half psychotic and all mad. But that didn't exactly mean she couldn't have a good idea every now and again, and looking at the girls, Harley couldn't help a grin that formed on her face. "Alright Ladies! Look lively, me and Red got something ta tell ya!" Harley suddenly says, Ivy rolling her emerald green eyes for a moment while looking dully at the assembled teens.

"Tonight, we're hitten the town and paintin it red! Dat's right! We're haven ourselves an all villains girls night out!" Harley says with a wide grin, Duela grinning as well while Dani and Blackfire had to hold Jinx in order to keep her from bolting from the two clown girls. "An what dat means is I want you broads to loot, plunder, pillage and steal! I want ya to do all da tings ya like and not give a rats ass who tries ta stop ya!" Harley explains while Ivy smirks and Dani and Blackfire look to one another.

"Now these girls, I like." Blackfire comments with a smirk and Dani nods her head in agreement!

"OH! This is going to be such a BLAST! Look out Jump City! HERE WE COME!!" Duela suddenly calls out loudly before Ivy smirks and looks around the assembled girls.

"Oh and don't forget ladies, if those troublesome Titans show up, just lead them to us so we can all show them our stuff." Ivy orders and Jinx takes time from her freak-out at being around TWO clowns to look at the woman.

"W-w-what are y-you g-going t-t-to do to t-them?" Jinx stutters out and Ivy smirks before frowning as Harley slings an arm over her shoulders.

"Three fifths of dat team happens to be of the male persuasion right?" Harley asks and the girls nod their heads. "Well, lets just say Red here has a way wit men, one little kiss and dey can't help doing whatever she asks. Right Red?" Harley offers then asks of her partner with a grin, Ivy smirking before nodding her head. "Right then! C'mon girlies! Lets really show dis dull as dirt town how ta party!" Harley offers with her arms spread out wide, the other girls, sans a freaking out Jinx and apathetic Ivy, cheer as they follow after the clown queen of crime out of the base and into the city…

--

(Later…)

Jump-City Mall was having a very bad day, today, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Jinx, Blackfire, a ghost girl named Rei, and The Joker's Daughter, all decided to invade and then rob them blind. Currently, everyone was running around in terror, several guards were either unconscious, or being used by Ivy's mind control to aide the six female villains in their little crime spree. Currently however, Blackfire was yawning as she and Dani walked out of an ice-cream parlor, the ghost girl in her ghost form with her mask down to lick a cone of mint chocolate chip. "I still don't see why you're only taking one ice-cream cone…" Blackfire states while looking at the girl, holding a bag filled with jewelry and other such items over one shoulder.

"Because I'm not into Jewelry." Dani states before finishing her ice-cream and spots a store with videogames. "However, Video-Games are another story!" She says before flying into the store, several beams of green energy going off inside in order to scare off the patrons as she then pilfers to her hearts content.

"Kids." Blackfire says with a shrug before walking over to look down at the mayhem below, the sight bringing a smile to her face. Below her, Ivy has her plants covering the main entrance while more are literally shaking down any passersby for any of their money/jewelry. Hey, chemicals were expensive! Harley has what appears to be a toy gun and is holding up anyone nearby, Duela holding an old burlap sack open in order to collect his or her loot. And last but not least, Jinx, who had finally stopped freaking out, is now happily raiding every store she can for cold hard cash while destroying this and that along the way with her powers… all and all it was a very good night.

"It pays ta have help on dese heists, eh Red!" Harley suddenly calls out with a grin and Ivy nods her head with a smirk, this being the fastest she and her comrade had ever managed to clear out a building.

"Ah, the ultimate medicine and psychological aide… Money!" Jinx suddenly called out while holding a heavy bag of cash over one shoulder. "Say, why didn't we bring any of the guys along and force them to carry all this stuff back to the base for us?" Jinx suddenly asks while placing the sack of cash with the other bags of loot that they had managed to acquire.

"Huh… never really thought of dat, normally we don't get dis far…" Harley muses and Jinx shrugs, she really doesn't care why at the moment, the large haul they've managed to get was worth enough to keep Tartarus funded for years!

"It doesn't matter, the Batman isn't here to stop us so lets enjoy it while it lasts." Ivy offers while sitting on a vine, a sultry smirk on her lips while Jinx grins and tosses a pink Hex-Bolt at a man, causing the floor beneath him to break and trip him.

"Do another!" Harley says happily while still pointing her gun at some random guys head, Duela happily tying up another sack and tossing it with the rest of there hall for the night.

"Nah, Maybe we should get out of here before the Titans Show up." Jinx muses while Blackfire and Dani finally join the group, Dani placing a large bag of video-games with their already massive horde.

"I'm all for dat! Our first successful heist witout any pointy eared rodents coming ta mess tings up… Ah… it feels good." Harley muses before yelping as a bat shaped object slams into her hand, sending her gun sliding away.

"Sorry to ruin your mood Harley." Batgirl comments while looking down at them from above, a smirk on her lips. "But I AM here." She then says with a grin and Ivy frowns before looking over to an annoyed Harley.

"Oh great, Bat-Babe decided to follow us… jeez what's a gal got ta do ta get away from you winged rats for a couple days?" Harley wonders and then hears a hum, thus turns around and sees Cyborg with his Sonic Cannon aimed at her.

"Alright Clowny, I suggest you hold still and give up." Cy states and Harley gives him a look before raising a brow. Looking to her right she sees Beast Boy is in tiger form at the moment and right in front of Duela, Blackfire is now covered by Batgirl from above, Ivy has Raven nearby, Dani has Starfire watching her, and Jinx has Robin with his bostaff at the ready.

"Is that Duela with them?" Robin suddenly asks with worry, his eyes wide behind his mask. Hell, Harley was tough enough, but Duela was wild and crazy, you couldn't tell WHAT she'd do next! Not to mention she'd somehow copied all or at least most of the major weapons, gadgets, and gizmos of Batman's worst villains… Fear Toxin or Smilex Gas would be HELL for them to deal with if she used any of it on the city!

"I would suggest all of you surrender, we do not wish to do you any of the harm." Starfire comments while wondering why Robin is so worried about the red haired girl. Hearing this comment Harley snorts, Robin sighing and shaking his head as well… with the villains from his hometown, it was NEVER that easy, and thinking they were going to be easy to take down would make you a fool…

"Your kidden me wit dis… right?" Harley asks seriously and Cyborg merely continues to aim at her with his cannon, the other heroes poised to attack as well. "Boy, dey sure don't make heroes like they used to." The clown girl muses before smirking as she lunges forward, flips over Cy and then quickly sweeps his feet out from under him. Grabbing a Sledgehammer out of her bag, the girl then slams it into the side of Cyborg's head, sending him flying away. At the same moment, Dani turns invisible and then plows her shoulder into Starfire's gut, sending her flying away, and Blackfire flies up and grabs Batgirl, slamming her through the roof on her way up.

"Titans GO!" Robin says quickly only for Jinx to throw a Hexbolt at him, the boy wonder quickly flipping back and taking a stance. Lunging forwards afterwards Robin swings his staff at Jinx, the pinkette quickly rolling to the side to avoid it. Landing on his feet Robin quickly tossed a Birdarang at the pinkette and then lunged at her. As Jinx dodged the Birdarang Robin slammed his foot into Jinx's gut, sending her flying back while knocking the breath from her lungs.

"Jinx you really don't want to work with those two, they're not like other villains you've met, they will KILL anyone who gets in their way. Literally! Harley has absolutely no regard for Human Life, Ivy isn't much better, don't trust them, they WILL hurt you!" Robin states warningly and Jinx merely growls while throwing a Hexbolt at the Boy-Wonder, Robin quickly dodging and then watching as Jinx gets back to her feet.

"Bird brain I'm a villain, I don't CARE what they do." Jinx reminds, though its obviously a lie seeing as neither the Troika nor Tartarus were ever interested in killing masses of people. Not to mention they were all wary of Harley and Ivy, especially since neither had any regard for human life or those that got in their way…

"I'm telling you Jinx, you're making a big mistake by fighting with them." Robin states with obvious worry in his tone. For all of his obsessions, none could ever make him wish death on any of their usual rogues. Harley and Ivy were crazed, crazed to the point that he knew they wouldn't care about killing a few Teens to get what they wanted. Merely growling as her response, Jinx flipped forward and then grabbed Robin's staff; landing behind him she used that as leverage to toss him away. Flipping in midair to land on his feet, Robin prepared to attack once more only for a few of Ivy's vines to suddenly twist around his ankle and lift him up into the air.

"Why don't you just hang around Bird-Brain and leave us to our work." Jinx says cheekily before turning to find Raven forming some black energy around a few objects and throwing them at Ivy. The woman merely arches a brow before her vines quickly lift her out of the way.

"Come now, tell me that's not all you can do." Ivy taunts before a mass of mutated vines shoot out at Raven, the half demon barely dodging the plants before holding a hand to a large sharp spike.

"Azarath Metrion ZINTHOSE!" She chants before throwing the spike at Ivy, the woman raising a brow before her vines duck down, avoiding the spike easily.

"Please… I've been avoiding people like the Batman for years girly, do you honestly think these kinds of tactics even faze me?" Ivy asks mockingly and Raven frowns while flying away from several vines that are trying to grab her. _'Dammit, I've never had to fight a plant before… think Raven, how do you deal with this?'_ Raven wondered before forming a shield around herself as several vines wrapped around her. Teleporting away Raven breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hmm… teleportation… annoying but useful for keeping this at least a little more interesting." Ivy muses before shooting several more of the mutated vines at her, Raven groaning before spotting Jinx running along one and towards her.

"Hold up Red! SHE'S MINE!" Jinx shouts before roaring out as she jumps into a spinning round house kick to Raven's midriff, knocking her back and the wind from her.

Above this scene Blackfire and Batgirl crash through the roof, Blackfire smirking as she tosses Batgirl across the roof. "Oh great, she's strong AND she can fly…" Batgirl mutters while slowly standing up, and then grimaces. "Are you related to Starfire?" She questions and Blackfire smirks in response.

"I'm her older sister." Blackfire reports while buffing her nails on her shirt, Batgirl grimacing even more as she realizes Starfire would be tough enough, add on a few extra years of experience and training and you had a dangerous opponent.

"I'm warning you right now, I've dealt with far worse than you." Batgirl warns while taking a stance and Blackfire raises a brow, clearly not impressed.

"You use the same style as Robin." She notes and Batgirl bits her tongue. However, a second later, Blackfire lunges at Batgirl with a roundhouse kick, Batgirl quickly dodging to one side and then lashing out with a punch that Blackfire blocked with one arm. "No… you're not as refined as Robin is in martial arts… this won't take long…" Blackfire notes before lashing out with a kick to Batgirl's gut, sending her skidding back.

"What do you know?" Batgirl shoots back while looking around for some kind of advantage. But given that Blackfire could fly and they were outside, that was very unlikely…

"Lets see… I know numerous martial arts styles, all from alien worlds that I have also fully mastered." Blackfire comments with a smug grin and Batgirl mentally grimaces. _'Oh shit… I have to get the one villain with as much skill as she has power and brains…'_ Batgirl can't help but think since a normal super powered villain either had no martial arts skills, used a brawling style, or was just plain stupid… Blackfire on the other hand had Skill, Brains, Brawn, Endurance, AND Speed all at once… this was NOT going to be easy.

Lunging forward, Batgirl decided it would be best not to give Blackfire a chance to use her powers. Throwing an explosive Batarang at the black haired girl she then watched as Blackfire caught it in midair before throwing it back at her. Cursing and rolling to the side Batgirl evaded the weapon and then flipped back as Blackfire came down on her, slamming her fists into the ground. Flipping into a kick to Blackfire's chest, Batgirl manages to push the alien girl back, only for her to right herself in midair and then place her feet against a structure on the roof.

Grinning darkly, Blackfire then launches herself forward, swinging a fist at Batgirl. Cursing inwardly Batgirl flips over Blackfire and then twists into a kick to her side, knocking her over to the side. Breathing a sigh of relief, Batgirl is shocked when Blackfire merely laughs and then sits up. "Ah, it feels so GOOD to be able to fight again!" Blackfire says with her arms raised up, Batgirl quickly shaking her head and lunging at the alien warrior once more, Blackfire grinning darkly as she does…

Elsewhere, Robin is now using a knife from his utility belt to try and cut the vine holding him, however, before he can, the vines wrap around his wrists and then hold them apart from his legs. "Nah nah nah. Can't have you getting loose dear. It's been far too long since either I or Harley have gotten to see our favorite little Sidekick." Ivy taunts with a very amused smirk and tone, and then watches as Robin snarls in response.

"I'M NOT A SIDEKICK!" He roars out angrily and Ivy merely gives him an amused look before turning her head to find Duela flipping over Beast Boy, the green Titan having changed from a Tiger into a raptor at some point. Landing behind the large Lizard, Duela giggles before playfully giving it a raspberry, an annoyed BB quickly lunging at her. Grinning, Duela slides under the raptor and between it's legs, BB following her with his head only to run into a metal post.

"Got to watch where you're going Green Bean." Duela comments humorously and laughs to herself as the Raptor then rolls onto its feet, its bared fangs showing it's obvious anger. Merely reaching back and into her backpack she then pulls out a popgun and holds it towards the boy. Blinking the Raptor seems to snort, before BB suddenly changes back to normal at seeing the weapon and actually laughs at the clown girl.

"Dude! What do you expect to do with THAT lame thing?" He questions with a laugh and Duela grins before firing the weapon, long confetti strings shooting out of it and wrapping around him. Falling to the ground with a grunt, BB tries to change shapes, however the odd adhesive tape continues to hold while stretching to hold him no matter what he does, much like X's goop once did…

"That." Duela offers simply before whistling and walking away from the Green Titan. Looking up she then watches as Dani flies around above and around them, Starfire hot on her tail.

"Please young girl, you should not be partaking in the stealing of…" Starfire starts to scold only for Dani to vanish, causing the Tameranian to look around in worry.

"First of all my name is Rei…" Dani's voice comes as the girl appears above Starfire, bringing both her fists down and causing her to fall downwards. "Secondly, I'm fourteen, I'm just Short for my age alright!" Dani shouts at Starfire before quickly shooting down after her and grabbing her by her hair, causing the alien princess to grimace in pain. "Lastly, I don't WANT to be a Hero, I LIKE being a thief!" Dani then adds angrily before spinning her body and tossing Starfire away, watching as the alien rights herself in midair, eyes glowing brightly.

"Then forgive me but I must stop you!" Starfire states and fires a beam of energy from her eyes, Dani smirking beneath her mask while creating a shield, the shield causing Starfire's attack to bounce right back at her, shocking the Tameranian greatly when it slams her into the wall behind her.

"Yeah well, sorry Cutie, but I've got better things to do than play with you all night!" Dani then comments while forming a ball of energy into her hands, and then flies towards Starfire, the alien princess shakes her head at this then flies above the attack when it slams into the ground. Flying downwards at this, Dani curses before turning intangible, Starfire flying through her and to the ground below.

"H-how did you…" Starfire started to ask, only for Dani to zip down and slam a fist into the princess's face, sending her flying away. Smirking at Dani's job against Starfire, Duela then turns and watches as Harley flips over to Cyborg the titanium teen getting up and firing his Sonic cannon towards her while holding his head. Laughing loudly, Harley practically dances around the sonic blasts before flipping forward, around the attacks and kicks Cyborg in the face, sending him back from her surprising strength and laying him out on his back. Landing on her feet, the woman then walks over to Cyborg and shakes her head as she looks down at him.

"Man, someone has really been getting a little too much iron in his diet." Harley notes humorously while tapping her foot into Cyborg's armored body. Growling Cyborg groggily sits up, rubbing his head and looking at her with a frown. Holding up his cannon and firing at the clown girl, he gapes when she suddenly leans back to dodge and makes an upside-down U… "Heh, dis is why we need tah leave town more often, dese kids don't know nothin about catching real criminals!" Harley muses before flipping back and then pulling a jack in the box from her back before looking at Cy with a grin.

"Catch!" Harley calls out and Robin's eyes widen.

"Cyborg NO!" He calls out only too late as his teammate catches the device, a boxing glove suddenly shooting out of it and slamming into the metal teens chin. This in turn causes the large Titan to loose his balance and fall flat on his back with a groan.

"Boy oh boy… this is so easy it isn't even funny." Harley comments before snorting. "Aw who am I kidden, this is hilarious!" Harley notes before laughing to herself, and then wiping a tear from her eye as Cyborg slowly gets up, now rubbing his chin and Harley looks over to Ivy. "Say red, I think he's all nice and tender for ya." She comments and Ivy nods before her vines bring her over to the metal teen. Coming to the ground, Ivy then walks over to Cyborg, the teen holding his cannon towards her.

"Oh come now, no need for that." Ivy comments before looking to Harley, the clown girl grinning as she then flips behind Cyborg and knees him in the back of the head, grimacing afterwards while rubbing her sore knee as Cyborg groans once more… he really needed more practice if he wanted to take on these kinds of villains… "Now then, let Ivy kiss it all better…" Ivy coos before suddenly kissing Cyborg, the titanium teen nearly gaping before his eyes glass over when she pulls back.

"Oh shit…" Robin mutters before seeing several vines drag Beast Boy towards Ivy, Harley limping slightly to look at the green Jester.

"Cy! HELP!" Beast Boy shouts at his friend, as he slowly gets up to his feet, the titanium teen merely grabbing hold of the green boy.

"Good boy." Ivy suddenly says with a smirk while Harley snickers and BB gapes towards the two.

"Dude! What did you do to Cy?!" BB demands angrily and Harley rolls her eyes.

"Birdbrain didn't tell you guys nothing about us huh?" She asks and BB looks over to Robin, said boy giving a nervous look to the green teen in response. Truth be told Robin had never really figured Harley and Ivy to be as… dangerous… without Batman around as they were proving themselves to be. After all he and Batgirl had dealt with them numerous times on their own. _'But back then they didn't have help…'_ He then notes with a mental grimace, wondering how these six had managed to team up…

"Now now Harley. He is still a teen, so his mind is on pretty much always on other things." A highly amused Ivy offers her clowny friend and Harley snickers while Robin twitches angrily, Batgirl suddenly dropped from the ceiling with a groan as Blackfire floats down and places a foot on her back.

"You two have problems with THIS?" Blackfire asks snidely, Harley pouting while Ivy looks impressed.

"Surprising, I guess the Villains of this town actually are more dangerous than the heroes would suggest. Either that or Batgirl is starting to slow down from her age." Ivy muses, a smirk at the end since she and Harley both had advanced regenerative abilities, thus lengthened life spans…

"You will pay for this!" Robin says with a snarl while Starfire is then tossed over as well, landing on top of Batgirl and groaning in pain.

"Man, she's not as tough as she looks." Dani comments while floating in the air and Blackfire frowns towards her.

"Not everyone is a ghost that can walk through walls Rei, with your powers you'd practically be like a goddess of death to our people." Blackfire counters and Dani shrugs her shoulders, not really all that interested while Harley kneels down and lifts Starfire's head with a smirk.

"Wow red, two more reds." Harley says with surprise and Robin growls as he's brought over to the other male Titans. "Say, where's pinky?" Harley then asks while Dani points with her thumb to the said girl, Harley smirking as she sees Jinx practically dancing around random objects Raven throws at her. Jinx then starts to use her Hex-bolts causing random objects to explode or break apart around them and still trying to get closer to Raven.

"I believe this has gone on long enough, its time for our little game to end I think." Ivy muses while willing her vines to quickly snake out, then wrap around Raven's legs before coiling around her torso and then finally over her mouth, the grey skinned girl twitching as they do so.

"Wow, we actually won Red! Not only dat be we got Bird-Brain and Bat-Babe hostage!!" Harley then says happily while Jinx walks over to them, an annoyed frown on her face as Raven is held upside down and over Batgirl and Starfire.

"You won't get away with this Quinn!" Robin growls out and both Harley and Ivy look to one another before grinning.

"Actually bird boy, I think we will be getting away wit it." She comments as Ivy pulls some lipstick from the vines and leaves that make up her costume. "Say Pammy, can I do bird brain?" Harley asks and Ivy rolls her eyes before tossing her the lipstick Harley applying it as well.

"What are you two doing?" Dani asks and Harley grins towards them.

"Watch and learn girls!" She says happily before reaching forward to grab Robin, kissing him on the lips as Ivy does the same with Beast Boy, much like with Cyborg, once the women back off, BB's eyes dull out and Robin's body seems to relax.

"What did you do?" Blackfire questions obviously intrigued and Ivy smirks.

"It's a plant based chemical compound, when combined with my natural pheromones in the air it allows me to completely control any man I or Harley kisses." Ivy offers casually before Blackfire whistles and Dani gapes.

"That is one very useful stick of lipstick." Blackfire states and Harley nods her head in agreement.

"How long does that stuff last?" Jinx asks warily and Harley looks to her current partner in crime.

"The new batch lasts a day at most." Ivy admits with a shrug and Jinx looks at the two for a moment.

"Alright, but I don't trust bringing them to our base, Bird Brain might be faking it or at least could have built up some kind of immunity knowing Batman is his teacher." Jinx states and Ivy actually frowns in thought, as that WAS a very good point after all.

"True, but wit green bean here it should be twice as a effective considering he's at least part animal and Pheromones REALLY mess them up." Harley muses and Ivy nods her head, that being another good point.

"Cyborg, carry Robin for me." Ivy states and Cyborg drops Beast Boy before grabbing hold of Robin.

"Yes Mistress…" He says as if in a daze and Ivy then turns to the other girls.

"You girls take your stuff and head on home if you want, me and Harley are going to go and have some more fun around town with these three… And I have a little experiment I've been dieing to try but haven't had the time…" Ivy offers then muses while a plant brings her an odd device. It was a timer with two canisters at the sides and one in the back, a funnel like shape at the top and what looked like glowing green blood in it from Ivy, or at least a very reasonable facsimile…

"Er… what's that?" Dani asks with a bad feeling and Ivy smirks.

"Nothing you need to worry about deary, it shouldn't effect your base… but I wouldn't be in the city limits if I were you." Ivy states and Jinx slowly nods her head in agreement, a nervous and frightened look on her face, the four Tartarus girls then quickly grabbing their bags before running out of the building.

"We're telling Temp right?" Jinx asks and Dani nods her head.

"Those two are batshit crazy! That device looked like it was filled with Ivy's blood!" The ghost girl comments and Blackfire nods her head with a frown.

"So I'm crazy too." Duela reminds casually and they look at her for a moment.

"Yeah, but you never actively try to murder, Harley had a GUN to some guys head!" Dani reminds and Duela nods her head with a strange look on her face.

"I have Fear Toxin and Smilex Gas with me at all times." She then offers casually once more, as if trying to prove that she was indeed bat-shit crazy enough to murder people, and Jinx looks at her in shock before shuddering with fear.

"Oh no… and Halloween is coming soon…" Jinx mutters to herself and shivers, the idea of Duela turning into "The Scarecrow's Daughter" for Halloween and dousing the entire city, Tartarus HQ, or at LEAST Titans Tower with Fear-Toxin crossing her mind for a moment…

"Let's just hurry back home and get Sensei, if those two ax the Titans, or if Ivy is planning what I think she is, then we're going to have the entire Justice League breathing down our neck very soon!" Dani reminds and thus the four girls rush towards their base faster than ever…

Meanwhile, back in the mall, Ivy and Harley are gathering up their own sacks of loot while Starfire and Batgirl are both held by more of Ivy's vines, Raven glaring at them as they do. However, Harley then suddenly frowns and takes a thoughtful expression before turning around and looking at Ivy.

"Say red, what should we do wit dese three?" Harley asks while motioning to Raven, Starfire, and Batgirl.

"You have a Joker Bomb on you right?" Ivy asks casually and Harley nods her head and pulls one out of her bag, the bomb having three sticks of dynamite taped together with a green haired clown face on the front with a timer in its mouth. "Then let them go out with a bang. My plan doesn't involve their interference…" Ivy offers with a wave of her hand and then has her vines grab their own bags while she holds the device from before in her arms.

"Oh yeah! Dis is gonna be so much fun!" Harley says happily while putting the bomb down, and then setting the timer. "Alright, later Ravy, me and Pammy have to go now, after all, we have some real hell to raise in this old town! In fact, you might say it's gonna be a real "Urban Jungle" out dare!" Harley offers with a mock salute before she hops onto a vine with Ivy, a zombie like Cyborg and Beast Boy following after them. Looking down, er, up, Raven can't help but gulp as she sees the timer on the bomb… Two minutes was all the time they had left…

--

TBC…

--

AN: I revised Harley's outfit, making it similar to the one from "The Batman" with her mask and gloves, "Batman: The Animated Series" with her colors and basic outfit, and from a concept picture of Harley in Batman Arkham Asylum which features her in a blue and red Jesters outfit with a corset, green duffle bag, and a new pair of boots. Also, I don't know why but this quote popped into my head the other day… it's from the episode of Batman:TAS "Harley's Day Out"… "No, Dat's your father, IN A TANK!"


	34. Urban Jungle Pt1

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

**Chapter 33**: **Urban Jungle Pt. 1**…

--

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

--

(Jump-City Mall…)

Raven worriedly looked down to the bomb lying beneath her with wide eyes. The time on the bomb was now at half a minute, the timer still counting down to what could very well be the end… _'What's actually pretty weird is I never thought I'd be done in by a bomb… always thought my 'Father' would be the one to get me in the end…'_ Raven thought to herself before shaking her head. She couldn't die yet, no matter how awful things might become she couldn't let herself die. Looking around, Raven thought about her options for a moment.

Nodding her head to herself, the violet haired girl then shifted her weight to one side, moving slowly over before she then came back towards her side. Shifting her weight back to the side, Raven mentally growled as she moved and then lightly bumped into Batgirl. Gritting her teeth, she then shifted her weight once more, getting a fair distance away before ramming into Batgirl this time. Listening and hearing a groan, she watched as Batgirl slowly roused from unconsciousness with obvious discomfort.

"Ugh my head…" She muttered and Raven let out a few muffled noises, Batgirl slowly looking to her and then watching as Raven tilted her eyes to the Joker Bomb. "OH SHIT!" Batgirl exclaimed before struggling with the vines that were holding her. "Dammit, the one time I leave my laser cutter at the batcave!" She grumbles to herself before unlocking the three long blades on her hidden gauntlets. The blades cut through the vine around her arms and she quickly reaches out for the bomb. 20 seconds flashing on the timer as Raven widens her eyes.

"Can't reach…" Batgirl grunts out and Raven tries to yell something, only getting out some muffled sounds out. 15 seconds left. Turning to Raven quickly, Batgirl gets what's she is trying to say and quickly reaches over to slice the vines from her arms. 10 seconds… Moving quickly Raven frees her mouth from the vine and then points a hand at the bomb. 5 seconds…

"Azerath Metrion ZINTHOS!" She exclaims, black energy wrapping around the bomb, before the violet haired girl quickly threw her hand up towards the sky. The bomb was sent flying up into the air, out of the hole caused by Blackfire and went up in a massive explosion that rocked the mall. Debris from the explosion, mostly just small grit and rocks knocked loose by it rained on the three Titana's before it faded, leaving all of them safe and sound… Breathing out a quick sigh of relief Raven then allowed her arms to go slack and hung limply, panting heavily…

"Nice thinking…" Batgirl then says while breathing a sigh of relief next to Raven, the violet haired girl simply panting.

"I think my entire life just flashed before my eyes…" She muttered to herself with heaving breaths and Batgirl nodded her head.

"How was yours?" Batgirl questions and Raven sighed.

"Lousy… till I met my friends… pretty good after I met Naruto…" Raven confesses with a light blush and Batgirl smiles lightly. "You?" Raven then asked and Batgirl blinked for a bit and then shivered.

"Besides that one time I almost got killed by Scarecrow… pretty good." She admitted and Raven slowly nodded her head while trying to steady her breathing. As she did, Batgirl finished cutting the vines around her ankles and dropped to the ground, grunting as she landed on her ass…

"It's a good thing you had those blades on you…" Raven notes while looking at the gloves out of the corner of one eye and Batgirl nods her head with a strange look.

"Batman forced me to wear them…" She admits with a far away look in her eyes. "He said… you never know when you won't have something and need it… always be prepared…" Batgirl admitted before sighing, rubbing the gauntlets lightly. "Robin never listened and when he tried the same with him, they got into a big argument…" Batgirl then said with a shake of her head Raven frowning slightly, and then looking at the blades with a more analytical expression…

Physically, the weapons were sharp and deadly, however, they had uses besides as weapons. They were perfect for defending the wrists and forearms, both necessary to use the throwing weapons used by Batman and his "Clan". The blades were deployed by twisting the wrist, thus making them perfect for cutting through ropes or as just seen, vines, tied around the forearms. They were also very practical for a hero who had to cut free a lot of hostages, block chains or pipes, among other weapons like Batman did with the common street thugs…

"Their actually pretty useful." Raven finally says and Batgirl nods her head before scowling deeply.

"Robin thought Batman wanted us all to have them because it would make us more uniformly equipped or something…" Batgirl mutters to herself and Raven frowned, what was it about Batman that brought these qualities in her leader out? As far as she knew, Robin was easy to sway into using what was useful, effective, and practical in combat. He'd even adapted two of his bird'arangs into a sword for such a purpose, though admittedly it was more because of Naruto and his sword than anything else.

Then again, Batman's main weapons and equipment, that she knew of at least, were all pretty much a standard for most Gotham Heroes she knew of. Those being a Utility Belt, Grapples, Throwing Weapons, Bola, Nets, Zip-lines, Explosive weaponry, freezing pellets, armored costumes, versatile capes, and modified masks with vision settings. _'However, looking at it from Robin's view and Batman's are too different things…'_ Raven then silently mused to herself. From Batman's view it was to use what was most useful, and to always have something extra just encase. But in his attempts to escape Batman's shadow, Robin had made errors in his own choices of weaponry…

He had a stronger than titanium cape that was very flexible for one and was used for defense due to its short length, but Batman's was used as a weapon from what she'd heard from Naruto, as well as a glider. The Dark Knight also used a wide array of ever expanding gadgetry, but Robin stuck to his older more custom weaponry. Birdarangs, Foldable Sword, his Collapsible Bo-Staff, Exploding Disks, Freezing Disks, smoke pellets, and gas bombs. All in all, Robin was so caught up with becoming his own person; he was loosing sight of the lessons from Batman. The lessons that made him a hero in the first place and the lessons that had kept him alive this long…

Shaking her head, Raven suddenly frowned and looked over to a distant Batgirl, wondering if she had the same thoughts. "Well… could you get me down now? The blood is kind of rushing to my head…" Raven asks, then mutters and Batgirl nods, then slowly gets up and helps her down, cutting the vines with her scalloped blades. Landing on the ground with a light thud, Raven grumbling under her breath before looking up to Batgirl as she helped her to her feet.

"So do we get Starfire down or wake her up first?" Batgirl asks and Raven frowns in thought once more. Waking Starfire up would lead to explanations about how they lost, and then Starfire would rush off to find Robin… No. That wasn't something they needed at the moment, especially with Ivy and Harley on the loose.

"No. First lets try to assess the situation, then will try and wake her up so she won't bolt on us to save Robin." Raven states and Batgirl nods her head in agreement with the violet haired sorceress.

"First off, Harley and Ivy got away, so did those other girls, and now the boys are more than likely under Ivy's control." Batgirl lists and Raven frowns for a moment.

"Speaking of which, Cyborg is normally all but immune to mind control, how is it working on him now?" Raven asks the red haired Dark-Angel and said girl rolls her eyes.

"Was it Psychic mind control before?" She asks and Raven slowly nods her head. "Figures. Psychics have to be able to break or bend the spirit of a person to control them. Ivy has no such limitation. And before I get into a long explanation about it, her body produces pheromones that make her irresistible to both men and Women, and she made a chemical agent that allows her to control men with a kiss. Ivy used chemical mind control rather then psychic, no breaking of will is needed for that." Batgirl explains and Raven blinks before slowly nodding her head, that would explain a few things, but that meant his higher brain functions were being suppressed…

"We're going to need a way to help them." Raven notes and Batgirl nods her head before both nearly fell over when the ground shook. "What was that?" Raven wondered and Batgirl frowned. While an earthquake might have been normal in some parts California, it wasn't exactly common around Jump-City.

"I have an idea, but I hope I'm wrong…" Batgirl states before making her way over to the door, followed by Raven. The two then come to a stop and Raven's eyes widen as she sees vines and giant, mutated plants growing out everywhere around the city, the range of which it is happening startling the girl greatly.

"Is Ivy doing all this?" She wonders and Batgirl gapes.

"I don't know, she's never managed to make so many this big all at once before…" Batgirl says in shock before quickly shaking her head while Raven frowns deeply. "We're going to need some backup…" Batgirl notes and Raven nods her head in agreement with the older hero.

"Who, The Justice League?" Raven asks and Batgirl shakes her head.

"They have other things to deal with. Besides, Robin would kill me if I called them in to save him. He's still got his stubborn pride after all." Batgirl reminds and Raven nods her head, then hears the screams and looks to Batgirl warily.

"Batman?" She offers as plants start attacking the city and Batgirl gives her a look in response. "Right, forget I said anything." Raven mutters before bracing herself on the door, Batgirl doing so as well as a massive plant twists around the tallest building in Jump City… Growling, Batgirl quickly turns to look at Raven with a no nonsense expression across her face.

"Go wake up Starfire, we need to head out and find Ivy. Something seriously smells here. Her powers aren't potent enough to mutate this many plants in an area this large in so little time." Batgirl orders and Raven slowly nods her head before quickly rushing to wake her unconscious friend. As she does, Batgirl looks towards the ever-spreading plants warily…

'_Please be safe Richard…'_ She thinks to herself before reaching into her belt and pulls out a cell phone. Quickly dialing a number she then holds it up to her ear with a frown, annoyed by the ringing. "C'mon pick up…" She mumbles to herself before hearing a click. "Kara?" She questions and hears an affirmative from the other end. "Yeah, nice to hear from you too, look I'm having some trouble with Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn here in Jump-City, think you can find some backup and get over here… how quick? I'd say within the hour…" Batgirl asks then replies flatly and here's a quick reply from the other end.

"Wait, don't just come over, remember those "Friends" you told me you met recently… yeah, them. Think you can bring them along? You can, good. Also, I need you to stop by Gotham… yes I know Batman's kind of scary, I just need you to get some things for me from him… no… NO! I don't want that Kara! Would you stop teasing me about that stupid crush already! I want you to get some antidote for Poison Ivy's kisses… yes… no, the boys on the Titans Team were affected… Thanks Kara, I really owe you one this time." Batgirl says to her friend before listening and smiling slightly.

"Thanks and see you soon…" Batgirl then says to her friend before closing the Cell-phone and returning it to her belt…

--

(Tartarus HQ…)

"YOU DID WHAT!?" Naruto demands of Jinx and the rest of the girls, Gizmo cursing up a storm while trying to figure out what was going on. As far as any of them knew, Jump-City was in lockdown. The plants that had spontaneously mutated and grown to monstrous proportions having nearly blocked all exits or escape routes. Thus when Jinx and the other girls got back, Naruto was on their ass with fury clear by his expression, his eyes nearly red from rage…

"We kind of fought and beat the Titans… and Batgirl." Jinx repeats with a weak grin and Naruto slaps his face, his mind going back to Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy's Arkham files. Harley Quinn. Real Name: Dr. Harleen Quinzel. Height: 5'7". Weight: 140 lb. Attributes: Total Disregard for Human Life. Status: Committed for Life. Poison Ivy. Real Name: Pamela Lillian Isley. Height: 5'8". Weight: 115 lb. Attributes: Uncanny ability to control Plant Life. No regard for Human Life. Status: Committed for Life. Either way, they were in some pretty deep shit here…

"So, let me get this straight…" Naruto says through gritted teeth while the other Tartarus Males, sans Gizmo, are listening in. "You guys beat the Titans, let three of them become slaves to Ivy, THEN LEFT THE GIRLS AT THE MERCY OF TWO COMPLETE LUNATICS WITH ABSOLUTELY NO REGARD FOR HUMAN LIFE?!" Naruto demands angrily, his eyes turning blood red with slits for pupils, every member of Tartarus suddenly cowering, Blackfire barely managing not to shake with fear as Dani hides behind her with Duela, both wide eyed and frightened.

"Uh… well… we thought… I mean…" Jinx tried to respond while leaning away from the snarling blond haired teen.

"Found it!" Gizmo suddenly called out, Naruto snapping his head to the tiny terror. "The plants are growing because of some shit in the air, my guess is Ivy's using Jump City as a fucking test run for some new plant concoction of hers! Shit, this is so bad, at this rate the whole city's going to be swallowed whole and then us!!" Gizmo states with a frown on his face, after all, Harley and Ivy were just visiting, they had to LIVE in Jump-City unlike them…

"What about Raven and the other two?" Naruto questions and Gizmo quickly typed on the computer, the girls breathing sighs of relief.

"I have NEVER been so afraid of anyone in my life…" Dani says with wide eyes behind her mask and Blackfire shudders.

"I've fought flesh eating aliens, giant robots, alien bounty hunters, and an entire race of extremely pissed off alien warriors but that was by far the scariest thing I have ever seen in my life…" Blackfire states while standing straight and Duela looks out from behind her with wide eyes.

"I think I wet myself…" She mutters in a whimper and the other girls look to her in disgust. "It was a joke." She mumbles, though they aren't sure if she's serious or not while Naruto looks over Gizmo's shoulder.

"Looks like your girlfriend and the other Titan Girls are fine. They seem to be stationed at the Museum and are heading outwards…" Gizmo states and Naruto breathes a sigh of relief, the girls doing so as well since Naruto would probably kill them if Raven was hurt… "Oh shit." Gizmo then muttered before rapidly typing on the computer, Naruto watching as the prison came up on his screen.

"What's happening Giz?" The blond boy questions and Gizmo grits his teeth.

"Looks like Robo-Butt is breaking some people out of the Prison…" Gizmo states with a frown and Naruto blinks.

"Who?" He questions and Gizmo looks at him and grimaces.

"All of them." He replies and Naruto slaps his face.

"Killer plants and every low-life scumbag and crazed super criminal in town is loose! Great! How could this GET any worse?!" Naruto demands furiously while rubbing his head and Gizmo frowns.

"How about the Fact Beast-Brain is heading straight for Cinderblock, Overload, and Plasmus' current location…" Gizmo offers and Naruto gapes, a second later he punches a wall, a new hole the size of a small crater the result. "Damn, someone's pissed…" Gizmo mutters to himself while Naruto merely growls.

'_Shit, shit, shit, shit… Those two psychos are going to trash Jump City, and I LIKE this town! No one hates me here! Well… Robin does… but I don't really care, besides, I like messing with him. Wait, focus Naruto! Let's see, we've got killer plants, an entire maximum security prison's worth of felons on the loose, more than half of them for crimes that I can't speak of without feeling dirty, and more than half the Titans out of action…why do you hate me so Kami-Sama? Oh well, there goes my sleep for the night… and why is it that no matter what I do I always end up playing the Hero?'_ Naruto inwardly grumbles before turning on his heel and stalking away.

"I'm heading into town. I may be a criminal but Ivy's gone way passed the line on this one. No body trashes my town, but me." Naruto states darkly while walking into the shadows and heading to his room, Dani looking to Jinx once he's gone.

"Think he'll remember to be mad at us when he gets back?" She asks and Jinx looks to the way he came and grimaces…

"Lets put it this way, I hope there's a lot of people for him to beat up before he gets back here…" She replies with obvious fear, gaining agreements from the rest of the older Tartarus members as well…

--

(??)

Kitten was annoyed, scared, and angry all at the same time. She'd been planning on trying to get a hold of Beast Boy to set up another date when plants started attacking her. Her father was currently locked in his lab, leaving him more or less safe, but she was currently in her Pink-X suit and fighting her way through a killer batch of vines. "What the hell is going on around here!?" She demanded furiously while flipping over another vine then expertly dancing around a few more before throwing a Shuriken at it, slicing through it and coming to a halt.

Breathing a sigh of relief for a moment she then gaped when the vine grew about four more vines from where she cut it. "Oh shit!" She called out before lunging out of the way then jumped onto the side of a building and crawled up the side of it. She could use her father's power to walk on walls if she wanted; she'd actually stolen those magnets to put people off her trail. Also it was hell for her to do that through her gloves and boots so the magnets had become necessary to her work as a thief. Flipping up to the top of a building, Kitten turned on her heel and backed away slowly as the vines started to creep towards her.

'_What the hell is going on?'_ She wondered to herself before quickly turning on her heel and bolting, running as fast as she could, even morphing her leg muscles to prime running condition to give herself just a little extra kick. Jumping across a rooftop and landing in a low crouch, the blond then looked up and gaped at what had happened to Jump City in little under a few hours…

The vines and plants had started spreading, fires were being caused here and there, sirens were blaring, people were screaming and shouting out in terror, pandemonium was taking hold of the city as people began to randomly attack the many vines or steal whatever they could in the confusion, the sky was turning an inky black color from the combination of late night darkness and the rising smoke and ash… the city looked like hell had paid them all a personal visit…

"Shit…" Kitten muttered softly before slowly walking forward and looking down at the devastation that was occurring. "This isn't a normal Villainous scheme…" She mused to herself before firing a grappling hook from her suit at her hand and then swung on it over to another building. People in orange jumpsuits were also running rampant in the streets, some had guns, others had whatever they had managed to procure, all of them with tearing through the city as if possessed…

"Ever pickpocket, murderer, arsonist, and rapist in the entire prison must have been let loose for this many to be out." She muttered then saw an explosion as Dr. Light stomped out of a building, blasting random criminals' left and right before jumping into the streets with a heavy looking bag of loot, behind him was none other than Mumbo-Jumbo, the blue skinned magician grinning as he made himself and his new partner disappear into thin air.

Shaking her head, Kitten looked down at the scenes below her for only a second before clenching her fists. "It's just like Gotham…" A familiar voice to her grumbled and Kitten turned to see Killer Moth standing behind her. His large humanoid moth structured body showing his visible anger and unease.

"Daddy?" She asked and the moth-man walked forward and sat beside her.

"Crime infesting the streets, random psychotic Villains attacking the city just to destroy it, super criminals attacking anyone who gets in their way, violence and death everywhere… it's why I didn't want to raise you in Gotham." Killer-Moth explained while looking down at Jump-City. Looking at her father, Kitten nodded her head; she could see her father's logic in pulling her out of Gotham. If any of the less-noble members of Gotham had managed to find out about her shape-shifting ability, she'd have been kidnapped and turned into a prostitute within a few days, weeks if she could mentally resist them…

"How'd you know it was me?" She questioned and Killer-Moth gave his equivalent of a grin in response, which wasn't much different to normal people, but to her, it was as clear as day.

"I raised you, I knew you'd take interest in crime or thieving in some way eventually." He replied with pride and patted her shoulder, Kitten smiling brightly under her mask. However screams of panic and fear caused her to turn back to the city below and frown deeply…

"We can't let this continue." Kitten states and Killer-Moth frowns deeply.

"We could just leave." He reminds and then grimaces when the masked eyes of Pink-X turn to glare at him… why did she have to have a mask with eye's that reminded him of someone who scared him to death… The Batman…

"Daddy." Kitten growled out and Killer-Moth shivered, the only thing worse than Batman as far as he was concerned, was his daughter pissed and in a super suit…

"Kitten, I know you love it here in Jump-City, but I am NOT taking on Poison Ivy!" KM states and Kitten glares towards her father fiercely, before suddenly blinking and looking at him strangely.

"How do you KNOW its Poison Ivy?" She asks her father and he gives her a look in response.

"Kitten, I lived in Gotham for years before you were born, and I can honestly say that this has Poison Ivy's signature written all over it." Killer-Moth states while waving a hand to the insanity that was happening around them. Frowning inwardly, Kitten debated considering her father's idea, with taking on a known psychopath with nearly no chance of surviving the said encounter… "Besides that, she's already gotten control of The Titan boys…" Killer-Moth then states and Kitten's eyes bolt open.

"WHAT!?!" She demands and Killer-Moth looks at her.

"Her powers aren't her only weapon Kitten… She's a geneticist like myself, only specializes in Plant's rather than insects. She's also a Chemist and a Botanist and created a special compound that, when combined with her natural pheromones, gives her control of any man she kisses." Killer-Moth explained, glad he'd whipped up a counter for that and injected himself years ago… hey, he was paranoid when Kitten was born, hence his quick retreat from Gotham and it's numerous sociopaths.

"Dammit!" Kitten growled while getting up, her fingers growing sharp claws and her teeth elongating as her fury increased. "I swear to god that I'm going to tear that red haired plant hussy a new one! No one touches my Beastie but me!" Kitten roared angrily before firing a grapple and swinging into the city, Killer-Moth blinking for a moment, then put two and two together…

"She's dating Beast-Boy now… well at least he's noble unlike her other boyfriends. Won't have to worry too much about him and her shape-shifting either given his own… wow… the first boy I actually like and he's a hero… I really am crazy." Killer-Moth mused with surprise, seeing as he didn't like her normal choices in boyfriends, especially Fang, the spider freak was a criminal, and not afraid of "Paralyzing" people to get what he wanted. And of course THAT was a risk Killer-Moth really didn't want Kitten taking, the boy just HAD to go.

However, given that his daughter was now pissed off beyond belief, Killer-Moth slowly got up and then opened his large wings, before he then flew back home. He had some gear to get together if he was going to be protecting Kitten from Ivy… and more than likely Harley as well if any of the rumors he had been hearing were correct…

--

(Elsewhere…)

Naruto was in full Red-X gear, however had traded out some of his gear for lighter, or more versatile versions. His helmet for instance was lighter for the sake he'd really need speed this time, thus had no lead lining, his gauntlets were sleek, black and had three long collapsible blades like Batman's, and last, over his shoulders was a long black trench coat with short sleeves and a slot for his Ninjatou on the back, the coat holding dozens of seals made into it where he had numerous shuriken, kunai, and other weapons at the ready.

'_Those two have seriously fucked with the wrong city this time…'_ Naruto thinks darkly while checking the amount of equipment stored in his coat… A hundred or so Explosive Notes, Check. Two hundred Shuriken, Check. Fifty Kunai, Check. Fifty Hiraishin Kunai, Check. An extra Ninjatou encase his first was destroyed or he felt like raining death down on someone's head, double check. And last was his X-suit… check. Shaking his head and tightening the straps of his gauntlets one last time, Naruto then took a deep breath.

'_Time I got to work. If Harley really wants to laugh, to smile, I'll make her smile, yeah; I'll make her SMILE all right! I'll carve a fucking smile into her face and then I'll do the same to Ivy if Kara-Chan even has a scratch on her!!'_ Naruto inwardly growled out, before he then used his belt and teleported into the city. Landing on top of a building his eyes bolted open upon seeing the sordid state of his city. "Shit…" He muttered before shaking his head and then looking around and sighing.

Checking the map in his helmet the blond haired thief saw his location and cross-referenced it with where Raven should be. "Damn, I still got a ways to go…" He mused while turning around, stopping when he saw Pink-X running across rooftops. "Well… a little help wouldn't hurt." He mused before moving quickly lunging in front of the girl and stopping her by catching her shoulders.

"OUT OF MY WAY!" She roared and Naruto rolled his eyes.

"You want Ivy?" He asked and Kitten nodded her head. "Chill, in case you haven't noticed any chance of getting to Ivy is close to suicide." Naruto states while nudging his head to the center of the city, a massive plant having spiraled around a building, long thorns growing off of it.

"Then what the hell do you suggest we do then?!" Kitten demands and Naruto sighs for a moment.

"Find the remaining Titans. One of them has to have some kind of plan, or at least an idea of what to do next." He states and Kitten takes a second to calm herself, then watches as Naruto walks over to the side of the building. "C'mon, I've got some pint up rage as well, so lets introduce some escapee convicts to "Misplaced Aggression"…" Naruto offers while cracking his knuckles menacingly, Kitten grinning like the proverbial Cheshire cat himself.

"Sounds good to me." She comments before lunging down to the ground, Naruto following after her and lashing out at a criminal with a right hook, sending him flying into a car. As he did Kitten came down in a dropkick, slamming a man into the ground with her landing on top of him in a crouch. Looking around she then stood up and quickly spun into a roundhouse kick to another criminal. As she did, Naruto grabbed two such convicts and slammed their heads together, then reached into his coat, used a seal and produced a few explosive notes with very little chakra. Placing them on several convicts he then flipped to stand beside of Kitten and narrowed his eyes.

"Boom." He uttered darkly and the notes exploded, knocking the criminals face first into the ground while Kitten looked at him in shock.

"Remind me never to piss you off…" She said warily and Naruto ignored her before making his way down the street.

"The Titan Girls are this way…" He states darkly before reaching into his coat once more, pulling out another explosive note he tossed it at a massive vine in their way. "Boom." He muttered once more, causing the vine to explode in front of him, the blond ex-nin merely walking forward, never stopping his forward march.

"Whoa… he's really not playing around tonight." Kitten mused quietly, completely and truly frightened of this "Red-X" she was seeing tonight… Shaking her head, Kitten then followed after the boy, staying behind him as he then reached to his back and pulled his Ninjatou free. Looking before the boy, Kitten saw several vines heading their way. Naruto didn't even stop, he moved in a single slicing motion, the wind arching out and cutting the plants into pieces. Swinging the blade only two more times diced the plants up into a pile of refuge…

"Oh shit…" Kitten muttered lowly, wide eyed as Naruto then twirled the blade in his hand before silently sheathing it on his back once more. His steps seemed to thunder as he stalked forward, eyes never shifting, set firmly forward. Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy should pray to whomever they worshiped that Raven was safe… because Red-X was no longer happy, this time he was truly pissed…

--

(??)

Groaning, Robin slowly opens his eyes. Never before was he so glad for him and Batman building up semi-immunity to Poison Ivy's pheromones, or the antibodies for that lipstick of hers… "One thing I got to hand him… he's always prepared…" Robin says to himself before noticing his hands are tied with chains, as are his ankles, legs, and his upper body, struggling with his bonds the boy wonder growls in his throat, and then is shocked when he finds his gloves are missing.

"Looking for dese wonder-breath?" Harley questions cheekily while holding Robin's Kevlar plated red vest, lead tipped cape, the steel lined gorget from his neck, steel capped boots, his gloves, and his utility belt.

"Someone's overly cautious I see… but why did you take my shoes?" The boy wonder suddenly questioned of the woman and she grinned down at him.

"Maybe I wants ta tickle ya to death." Harley offers with an amused smile and Robin gives her a strange look in response.

"Highly unlikely." He states and Harley pouts in response.

"Come come Harl. No need to be rude to the boy." Ivy muses while a vine gently brings her to the ground, the Boy Wonder growling towards her.

"Where are Cyborg and Beast Boy?" He demands fiercely and Ivy rolls her eyes.

"Their a bit busy elsewhere at the moment…" Ivy replies casually before walking over to the boy and leaning forward. "As for your things, we've learned not to let you or your partners surprise us with hidden gadgets." Ivy states simply while Harley places all of Robin's affects into a box and then kicks it to the side.

"Yeah! We're not messin around dis time Blunder-Boy." Harley states and Robin twitches violently… of all times for those two to notice their other gadgets.

"So what are you going to do with me now?" Robin demands with a deep scowl and Harley looks over to Ivy.

"Yeah, what ARE we gonna do wit him, Red?" She questions her friend and Ivy takes a thoughtful expression before smiling sinisterly.

"Lets leave him for my babies. With my new mister in working order they should be growing faster and faster." Ivy muses and Robin narrows his eyes.

"Mister?" He questions and Harley nods her head.

"Something I was working on before Batman caught me last. I had a prototype stored away and decided to test it out here before I try it out on Gotham." Ivy explains and Harley suddenly interjects with a wide grin on her face.

"Yeah, it's a lil' device Red cooked up. She takes a bunch a her blood, mixes it wit some plant mutagens, and a few other tings before using dis little ol machine ting to spray a mist into the air, causing it to spread all over da city witout her having ta bleed out on plants or nothing!" Harley explains and Robin's eyes widen in shock and horror.

"Thus the city will be over run by constantly growing and mutating plants… killing hundreds!" Robin grits out while glaring at the two through his mask and Ivy rolls her eyes.

"Are you humans really any different? Murdering all the helpless, defenseless plants of the world…" Ivy retorts and Robin sneers towards the woman, watching on with ever-rising anger as she turns on her heel. "C'mon Harley, lets go find a good seat to watch the show from." Ivy says and Harley nods her head, sticks her tongue out at Robin then follows after Ivy, laughing as she does so.

"Later Bird-Brain!" Harley offers with a sway to her steps while Robin struggles with the chains around his wrists. _'Dammit! I really wish I'd paid more attention to those escape artists at the circus now!'_ Robin can't help but think to himself as he tries to pry his hands loose from the chains… his city really needed him and the Titans now…

--

TBC…

--


	35. Urban Jungle Pt2

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

**Chapter 34**: **Urban Jungle Pt. 2**…

--

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

--

(Jump-City…)

Naruto walked down the streets of Jump City with his eyes narrowed dangerously, Kitten beside of him. "I wonder where all the citizens are…" Kitten wondered while looking around and Naruto crossed his arms.

"Not sure, but they obviously aren't in the inner most areas of the city anymore…" Naruto says darkly and Kitten rubs her arms at the ominous tone he used.

"Man its like the further inward we go the worse things seem to get…" Kitten suddenly noted and Naruto slowly nodded his head.

"Inwards is where Ivy and the bulk of these damn plants are coming from so things will be more chaotic around there… especially if Harley brought any Smilex with her…" Naruto replies while clenching his fist and narrowing his eyes even further. "Incoming crooks at twelve o'clock…" He grumbled and Kitten grinned evilly while cracking her knuckles when she saw whom he was talking about.

"Hello Misplaced Aggression!" She said happily before crouching down and launching herself forward, Naruto forming a few Explosive-X's in his hands and tossing them at the crooks on the sidewalks. The crooks all flew back from the explosion while Kitten jumped into a flying roundhouse kick, sending another crook to the ground. Spotting the twin thieves the rest of the crooks rushed them, believing that their greater numbers would earn them a victory.

"So, how many can you take?" Naruto asks while walking to stand at Kitten's side, the blond girl taking a mock thoughtful expression.

"They might be a problem if one more shows up." She quips and Naruto smirks slightly while unlocking the three long blades from the sides of his gauntlets, three spiked knuckles forming out of the fists of his gauntlets and crackling with electricity as he does.

"Then that'll be the one I have to take care of…" Naruto quips back at her as the crooks soon surround the two, Kitten smirking towards him in amusement.

"What, you're actually fighting?" She asks in mock shock and both suddenly lunge into the fray of criminals.

Kitten rolled forward and then quickly twisted into a sweeping kick, knocking three men down. Narrowing her eyes, the girl then spun in place, lifting one leg up to kick the three crooks, slamming into one another before then all three were sent flying into another group of crooks. Quickly moving the currently pink haired girl flipped over the next few criminals coming her way and tossed several of her pink X-shuriken into the faces of the men around her, causing them to stumble back. Landing behind them Kitten twisted around then brought her knee to one man's head, knocking him forward where she stood on top of him, arms crossed and smirking.

"C'mon, whose next?" She quips with a grin, thanking whatever god or goddess liked her for those self-defense classes she took as well as dancing. In response to her quip, a few men suddenly started to pick up pipes, knives, and chains and hold them threateningly. _'Great… I just HAD to ask…'_ Kitten inwardly grumbled while taking a defensive stance as the crooks came swinging at her…

Meanwhile, Naruto casually walked forward, a crook coming at him having an electrified fist to the gut before Naruto slammed the back of his fist into his face, sending him sprawling on the ground. Another came at the blond Ex-Shinobi, swinging a pipe at him Naruto blocked with his left gauntlet before sliding towards him and slamming his elbow into his throat. The man stumbled back at that and Naruto punched him in the face with his electrified fist, sending him flying back. Cocking his head to one side, Naruto wondered why that was so easy before sighing and raising a fist, his fist connecting with the face of a man behind him and causing him to drop.

Turning and looking around he saw a man with a chain come at him swinging the makeshift weapon wildly. Deftly dodging the chain the blond former Shinobi then kneed the man in the gut before backhanding him across the fact and sending him skidding across the ground. Turning his head, Naruto saw a few men with guns and narrowed his eyes dangerously. "You really don't want to do that…" He growled out and the men merely opened fire. Within seconds Naruto was proven correct as he used his "Thousand Blades Jutsu" the hundreds of blades of wind circling him slicing the bullets to pieces.

Gaping and backing away from the man in fear, the crooks shook as Naruto lunged forward, slamming a fist into the first crooks face then expertly twisting on his heel to deliver a precise kick to the next crooks face, landing Naruto elbowed the next man in the gut then raised his elbow to his chin before jumping into a roundhouse kick to the side of the final mans head. Coming down in a crouch all four crooks fell to the ground in various sprawled out positions while Naruto looked down at them coldly.

Turning his eyes to watch Kitten for a moment Naruto saw the girl was surround by a group with weapons and mentally frowned. _'Lets see if she has any fight in her or if it's all just a bunch of bravado…'_ He thinks to himself while crossing his arms and then raising a fist to hit a man behind him once more, sighing as he does so. _'I wonder how many times me and Batman have had to do that to people behind us?'_ He suddenly wondered while watching Kitten's own fight…

Kitten growled and crouched low to the ground while looking around herself. Inwardly she regretted not trying for more offensive gadgetry besides her Shuriken and the electrified palms of her gloves. _'Note to self, make more weapons…'_ She thinks to herself while then remembering something she'd added to her cape. _'Oh right! I added lead to the tips like Batman has after Daddy mentioned that about the Dark-Knights Cape!'_ She thought to herself and smirked as a man with a pair of knives came at her, inwardly grinning Kitten twisted on her heel while swinging the edge of her cape at the man, the lead tips slamming into his face and disorientating him.

That was all Kitten really needed to do as she lunged forward with a kick to the stomach, then ran up his body and flipped back and off of him. Landing in another crouch, Kitten twisted on her heel once more and swept another man off his feet. Rolling on top of him, Kitten slammed her fist into his face. Grinning to herself Kitten grunted as a pipe hit the side of her head from behind and knocked her to the ground, her ears ringing. _'Ouch… I am SOO glad I made this mask into a helmet…'_ She inwardly muses before rolling out of the way of another pipe and flipping onto her feet.

Looking around she yelps as a chain wraps around her left forearm and another crook reels her in with a smirk. Growling in her throat Kitten lifted her left leg to stop herself against him then twisted into a roundhouse kick to the man's head. Landing on her feet, Kitten spun the chain on her forearm and caught it in her hand, smirking despite herself as she lunged forward, swinging the chain into another man's head then twisting into a kick to the next man's face. Landing in a crouch, Kitten turns to see the last two men coming at her, one with a gun worrying her greatly.

'_Alright think Kitten, you can do this, think of something to deal with these guys or you're going to be six feet under!'_ The pinkette says to herself before her eyes light up when she remembers a weapon she'd taken from her father. _'Please let it still be in there!'_ She thinks while reaching into her utility belt and removes what appears to be a simple black cylinder. Hitting a small switch while swinging the weapon a long pink laser whip extended from it and knocked the gun from the first man's hand.

Grinning dispite herself Kitten then twisted the whip back around and swung it at the other man. As the whip was wrapping around him the man screamed out in pain as electricity arched across its beam and he fell to the ground. Bringing the whip back to herself and snapping it at her side Kitten then twisted once more, allowing it to wrap around the man whom had the gun before. Sending electricity down its length as well the man screamed out in pain before falling limp to the ground as Kitten turned the whip off.

Stowing the weapon into her belt Kitten blinked when she heard clapping then turned to see Naruto sitting on a sizable pile of bodies with one leg over the other. "Nice work there Pinky… though… isn't the whip just a little bit suggestive given your personality?" Naruto quipped with obvious amusement and Kitten placed her hands on her hips and gave him a look through her mask.

"You have a sword, I have a whip, seems like a fair trade off." She states and Naruto takes a thoughtful expression.

"Yeah… but my Sword doesn't exactly pertain to actions outside of combat like a whip can." He quips once more with amusement directed at the girl and she huffs before crossing her arms.

"I'm surprised you haven't accused me of bestiality yet." She grumbles and Naruto blinks before rubbing his chin for a moment.

"Hmm… must've missed that one… thanks for doing it yourself." He guessed and Kitten harrumphed, both suddenly bracing themselves when they felt the ground shake. "Alright enough witty banter, lets get back to work." Naruto states darkly while standing up and walking over to Kitten, the pinkette nodding her head as turned, Naruto stopping when he heard what sounded like motorcycles. "Incoming…" Naruto notes and Kitten frowns as the vehicles head towards them, picking out two shuriken Kitten prepares to throw them but Naruto holds out an arm.

"Allow me… I've still got a lot of pint up aggression I want to take out on these unlucky assholes." Naruto growled out angrily before lunging forward, coming to the first motorcycle he ran up the front and kicked the man off of it, then shifted his weight in midair and delivered a flying roundhouse kick to the next unlucky criminal. Landing in a crouch Naruto narrowed his eyes as the last two men on motorcycles came towards him, one with a pipe and the other with a chain.

Narrowing his eyes the blond Ex-Shinobi flipped over the first man, throwing an Explosive X towards him and sending him flying forward. Landing in a low crouch he then quickly took hold of the last man, threw him from the bike, and straight into a streetlight. Breathing out a grunt Naruto then turned to see Kitten gaping at him and ignored her while pulling up one of the Motorcycles. Revving the engine the blond Shinobi looked to his current partner with a raised brow.

"You coming?" He asked and Kitten blinked before quickly running over to him and hopping onto the bike behind him. Wrapping her arms around his waist she then looked around before sighing.

"In the words of my cousin, Will… Looks like it's going to be one of those days…" Kitten muses with a shake of her head and Naruto blinks before nodding his head in agreement.

"Could be worse, we could also have a ghost invasion as well as all this." Naruto notes with a shrug and Kitten slaps the back of his head.

"Don't say that! You'll jinx us!" She states angrily and Naruto chuckles lightly in his throat.

"Nah, Lady luck loves me." Naruto replies before tearing down the street with Kitten hanging onto him…

--

(Elsewhere…)

Raven sighed as she used her magic to hold onto a screaming and ranting Starfire, Batgirl looking to the Tameranian strangely. "She does know that we can't get to Ivy without walking to our certain death, right?" Batgirl asks Raven and the dark Titana merely sighs in response while rubbing her face with one hand.

"She's in love with Robin… And tameranians are all highly emotional creatures to an extreme extent. They even need to feel "Unbridled Joy" in order to fly." She then states and Batgirl blinks before looking back at Starfire and shakes her head.

"So she has to think happy thoughts to fly, like Peter Pan?" Batgirl asks and Raven stops and blinks for a few moments before slapping her face.

"How did I not notice that before?" She had to wonder and Batgirl smiled before looking back at the captured Tameranian, Starfire now pouting as Raven carried her around in a black energy bubble.

"Think we can let her out now?" Batgirl then questioned before all three girls turned to see chaos in the streets. There were criminals everywhere, all of which were making short work of trashing Jump-City while Ivy's plants were attacking anyone and anything that got too close to them…

"Oh shit…" Raven mutters while Starfire gasps in her bubble.

"We must stop this badness at once!" Starfire states and Raven nods her head, releasing the Tameranian as Batgirl grimaces.

"Ugh… this looks like Gotham on a bad day." She mutters to herself before sighing and pulled out a few Batarangs. "Alright girls, lets teach these crooks a lesson!" Batgirl orders and the three girls rush forward, Batgirl throwing a few Batarangs at a couple of the crooks, knocking guns from their hands before she slammed a kick to one of their heads, knocking them to the ground.

Nearby, Starfire slammed into two crooks then suddenly stopped, sending them flying into two more criminals. Frowning, the Alien Princess then lands on the ground and lunged at two more, grabbing them by their shirts she then tossed them to the four laid out criminals where Raven used the wires from a nearby street light to tie them up and hang them upside down.

"Well that's six down…" Raven mused then saw Batgirl kick four crooks over to them, all tied up and groaning. "Correction, ten down and an entire city's worth of criminals to go… and that's not even adding the metahumans and super criminals…" Raven mutters and Batgirl sighs for a moment.

"Welcome to my world…" She says with a sigh and Starfire looks to the two with worry over her features.

"Please, how will we be capturing all of the criminals who have escaped? There are so many of them and so few of us to do the catching, also, we do not have a way to be repairing the prison of which they are normally held…" Starfire asks then says with clear worry in her tone while Batgirl grabs then brings them all down to the ground as a massive vine passes overhead, slamming into and destroying a nearby building.

"Personally, I'm more concerned with surviving the night…" Batgirl states and Raven nods her head. "However, we need to wait for some backup I called, they should have the antidote for Ivy's lipstick so we can get your friends back and THEN we can worry about all these criminals." Batgirl states and Raven frowns while looking around.

"But we still need to survive this until that backup arrives." Raven notes with a thin frown and Batgirl nods her head with an identical frown on her own face.

"Please, that will not be so challenging, this is much like battling the gordanians when we first met! Yes?" Starfire offers then asks of Raven and the girl actually stops to think about it for a few moments.

"Somewhat, only the Gordanians didn't have hundreds of killer plants destroying the city." Raven reminds and Starfire concedes her point before all three quickly duck into an alley as another vine slams into the ground, crushing the few remaining criminals that were out and on the streets.

"Great… as if my night wasn't bad enough…" Batgirl mutters while looking at the vine and then to the girls with her. "Any ideas would be much appreciated." She states and Starfire looks at the side of the vine and frowns.

"I may be able to use my Eye-Bolts to cut it down… but I have never tried to do the cutting with my powers…" Starfire offers then admits and Raven sighs.

"Allow me…" She mumbles before walking towards the plant and held up a single hand, eyes glowing white seconds later. "Azerath Metrion ZINTHOS!" She exclaimed and the fine was covered in black magical energy before Raven gritted her teeth and ripped the plant from the ground. Grunting the young Titan then braced herself and tossed the vine into an intersection, cutting it off from vehicles.

"Whoa…" Batgirl uttered then shook her head while Raven fell to one knee, panting heavily. "You okay?" Batgirl asked quickly while moving over to the younger hero. Holding up a finger to ask for a second, Raven took another few brief moments to catch her breath before breathing out.

"It takes a little too much energy for me to do that… we might have to find an alternative method until your friends arrive." Raven states and Batgirl nods her head, then reached into her utility belt and pulled out a pair of odd looking forearm bracers. "What are those for?" Raven asks and Batgirl pulls the items on, a pair of short buzz saws extending from the sides a second later as she then smirked.

"Time to do a little weed whacking." She replied and then turned to look down the road, her eyes widening. A couple of the vines suddenly started to shudder and shake, then began to glow an ominous green for a moment before massive thorns started to grow out of them… "Shit! This is bad, they're mutating even farther!" Batgirl said in shock and Raven grimaced, Starfire merely raising a brow.

"But how are the thorns of the plants bad? They hurt when I pick the roses but they are not dangerous." Starfire notes and Raven sighs.

"Starfire, Poison Ivy is known for Poison, her body itself can be toxic. Thus, since these plants have her blood in them, they are more than likely VERY poisonous…" Raven explains and Starfire makes an Oh with her mouth before grimacing visibly.

"That will be a challenge…" She admits while Batgirl turns on the buzz saws stationed on her forearms.

"Well I don't know about you girls, but I'm not standing around anymore!" Batgirl then stated before quickly rushing towards the mutating plants, Starfire and Raven looking to one another.

"Please friend Raven, why do we not make "The Plan" to evade the thorny plants of badness rather than run threw them?" Starfire asks and Raven looks into a sewer and grimaces visibly.

"Because they're in the sewer, crawling along the roofs, inside the buildings, and generally everywhere we turn. There's nowhere for us to run or hide and so its better to take the short route rather than try to sneak past what senses our presence…" Raven explains and Starfire makes an oh with her mouth once more before frowning.

"Friend Raven, please remind me to hurt this Ivy of Poison very badly once we are finally finding her." Starfire then asks and Raven looks at her friend for a moment before smirking.

"First of all, its Poison Ivy, Starfire, second of all… Get in line." She replies and Starfire grins before both girls fly down the street and around the plants to go after Batgirl…

--

(Elsewhere…)

Kakashi braced himself as the entire base Ravager had them set up in shook and shuddered for a moment. "What the hell is going on out there?" He demanded while Sasuke, Neji, and Hinata were holding themselves up, Ino and Sakura behind Ravager.

"It appears as if Poison Ivy decided to come to town… and trash it." Ravager replies coldly with a disinterested shrug as she then brings up a view of what was going on up above.

"HOLY SHIT!" Sakura shouted upon seeing the vines and criminals tearing the entire city apart… "Who IS this Poison Ivy, and where does she get those vines?" Sakura demanded while Kakashi and the others made their way over to them, bracing themselves on whatever they can along the way.

"Poison Ivy… AKA Pamela Lillian Isely, a former botanist before she was mutated into a plant human hybrid. She has chlorophyll for blood that mutates plants, and the ability to telepathically control plants. She's a villain from Gotham who has an obsession with plants, and given her inability to have children thanks to the experiment that made her as she is; I believe that her love of plants is based on her directing all her motherly love onto them. However, Ivy has shown a startling care for Children, going out of her way to protect them in any given situation." Ravager explained while Kakashi looking at Poison Ivy with shock and awe when she brought up a picture.

"Also, the mutagen used on her made her almost physically perfect, able to regenerate damaged tissue, enhanced strength, enhanced endurance, an immunity to all known poisons, and she produces pheromones that make her completely irresistible to both men AND women… add onto that she's a plant geneticist who can create a wide variety of plant based poisons and other chemicals and toxins and the woman is a major threat to anyone in her path…" Ravager goes on and Sasuke frowns towards the woman for a moment before crossing his arms.

"Does she have an accomplice?" He asks and Ravager checks her monitors, soon spotting Ivy with a… clown girl?

"Oh that's bad…" Ravager actually said with a grimaced then sighed. "Another Gotham Villain. This one is known as Harley Quinn, formerly Dr. Harleen Quinzel… She was doctor at Arkham Asylum, an intern really; who was trying to get her college credit and no one else would take her. Unfortunately she got The Joker as her first case. The joker turned and twisted her mind until he finally broke her, Harley became an obsessively loyal fangirl who had no other thoughts other than helping her "Puddin'" The Joker, or as she calls him "Mistah Jay"." Ravager explained and then leaned back in her seat and rubbed her temples.

"Harley is physically abused, beaten, and generally treated like trash by Joker because he finds it funny, but she's so obsessed she forgives him every time, he's beat her, slapped her, thrown her out a window, kicked her out of a moving vehicle, left her to die on a flying vehicle among other things and she's remained completely loyal. Also on occasion, Harley will be "Fired" by the Joker and at such times she usually joins up with Poison Ivy, one of her only true friends. Ivy genetically altered Harley, making her physically more powerful, gaining increased strength, flexibility, and endurance so she can survive Joker's abuse, she also has an immunity to poisons like Ivy, and employs a vast array of clown and joke themed weaponry like The Joker…" Ravager then explained and Sakura blinked when Neji, Hinata, Ino, and Kakashi all looked at her for a moment…

"What?" She asked with a blink and Kakashi looked away first.

"Oh nothing Sakura… nothing at all…" He said with a whistle and Neji closed his eyes and looked away from her with Hinata and Ino looking to the ceiling.

"So what should we do about those two?" Sasuke then questioned and Ravager stretched out her arms before crossing them over her chest.

"Nothing." She states and Sakura looks at her incredulously.

"Nothing! But they're out there destroying your city!" She shouts and Ravager gives her a pointed look in response.

"Not my problem, besides, this gives me the chance to observe the Titans and gather info on our enemies…" Ravager states coldly while turning back to the screen and Kakashi frowns deeply. It was obvious to him that this girl was ruthless, ruthless to an extent that bordered on the psychotic. And he was beginning to wonder if it might have been a bad idea to team up with her…

"B-but what about all t-the p-people? Shouldn't we d-do something t-to save t-them?" Hinata asked worriedly and Ravager scoffed while looking at the screen.

"This place is protected by a foot of titanium all around. I have no need to save nor protect any of the worthless peons up there, and besides, what would I get with such an action?" Ravager stated curtly, her single cold grey eye causing Hinata to shiver in fear while she returned to the screen. "Now please leave me be, I have too much work to do to play with you…" Ravager then stated with a shooing motion while returning to her work on the computer, Kakashi pulling Sakura and Ino with him while Neji handled Hinata, Sasuke reluctantly following them.

"Kakashi Sensei, we can't just leave those people to suffer… can we?" Sakura asked and Kakashi sighed.

"Our mission is to retrieve, Naruto… Nothing else. If we were to go out, there is a very high probability that we'd be spotted and followed back here. If that were to happen after we were weak from fighting, we'd be captured and from what I've seen and with our current record we'd be taken by the Justice League and locked up in a Super Human Prison in space… or worse… that "Phantom Zone" of Superman's…" Kakashi explained while rubbing his face and sitting down with a sigh.

"So we just sit here safe while people are dieing!?" Ino demands and Kakashi sighs once more while crossing his legs.

"Its one of the choices one has to make when you're a Shinobi… sometimes you don't get to play the hero when you want too… sometimes you have to let people die. Our mission is all we should worry ourselves with at the moment. Once we get Naruto and the Sacred Scroll of Sealing we can return to Konoha." Kakashi reminds while crossing his arms and Sakura and Ino looked over to Neji for support, the Hyuuga Jounin merely opened an eye and then frowned.

"The Life of a Shinobi isn't all fun and games… sometimes we are forced to make decisions we'd rather not make." Neji states simply and Sakura growls in response before crossing her arms and looking away from them…

--

(Downtown Roadway…)

Riding down the roads of Jump City Naruto suddenly heard something and turned his head. Looking back he could see lights heading their way and inwardly grimaced. Turning down an exit the blond found himself riding down a long tunnel with almost red colored lights flashing above them, vines curving all around and flailing. Grumbling to himself Naruto deftly evaded the arching vines and then looked into his mirrors. Frowning and grunting when he saw the oncoming bikes he then tapped Kitten's thigh, the girl blinked and then gave him an angry glare.

"Hey Pinky, before you yell or something, I thought you might want to check out our six o'clock…" Naruto says and kitten blinks in confusion, before turning her head and then grimaces upon seeing a group of criminals on motorcycles heading their way with pipes, chains, and whatever else the could find to use as weapons…

"Great, motor-heads…" She grumbles to herself and Naruto chuckles lightly to himself while revving the engine.

"Hold on Pinky, this is going to be a bumpy ride!" Naruto exclaims while Kitten hold on tighter. Riding down the street, Naruto smirked as one of the motor-heads came up at his side, swinging a chain at him. Evading the attack Naruto then formed an X-Shuriken in his hand threw it at the man, connecting with his head and knocking him off of his bike and tumbling down the road as more Motor-Heads came up behind them.

"Can you please keep your eyes on the god damned road!?" Kitten demands and Naruto turns his head and curses, swerving out of the way of a downed car while one of the Motor-Heads screamed and jumped off of his bike before he would have hit. Breathing a sigh of relief and looking to his mirrors, Naruto growled when he saw four more motor-heads heading for them.

"I swear, don't these guys have anything better to do than mess with me?" Naruto grumbled and Kitten rolled her eyes.

"Not really, and given the state of the city I don't think it's likely they'll be letting us go too easy." Kitten notes and Naruto nods his head before reaching back and then unsheathed his sword. "What the hell are you going to do with that!?" She demanded and Naruto held his blade downwards, the tip scraping along the ground and sparking.

"I'm going to deal with these Motor-Headed morons that's what… not to mention those vines…" Naruto states then nudges forward and Kitten gasps when she sees a mass of vines forming into a wall up ahead with thorns covering them. "What's with the thorns?" Naruto had to wonder and Kitten shrugged her shoulders. "Personally I don't want to know so lets not find out!" Naruto then states and Kitten nods her head in agreement as Naruto slashes his sword, a stream of wind launching forward as Naruto cut the vines down and passed them, the Motor-Heads hot on his tail.

Turning his eyes to his mirrors once more the blond grimaced as a Motor-Head came up at his side. "Hold on Pinky, I can already tell this is going to be one hell of a party!" Naruto says while using one hand to control the motorcycle as one of the motor-heads comes up beside of him with a pipe. Grinning despite himself, Naruto slashed at the man, cutting his bike's front wheel off and causing him to be sent flying off of it as it fell forwards.

"THAT'S what you meant?!" Kitten demanded and Naruto chuckled.

"What did you think? I was going to kill them? Sorry babe, killing people really isn't my style." Naruto quipped while riding down the street, inwardly admitting that this was also kind of fun for him. Seeing a bunch of vines up ahead of them, Naruto considered cutting those down before an idea came to mind. Revving his engine the blond shot forward, swords tip sparking along the ground as he cut a small part of the vines apart, allowing him to ride through. Looking to his mirrors he saw an explosion before two of the Motor-heads rode through the small hole and came up on his rear.

"Your enjoying this aren't you!" Kitten accused and Naruto grinned in response.

"Of course babe! This is a blast! I can't remember the last time I had this much fun while I was playing the hero!" Naruto exclaims with a laugh, Kitten screaming as the blond ex-Shinobi revved the engine of his motorcycle and shot forward. Smirking beneath his helmet the blond looked to his mirror once more and watched as the last two motor-heads came at him. Looking forward he looked for something and grinned when he saw a piece of concrete half hanging from the ceiling.

'_That'll do!'_ He thinks to himself before swinging his sword, sending a quick burst of wind flying towards the concrete and knocking it down. The concrete landed on top of a car with a crash and Naruto reared back on the front of the motorcycle. Allowing the front wheel to come down on the concrete Naruto rode up along it and into the air. Screaming as he did, Kitten's grip on the blond Ex-Shinobi increased while a Motor-head came up beside them.

Shifting his weight, Naruto managed to kick out at the motorcycle when it was close enough, sending it and its rider falling to the ground. Landing and chuckling in his throat Naruto looked down at Kitten's arms as she held onto him. "You know… your hanging on a little too tightly…" Naruto groans out and Kitten shakily raises her head and glares at the back of his head.

"S-shut up! With you driving like such a lunatic it's a miracle I've haven't died of a heart attack!" Kitten screamed at the blond furiously and Naruto rolled his eyes before turning his eyes to his mirror. Spotting the last of the motor-heads and idea came to the blond and caused him to grin widely.

"Hang on tight Pinky, things are about to get really wild!" Naruto exclaimed while revving his engine and screaming forward. Flipping his sword up he quickly sheathed it and then watched as the last motor-head came up towards him. Narrowing his eyes with an amused smirk across his lips Naruto grinned wider than ever as he saw several vines up ahead of them. Reaching into his coat and placing several explosive notes onto his bike the blond Shinobi smirked.

Looking to the bike at his tail Naruto then slowly got up, pulling Kitten with him. As he did Kitten wondered what was going on, only to scream when the young former Shinobi then flipped off of the bike and spun into a kick, knocking the motor-head off of his bike and landing on it with a grin. "Boom!" He then exclaimed when the bike was close enough to the vines, causing the explosive notes and the bike to explode and knocking the vines out of his way. Riding passed them Naruto laughed loudly and Kitten shakily glared at him, fury clear in her azure eyes beneath her mask.

"Ha! Now that's what I call a party! Think there are anymore of them?" Naruto asked with a laugh and Kitten slapped the back of his head angrily.

"WHAT THE HELL! Are you out of your fucking mind?!" The girl demanded and Naruto merely continued to laugh. "It's not funny!" Kitten shouted before biting her lip. "It's not…" She tried to say only to start laughing as well as they rode out of the tunnel, soon spotting downtown.

"Almost there!" Naruto says and then curses when a gunshot nearly hits them. Swerving to the side then looking to his mirrors Naruto grimaces upon seeing Johnny Rancid is on their tail. "Shit, looks like the Motor-Heads boss is hot on our tail…" Naruto grumbles and Kitten turns then grimaces when she sees Rancid as well.

"Great, and I thought things couldn't get worse…" Kitten groaned out before looking to Naruto. "Got any bright ideas for this guy?" She asks and Naruto nods his head, turns and heads onto an off ramp.

"Just hold on tight and don't even THINK of letting go till I tell you the cost is clear." Naruto orders while taking a deadly serious tone and narrowing his eyes. Unlike the other morons thus far, Johnny was bi far and wide a more threatening presence. Unlike them, he knew how to ride and ride well; also he had twin revolvers to fight from a distance while Naruto would normally be limited to his sword… Of course he was still pissed about Ivy and Harley but he'd managed to blow off a lot of steam on those last few motor-headed losers…

Cursing and dodging a bullet aimed at them Naruto then looked to his mirrors and frowned. Inwardly groaning when he could only think of one way to deal with the man he patted Kitten's thigh once more to get her attention. "Pinky, take control of the bike…" He ordered while ignoring the loud "WHAT!" the pinkette shouted at him before he twisted around her and came to the back of the bike. Lunging forward and taking hold of the handles of the bike Kitten inwardly plotted Naruto's very painful death while gulping and holding the bike steady.

Behind her, Naruto situated himself reverse of normal and narrowed his eyes while pulling his sword from his back. _'Alright Rancid, lets do this…'_ Naruto inwardly muses while narrowing his eyes as the grey skinned biker tears down the road, getting closer and closer to them.

"Why is he even after us!? As far as he knows were criminals like him!" Kitten demands then exclaims and Naruto rolls his eyes.

"The Motor-Heads are Rancid's gang, ten to one he doesn't like it when his boys are getting the shit kicked out of them." Naruto replies while keeping his eyes on Johnny, then quickly blocked a bullet that was heading towards him. _'Alright… now how do I deal with you Rancid?'_ Naruto wondered while narrowing his eyes, only for Kitten to gasp and draw his attention. "What's up Pinky?" he asks the girl and she shakes slightly.

"Blockade!" She replied and Naruto cursed while turning back to Rancid.

"Try and keep the bike going steady, I'll be right back!" Naruto states while sheathing his Ninjatou the blond then jumped off of the bike and into the air, teleporting as soon as he was high enough he came down on the front of Johnny's bike and narrowed his eyes on the man.

"Shit what are you crazy or just stupid?" Johnny demanded while pointing his revolver at the ex-shinobi. Firing the weapon Johnny was surprised when Naruto deftly avoided the fire by twisting his body to the side.

"No, the name's X, Red-X!" Naruto growls out before placing a glowing red-X onto the dash of Johnny's motorcycle, then jumped off of the bike and teleported back to Kitten. Appearing above Kitten her came down and swung behind the surprised girl and causing her to yelp. Meanwhile Johnny blinked then looked at the glowing X, the glow pulsing and the pulsing slowly becoming more and more rapid…

"Aww shit!" He shouted before jumping off of the bike and rolling to a halt as his bike sped forward for a distance before exploding. "DAMN THAT BASTARD! HE'S SO GONNA PAY FOR THIS!" Johnny roared angrily while throwing his helmet to the ground and then kicking it.

Elsewhere Naruto and Kitten continued riding, drawing ever closer to the blockade and Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Move over, I wanna drive!" Naruto states while swiftly getting back into place while Kitten shakily wrapped her arms around his waist. As she did, Naruto got into position and opened two slots on his gauntlets, twin thermal Blasters folding out of them at his wrists.

"What are those?" Kitten asks over the roar of the engine and Naruto smirked.

"You know that highly experimental hand held Thermal Blaster that went missing a couple years back?" He questioned and Kitten slowly nodded her head. "These are modified and even smaller versions that Gizmo integrated into my gauntlets." Naruto then states and Kitten's eyes widen in shock.

"Whoa… what ISN'T in that suit of yours?" She asks and Naruto shrugs his shoulders before holding onto the handles of the bike and firing his twin thermal blasters forward. The blasts from the weapons impact with the blockade seconds later and send it flying in a burst of red light, Naruto and Kitten riding passed the debris while his blasters fold back into his gauntlets.

"I LOVE these new Gauntlets! And these are just the prototypes, I can't wait to get my hands on the perfected models!" Naruto says happily and Kitten gapes before shivering at the thought of what the perfected models would be like if THOSE were only the prototypes! Riding further down the street and into Jump City Naruto soon spotted and off ramp and then turned onto it. Riding down the off ramp Naruto soon spotted the telltale black energy of Raven's powers.

"Yes! There they are!" He exclaimed with a grin while riding towards the energy. _'Thank Kami-Sama your safe Kara-chan…'_ Naruto thought to himself while riding towards the girl, looking around Naruto nearly gaped seeing people were still in this area, and thus Raven, Starfire, and Batgirl were trying their damnedest to ensure the safety of all the citizens. Inwardly groaning Naruto then tapped Kitten's thigh once more to get the pinkette's attention.

"Hey Pinky, check it out…" Naruto states and Kitten looks as well and gapes.

"Oh shit… vines, criminals, fires, and everything else that comes with a disaster like this… we have to help those people!" She stated and Naruto nodded his head soon spotting the three Titana's. At the moment Starfire was flying into buildings and pulling people out, Raven forming ramps for the upper levels so that the people could get down. Meanwhile batgirl was dealing with most of the criminals as Raven got the people to a nearby bus for safety and to keep them together.

"Yo!" Naruto called out and Batgirl turned to see him as he came up beside her. Blinking as he did Batgirl couldn't help an exasperated sigh at seeing the skull-masked thief at a time like this…

"Why am I not surprised to see you out and about?" She wonders with her arms crossed over her chest, Naruto shrugging his shoulders in response.

"Need a hand here Red?" He asks with an amused tone and Batgirl blinked for a moment upon seeing the skull-masked thief.

"Sure… but whose she?" Batgirl questioned while motioning to Kitten and Naruto chuckled lightly.

"If she wanted you to know, would she be wearing a mask?" He quipped and Kitten snickered in response Batgirl frowning.

"Right… I mean what do I call her?" She asks and Kitten merely points to the X on her chest.

"That should be obvious to the "Girly-Crusader"." Kitten states with amusement at one of the nicknames Batgirl had earned over the years. In response Batgirl blinked for a moment before suddenly growling towards the pink haired girl furiously.

"Why you little!" She growls out but before an all out brawl between the two could occur Naruto got off the bike, Kitten following suit.

"While I would LOVE to see a catfight between you two, I'm more interested in surviving the night…" Naruto comments and Batgirl nods her head, still glaring at Kitten angrily. _'Wow… Xs really don't get along with Batman's sidekicks…'_ Naruto notes before spotting Raven and quickly running over to her. "Kara-Chan! Thank Kami-Sama your alright!" He said while grabbing her into a hug and Raven blinked in surprise.

"Naruto… what are you doing here?" She asked quietly and Naruto released her, then looked around to make sure no one was watching him. Starfire appeared to be busy saving people, and Batgirl appeared to be trading insults with Kitten as they beat on criminals'… wow… it was like him and Robin in the bodies of girls…

"I came to help you." Naruto finally admitted and Raven raised a brow.

"Not that I'm complaining… but isn't that kind of dangerous for our secret?" She asks her boyfriend and he rubs the back of his neck.

"Well… I MAY have been one of the reasons Harley was in town… but I never said she could bring Ivy with her." Naruto admits and Raven pinches the bridge of her nose, wondering why that didn't surprise her any…

"Right…" Raven mumbled then felt the ground shake.

"Anything I can do for you, Kara-Chan?" He questioned and Raven blushed.

"One, try to reframe from calling me that, neither Starfire nor Batgirl know your identity and if you keep this up it's going to be blown big time…" Raven stated with her arms crossed and Naruto blinked before grinning nervously.

"Uh, right, sorry about that, but I was just really worried about you." Naruto says and Raven's look softens.

"Thanks." She offers before both brace themselves and Starfire flies out of the building and down to them.

"Friend Raven I have evacuated all of the civilians from this building…" Starfire said then stopped when she saw Naruto. "Hello Red-X… what are you doing here?" She offered with a small wave and Naruto shrugged his shoulders.

"Harley came to visit me, brought Ivy with her, and now both are trashing the city I live in, MY city. And nobody trashes it but me." Naruto explains with a nod of his head and Starfire frowned in thought.

"Then it is a matter of pride yes?" She asks and Naruto blinks.

"Eh… something like that…" He admits and the alien princess nods her head.

"Very well then, so long as you do not do the bad things I will allow you to assist us without the fighting. But please would you assist in the rescuing of civilians, many of these buildings are very unstable." Starfire says then pleads and Naruto smirks beneath his mask while looking around. Grinning to himself the blond then formed a familiar t shaped hand seal and took in a breath.

"**Taijuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"** He exclaimed and hundreds of him suddenly appeared all around them, Starfire and Raven openly gaping. "Alright boys you heard the princess fan out and do your thing!" Naruto then called out and the clones all gave an affirmative as they all quickly made their way into the many buildings around them.

"Wow… so you're also a one man army as well as a former Ninja…" Raven comments and Naruto rolls his eyes, a serious frown on under his mask.

"Are there anymore buildings or civilians around here?" He asked and Starfire blinked before looking at him.

"Perhaps… but I believe the authorities are dealing with those." Starfire admits and Naruto frowns before cursing as someone breaks through one of the nearby buildings with a wide grin.

"Alright you ruddy pukes! Make way for Punk Rocket!" The teen exclaimed loudly while holding a guitar in hand. Swinging an arm the teen then somehow sent a sound wave from the instrument and knocked a car into the air before it then slammed into the ground. "No one can stop the sounds of Chaos!" He shouted with a wide grin and Naruto stopped everything to look at the odd teen… _'Orange Jumpsuit… spiky hair… very loud and equally annoying… shit it's like my dobe self as a villain…'_ Naruto thought to himself with a flat expression under his mask, then grinned and cracked his knuckles.

"Oh I'm so gonna enjoy this!" He then said before teleporting behind the strange teen. Tapping him on the shoulder, Naruto watched as Punk Rocket turned to him and slammed his fist into the teen's face, causing him to go flying… The odd teen soon landed in a car, ass down and through its windshield with his head lolling back and tongue hanging out of his mouth. "Ahh… closure…" Naruto muses to himself before looking up at the building Punk had blown through and grimaced. The building was on its last legs and from what he could tell would be coming down any second…

"Great just what I didn't need." Naruto notes while starting to leave, only to hear a scream. Eyes widening the young Shinobi turned on his heel and jumped onto then ran up along a wall as the building started to come down. Flipping onto the floor where the scream had come from Naruto looked around before using his suit to hone in on the screaming / crying for help. As he walked down the hall Naruto had to brace himself as the building started collapsing. "Shit! Why does this kind of shit only ever happen with me around?!" Naruto demanded before finding the right room and kicked the door down.

"Where are you?!" Naruto shouted then cursed and rolled into the building as debris came down behind him. Panting heavily and looking around Naruto cursed to himself while opening a door, then backed up upon finding nothing. Turning the blond spotted another door and he kicked it down, finding a child's bedroom. Looking around Naruto soon found a little girl in the closet and quickly picked her up. Cursing Naruto then fired a grapple as the floor came out from under them then swung himself over to the window.

"You okay?" He asked and the girl merely held onto him for dear life. Deciding that was as good an answer as any Naruto busted the window out and then jumped out of the building, and then teleported to the ground as the building came down behind him. Landing in front of Raven and Starfire Naruto breathed out a sigh and looked to her. "Here…" He groaned out while handing the child to Starfire then looked around. "I sure hope that's not going to happen again…" Naruto mumbles before all three looked to the side to see a vine had grown up and out of the ground near the bus with all the people…

"You have GOT to be kidding me!" He exclaimed while Kitten and Batgirl came over to them. "Anyone here know how to drive anything but a motorcycle?" He asked while looking over the girls and Raven blushed.

"Actually… I do." She admitted and Naruto looked at her in surprise for a moment before sighing and then rubbed his temples.

"Right then go do that, me and Starfire will try to keep it off your tail…" He states before feeling another shudder of the ground as strange pods started to pop up all around the area. "What the fuck are those?" He asked and Batgirl frowned, a criminal near one of the pods apparently too close suddenly being hit by a strange spore it expelled, knocking him to the ground dead…

"Shit! Ivy's plants are starting to mutate again, those are similar to some Spores Ivy unleashed on Gotham a while back, their lethal!" She says while pulling out several batarangs and Naruto groaned then pulled his sword from his back.

"Great, then how do we stop them?" Naruto asked and Batgirl frowned.

"We have to rip the core out of them." She replied and Naruto frowned, that was going to be a little too close for comfort…

"I can do that." Kitten suddenly said and they looked at her. "My suit was recently equipped with the same materials as a HAZMAT suit. So I can get near poisons and toxins without ill effects." She explains with a smirk and Batgirl frowns.

"So can I… my suit was made with similar intentions and also has other settings…" She states and Naruto shakes his head.

"Either way, both of you need to get rid of the ones in front of the bus, Raven, tell everyone inside to close their windows, Starfire, you take the girl to the bus and find her family then I need you to come back and help me deal with this big ass vine before it crushes the bus and the people with it. Alright?" Naruto asks then questions and gets nods from the girls, Batgirl tapping her mask, a pair of white lenses coming down over her eyes as she pulls a gasmask from her belt and puts it over her lower face. "Good, now move out!" Naruto orders and the girls do so quickly, Raven and Starfire entering into the bus while Kitten and Batgirl head for the pods up ahead.

"Damn, what a night…" Naruto mutters to himself tiredly while narrowing his eyes on the nearby vine. Lunging forward, Naruto swung his sword, the wind from his blade sailing towards the flailing tendril. However, seconds before the burst of wind would have cut it in half the vine moved out of the way and Naruto grimaced. "Great… this one won't hold still… that means their learning…" He noted before cursing as the vine then swung at him and crushed the ground he had been at seconds before.

Starfire chose that moment to return, a starbolt hitting the vine and making it lash out at her. "Starfire! Try to keep it busy for like a second so I can cut it down!" Naruto shouted at the red haired alien princess and she quickly nodded her head while flying around above him. Zipping around the vine and staying far away from the thorns on the object Starfire threw her Starbolts at it once more while Naruto waited for the right moment. Flying around Starfire soon turned, causing the vine to turn and Naruto quickly lashed out, sending another arch of wind flying and slicing the vine near the ground.

"Well that's that…" Naruto muttered as the vine fell to the ground started to spasm for a moment and then became still. Breathing out a sigh Naruto then sheathed his sword while Starfire landed near him.

"I believe that we should make the haste and assist the Batgirl and Pink-X now, please!" Starfire said and Naruto frowned.

"No. I'll handle the pods with them, you go get to the bus, your not immune to those spores, nor do you have any protection from them." Naruto states and Starfire looks at him before demurely nodding her head and flying after the bus, Naruto teleporting to Kitten and Batgirl's side. "Alright ladies, how many more do we have to trash?" Naruto asks the two and Kitten points, Naruto grimacing when he sees the number of pods in their way. "Shit… alright, that does it, no more playing around!" Naruto grumbles and makes a t with his hands.

"**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"** He exclaimed loudly and then looked around at the group of a half dozen clones around him. "Alright men, rip out the cores from those plants, but watch out for the spores!" Naruto orders and the clones all give quick affirmatives before rushing forward, doing as ordered and quickly moving from pod to pod. "Heh, now that's what I call progress." Naruto notes with a nod of his head, crossing his arms and waving for Raven to follow them as they move forward.

"Why didn't you do that earlier?" Batgirl suddenly asks the blond ex-Shinobi and Naruto rolls his eyes.

"Doing that takes a lot of energy, I was hoping to conserve some for when I get my hands on Quinn and Ivy…" Naruto admits and Batgirl nods her head slowly, somewhat able to see his point. Walking forward, Naruto stopped when he felt a pulse of something, Batgirl and Kitten feeling it as well.

"What was that?" Kitten wondered and then she and those around the area covered their ears upon hearing a pained scream.

"_**NO! MY BABIES! I'LL MAKE YOU ALL PAY FOR EVERY PLANT YOU KILL!"**_ Ivy's semi-distorted voice roared out from all around and Naruto's eyes shot wide open.

"Shit! How did she do that?" Naruto wonders and Batgirl frowned.

"Ivy can channel her voice through the plants around us, we must really be getting to her if she's that pissed at us though…" Batgirl explains and Naruto grimaces before bracing himself as the ground starts to shake and shudder beneath them.

"Oh what new hell is this?" Naruto wonders then curses as his clones and smashed by something up ahead… What is revealed is a plant the size of three elephants, with the shape of a giant Venus flytrap like head, only the "teeth" looked real on this one, its "mouth" was oozing out a green puss that sizzled on contact with the road, and it had the poisoned thorns of the other vines, and two spore pods growing on it's side…

"Oh my god…" Kitten breathed while backing away.

"Shit, Ivy is REALLY pissed…" Batgirl muses and Naruto frowns before reaching back and unsheathing his sword.

"Get the civilians out of here anyway you can, I'll deal with that thing personally." Naruto states and Batgirl looks like she wants to argue but a glare from the ex-Shinobi is all that is needed to shut her up… Nodding her head afterwards Batgirl takes hold of Kitten's arm and drags her over to the bus and hops inside. Turning his eyes back to the giant flytrap Naruto flips his Ninjatou along his shoulders and smirks. "Alright… you oversized garden weed, time for me to cut you down to size!" Naruto growls out while flipping his Ninjatou into a reverse grip and crouching into a stance.

Looking at the massive flytrap for only a second Naruto then lunged forward, knowing the vine like plant would probably dodge any wind blades he tried from a distance. Hoping it didn't have any close range attacks his hopes were dashed when several vines shot out of the ground around the flytrap. _**"I WON'T LET YOU DESTROY IT!"**_ Ivy's distorted voice rang out all around him and Naruto grimaced, then cursed and flipped away as the vines slammed into the ground.

"Alright, I'm going to have to deal with the vines if I want to get at the main weed…" Naruto notes while quickly considering his options. One was to let the massive flytrap eat him then use a Taijuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu from the inside to cause it to explode. However, given the fact that seemed to be some form of corrosive acid dripping from its maw he was against that. Also, running on any of the vines was dangerous due to the poisonous thorns, and those damn pods spores were no better…

"Of all the villains in the world I had to end up with one of the ones with enough experience and abilities to actually give me a real workout…" Naruto grumbled while wishing she didn't want to kill people so he could actually enjoy fighting her… Shaking his head and looking up Naruto rolled out of the way of another vine and contemplated what a few Kage Bunshin could do to help him. Besides disorientating the thing he'd also be able to buy a few seconds for a couple quick Rasengans… however they wouldn't be big enough for these suckers… wait, Rasenshuriken would!

Sheathing his Ninjatou once more Naruto quickly formed a half dozen Kage Bunshins with the order to distract the main plant and then ran to the side to form his attack. Closing his eyes and forming his chakra into his hand he watched the clones dodge and weave around the flailing vines. _'Just a little bit longer guys…'_ Naruto thinks to himself before smirking as he holds the finished attack and then quickly rushes forward and then throws the Jutsu towards the plant. Grinning as it goes he's shocked when the vines all suddenly started to fold and wrap together into a sort of wall, protecting the flytrap as it sinks down into the ground, the vines being torn apart as the RasenShuriken then rips through the empty street behind them…

"Oh you've got to be shitting me!" Naruto exclaims before cursing as the flytrap comes out of the ground from below him, mouth open and Ivy's laughter echoing. Grunting as he took hold of the jaws of the flytrap open Naruto tried desperately to avoid the acid like spit sliding out of it. "Of all the ways to go… I never suspected it'd be a plant that would do me in!" Naruto complained while the jaws closed down on him. Grunting the blond pushed outward, Chakra being diverted to all his limbs and causing the jaws to open up.

However, just as Naruto was about to free himself the plant threw him up into the air. Cursing and shifting his weight Naruto tried to avoid the pant before several more vines shot out of the ground to grasp him. Wide-eyed Naruto formed another Rasenshuriken into his right hand and threw that at the vines, falling passed them harmlessly he was captured in the jaws of the flytrap once more. "Dammit! What does it take to kill this thing?!" Naruto demanded before an idea came to mind and he held his right arm up and activated his thermal blaster. Aiming it into the mouth of the beast he fired, Ivy's voice screaming out in pain as he was thrown high into the air once more.

Unfolding the second thermal cannon from his other arm he then fired both of them at the giant plant, taking it apart as he fell. _'Shit, it's a good thing I have those, getting the Rasenshuriken ready is too slow for me to hit that thing without it moving out of the way…'_ Naruto mused before looking down and groaning as he saw dozens of flailing vines reaching out for him. "Honestly Kami-Sama, what did I do to deserve this?" Naruto had to wonder and pulled his Ninjatou free as he came closer to the vines. Shifting his weight and slicing through the vines Naruto then reached into his coat and unsealed his second Ninjatou.

Holding both in his hands the blond launched downwards, swinging his sword and evading the dozens of flailing vines before being caught in the jaws of the flytrap once more. Grunting and growling as it caught him Naruto freed one arm and slashed the top of it's mouth with his first Ninjatou, then while it was in pain slashed with the second as well. Falling from it's jaws once he had Naruto then slashed with both swords into an X, cutting the top of the flytrap away from the rest as Ivy screamed out in pain from where ever she was.

"I really should've thought about learning some way to fly with Chakra control!" Naruto shouts while falling downwards and then grunted while spinning out of the way of a vine. "Honestly, don't these things ever give up?!" Naruto demanded of the obscenely persistent vines then began to spin in midair, blades outward and cutting through the vines heading towards him.

Coming out of the spin slightly dizzy, Naruto shook his head then teleported out of the way of another vine and then another and another. Growling the blond ex-Shinobi then swung both of his Ninjatou's, sending blades of wind into the many vines heading his way before spores from several pods came flying at him. Arching out of the way Naruto then folded his arms against his body and went flying downwards. Looking all around he then spotted his target.

"Let's really get to the root of this problem!" Naruto quips with a smirk while sheathing one of his Ninjatou's then formed one last Rasenshuriken into his hand and then rearing his hand back and throwing it downwards. Watching the attack spiral downwards he pumped a fist when it hit the roots of the plant, causing it to flail around before finally falling to the ground lifelessly. Covering his ears when he suddenly heard Ivy's shriek of pain Naruto grimaced.

"She's going to kill me for that…" He notes to himself before cursing as two more of the giant plants suddenly sprout from the ground below him. "Kuso! I hate it when I'm right!" Naruto complains loudly before reaching back for his other Ninjatou and then prepared for his next attack… however he then saw a streak of red and was shocked as he watched as both plants and vines were all quickly cut away…

"What the hell…" He wondered with a gaping jaw before the streak of color came right at him. Once it did he found a pair of hands holding him up by his underarms as he was now somehow flying. Blinking and turning his head to his "Rescuer", even though he honestly didn't need rescuing, Naruto found he was staring at a platinum blond haired, blue-eyed girl.

"So you alright?" She asks while flying with the ex-Shinobi over several building and Naruto blinked for a moment.

"Yeah…" He states as they come down and he turns his head to see Batgirl and Raven rushing over to them, the police now driving the bus deeper into the city. "What took them so long?" He wondered and Raven shrugged her shoulders while Naruto turned to get a better look at the blond girl.

The girl was his height, with long straight platinum blond hair, her bangs cut to above her dazzling azure blue eyes, and a thin build with painted red lips twisted up into an amused smile, and held a curvy figure that most supermodels would KILL to have. She wore a black hair band, a white t-shirt with short sleeves that bared her midriff, a red cape that ended just above her hips, a blue miniskirt, white kid gloves, and tall red leather boots. However, Naruto widened his eyes when he noticed the bright red shield on her chest with an S in it…

"Supergirl?" Naruto asked the platinum blond teen and the said blond smirked while nodding her head.

"Yep." She states and Batgirl grins as she walks over to her.

"Nice to see you again Supergirl. I only wish it was under better circumstances." Batgirl says to the platinum blond and Supergirl grins towards Batgirl in response.

"You kidding? This is going to be a blast!" She states and Naruto leans over to Raven with a raised brow.

"She called Supergirl for help?" He asked warily and Raven grimaced.

"She's not all she called…" She replied and Naruto went wide-eyed, wondering what new hell he'd just gotten himself into.

"Great. But where are Starfire and Pinky?" He asks and Batgirl turns to him while standing beside of Supergirl.

"When I called Supergirl I had her get some antidote for Ivy's kisses from Batman, Starfire and Pink-X both went to free the Titan boys." Batgirl explains while a red and yellow streak suddenly zipped over to them, an arm now over Batgirls shoulders.

"Yeah, I managed to get Pinky close to BB, she should be good on her own… for now at least." The "Blur" stated while Naruto looked at him with wide eyes as he easily recognized who he was. This person was revealed to have swept back red hair with bright blue eyes, tanned skin, and a thin build. He was dressed in an odd skintight outfit that started off with yellow boots, red pants, a yellow top with a red lightning bolt across his chest, red forearm length gloves, and a yellow mask that left his hair, mouth, and eyes visible with red lightning bolts on the sides.

"Kid Flash…" Naruto said in shock before turning when he heard something, when he turned he saw another girl, this one using what looked like a lasso to wrangle one of the many giant plants that were sprouting up around the city. The girl was a teen like Kid Flash and Supergirl, only she had long black hair pulled into a high ponytail, bright blue eyes, fair skin, with a strong build, curvy figure, and painted red lips. She wore star shaped gold earrings, a sleeveless skin tight red dress with yellow stars over it, a yellow belt around her waist with a W on it, a pair of black heeled boots, silver bangles over each of her wrists and forearms, and held a golden lasso…

"Wonder-girl too…" Naruto muttered in shock and Raven sighed while shaking her head.

"It's a regular whose who of super teens…" She mutters and Naruto slowly nods his head since they were also the most well known super teens… and probably the most experienced of them all over the Titans.

"Right. But what do we do now?" Naruto asks and Batgirl frowns in thought.

"The police said they've gotten most of the civilians to a shelter and those that were injured were taken to the hospital." She muses and Naruto frowns before turning his head, seeing several vines start to wig out…

"Uh Batgirl, I think the plants are mutating again!" Naruto warns while Batgirl curses when a fine red mist starts to expand out of the plants.

"Shit! Poison, Wonder Girl get out of there!" Batgirl shouts but Supergirl zips over to Wonder Girl and flies her to a roof, Raven grabbed Batgirl, Kid Flash ran up and Naruto yawned before teleporting up to land with them.

"Great, now the whole city is filled with poison? What the hell is Ivy thinking?" Naruto demands and Batgirl frowns while looking over the city.

"No… she's not got them over the entire city, looks more like specific sections. Her plants can't cover the entire city with that stuff or it'd just be blown away." Batgirl muses and Naruto walks over to look out over the city for a moment.

"Great, still gives us a problem in those poison clouds will make it extremely hard for us land based fighters to get around." Naruto reminds while looking to Batgirl, Kid Flash coming up at his side with his arms crossed and a nod of his head.

"Hate to say it, but he's right here Babs." Kid Flash states and Batgirl frowns while looking around.

"What I'd like to know is how all these plants are mutating." Wonder Girl states and Naruto blinks.

"From what I've learned she's got a chemical spreading out into the air that's mutating the plants. It was also laced with her blood if I'm not mistaken so maybe that gives her further control of the mutations." Naruto muses and Batgirl nods her head before an idea comes to mind.

"Alright, if we can destroy whatever Ivy has spreading that chemical we can stop the plants. They would only last an hour at best afterwards after all the mutations they've undergone." Batgirl reasons and Supergirl smirks while looking to Wonder Girl then places her hands on her hips.

"We could bust in and do that." Supergirl reasons and Batgirl shakes her head.

"No… not a good idea. For one we don't know what Harley and Ivy have set up for us yet. A full frontal assault with only you and Wonder Girl might just end with you both getting captured or worse… however, there is probably still people in the city, if you can gather them and take them to the hospital that would be a big help." Batgirl states and Naruto sighs at the confused look now on Supergirl's face.

"It's like this. You and Wonder Girl can fly, have super strength, and are practically invulnerable to physical assault. It would be more prudent for us to have you two going through the city and rescuing the few citizens who haven't been found before something bad happens to them." Naruto reasons and Wonder Girl nods her head while flying into the air.

"Agreed." Wonder Girl says with a nod of her head before then turning around to Supergirl with a smirk. "Coming, Kara?" She asks of her friend and Supergirl nods her head and follows after her. "Don't pout, warriors and heroes don't pout." Wonder Girl says to her friend with an amused expression on her face and Supergirl gives her a look in response.

"Yeah yeah… but just once I'd like to be able to save the day without help… is that too much to ask?" She responds and Wonder Girl shakes her head for a moment before flying further into the city with Kara on her heels…

As they flew off, Kid Flash looked to Batgirl and Raven while scratching his head. "And what do we do then?" He asks and Batgirl looks to Naruto and he looks over to Raven before crossing his arms.

"We should help Starfire and Piky with Cyborg and Beast Boy. Then we need to figure out where Bird Boy is and save his ass before we even think about taken on Harley and Ivy. It'd be better with us out numbering them especially with all these plants around." Naruto muses and Raven closes her eyes and then turns towards the docks.

"I know where Robin is. I can get him." She states and Naruto frowns before nodding his head. As he did Raven pulled her cloak in over herself and then flew off as a large black raven into the sky. Once she was gone Naruto turned to face Kid Flash and Batgirl, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Alright, then me and Batgirl will handle Beast Boy, Kid Flash, head for the prison and Cyborg to help out Starfire." Naruto orders and Kid Flash leans over to Batgirl with a curious expression.

"Since when do we take orders from a thief?" He asks and Batgirl sighs before pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Just go get to work…" She grumbles and he gives a mock salute before zipping off into the distance. "Now, how pray tell do you expect us to get to Beast Boy and Pink-X?" Batgirl asks and Naruto points to the side, where she can now see a police chopper heading their way. "How…" She started to ask and Naruto interrupted her.

"My helmet has a police ban in it, I've been monitoring them all night. The Chopper was sent out to assess the situation, but I'm thinking it'll be put to better use for us." Naruto explains and Batgirl slowly nods her head until Naruto wrapped an arm around her waist and then teleported them onto the chopper. Looking around Naruto gaped when he saw Snake sitting back with a grey bandana on, a cig between his lips, and what looked like a missile launcher beside him…

"Damn old man, you really get around." Naruto notes and Snake grunts before standing up and walking over to the door.

"Otacon, we've got a pair of stowaways back here." Snake says to his pilot with a frown and the man sighs. Looking to "Otacon" Naruto spots a man in a white lab coat with a helmet over his head at the moment.

"Kind of busy navigating here, Snake." "Otacon" says while maneuvering the chopper around the city.

"Right. What's the situation?" Snake says to Otacon then asks of Naruto and Batgirl as they look at the two.

"Poison Ivy's in town, two of the Titans are indisposed, and the prison has a gaping hole in it… though I think these vines might have crushed, eaten, poisoned, or otherwise maimed a bunch of them." Naruto says then muses mostly to himself and Snake frowned for a moment. "We need to head to the prison where you held Plasmus, Cinderblock, and Overload, Beast Boy is there and a friend is taking him on while he's under Poison Ivy's mind control." Naruto then states and Snake nodded his head before heading over to his pilot.

"Otacon, head due east, looks like we're about to get some action." The man orders in his usual low growl and Otacon sighed for a moment before nodding his head with a determined frown.

"On it Snake." Otacon replies while maneuvering the chopper around and then into the distance…

--

TBC…

--


	36. Urban Jungle Pt3

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

**Chapter 35**: **Urban Jungle Pt. 3**…

--

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

--

(Jump-City…)

Naruto placed a hand up on the top of the doorway as he looked outside of the chopper to the chaos below with a frown across his lips. _'As if my town wasn't hectic enough on its own, now I've got to deal with giant fucking plants too…'_ Naruto inwardly grumbled while Otacon twisted and turned passed skyscrapers and lashing vines.

"Snake! We've got incoming up ahead!" Otacon exclaimed and the old Soldier grunted while moving over to the door and cursed as he looked out to see another massive Venus flytrap like giant plant.

"Shit, just what we didn't need." The man grumbled before checking his Stinger and then aimed it for the plant. "Everyone brace yourself!" He warned and Naruto and Batgirl did so quickly while the old Soldier fired his weapon, a missile-flying forward before blasting the head off of it as they flew over it. Moving back inside, Snake quickly reloaded his Stinger while Batgirl looked at him incredulously.

"Who has a missile launcher in the Police department?" She demanded and Snake grunted while taking a peek out of the Chopper then brought his head back inside.

"Like I told that kid Cyborg, some of us have to take Cinderblock and other Metahumans down the hard way…" Snake grumbled and Batgirl just looked at him in shock while Naruto made his way back to the door and looked outside. The blond then grimaced as he saw a mess of vines below them squirming and wrapping around one another as if they were snakes poised to strike.

"Man, something tells me Ivy's seriously pissed…" Naruto mutters while Snake looks outside and rolls his eyes.

"Yeah, killing her babies will do that." Batgirl offered with a look and Snake scoffed while taking a sig from his belt and placed it between his lips. "Alright, you're called Snake, you wear an old bandanna, carry giant guns with you, and you even smoke too? What are you supposed to be some kind of wannabe soldier badass or something?" Batgirl questioned of Snake with a frown and the man grunted while Otacon grinned.

"He's no wannabe, Snake is the real deal." The pilot stated while keeping his eyes forward and Batgirl blinked.

"Wait, he really is a Soldier?" She asked and Snake grunted.

"Formerly currently retired…" Snake grumbled out while turning back out to look at what was coming their way.

"What outfit were you with?" Batgirl asked and Snake turned to her with a flat look across his face.

"I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you." He stated seriously and Otacon snickered while Batgirl looked at the man incredulously.

"Your joking… right?" She asked warily and yet Snake merely remained silent, worrying the girl greatly as he turned back to the task at hand.

"Batgirl lets worry about Snake's past when it actually matters. We have more pressing things to deal with at the moment, like, oh I don't know, rescuing Pinky before Beast Boy turns into something really dangerous." Naruto states flatly and Batgirl raises a brow towards the boy.

"What can he turn into that's really that dangerous? I mean I know he can become any animal living or extinct, but compared to most villains or heroes, he's not really all that dangerous." Batgirl notes and Naruto sighs, genuinely wondering if it was better or worse to have a world filled with metahumans, they seemed to have moved so far forward that they'd forgotten the dangerous of such basic creatures.

"Batgirl, I know that most villains and heroes have super strength, speed, endurance, and whatnot. But Beast-Boy is truly something deadly in his current state of mind." Naruto stated ominously and Batgirl looked to the blond former nin warily.

"How so?" She questioned and Naruto turned to gaze at her impassively, white masked eyes gazing into her bright blues.

"Beast Boy can be the thing man feared before super powers became so common. Tigers, bears, and lions… the most deadly of predators are his to command. He can become perfect killing machines if he wants to be, nothing is more dangerous than a beast when you have it cornered, even if Pinky manages to find Beast-Boy, she'll likely have to contend with all manor of beasts. The least of which would be from our age… and then you have to worry about beasts from ages passed, extinct creatures like Dinosaurs. And Pinky IS still normal encase you haven't forgotten." Naruto explained then reminded with a flat tone and Batgirl shivered slightly while Snake narrowed his eyes.

"The Green-Bean may not have much in the way of tact, skill, grace, or even any kind of discipline in him. But… his powers do make him a formidable, if not deadly opponent when he's like he is now." Snake said sagely and Batgirl sighed before looking over to Otacon with a strange expression.

"Think you can hurry it up Otacon?" She questioned and the man looked to his gauges before quickly nodding his head.

"Hang on tight everyon, I'm giving her all she's got!" Otacon said quickly as the chopper sped over the multitude of plants below them and towards BB's location…

--

(??…)

Raven appeared at the docks of Jump City and then grimaced when she saw that several vines wrapping around one of the warehouses. "Doesn't take a genius to guess where Robin is…" She muttered to herself while shaking her head, then teleported into the warehouse, within she finds the building slowly buckling under the force of the vines and then spots Robin, now on the ground and straining to free himself from the ropes around his arms and legs.

"Dammit! What the hell did they use for ropes?!" He demanded angrily and Raven shook her head and walked over to the boy wonder calmly.

"Looks like you could use a hand." She quipped and then blinks in surprise when she realizes what she just did. _'I've really been hanging around Naruto too much… eh, whatever…'_ She thinks to herself for a moment then shrugs the thought off while Robin looks at her and grinned widely.

"Raven! Thank god you're alright, are Barb and Starfire okay too?" He asks quickly and the dark Titan rolls her eyes while holding a hand towards him.

"Both fine. Beast Boy and Cyborg, not so much. Batgirl called some friends to get an antidote for Ivy's mind control from Batman." Raven explains while black energy forms over her hand before suddenly breaking the ropes around Robin's wrists and upper body with her powers, the boy wonder then quickly untying his legs and stood up.

"That's good. What about the rest of the city?" He asks while rubbing his wrists and Raven grimaced for a moment. "Raven, how bad is it?" He asks her seriously and Raven looks to the ceiling while evading his masked eyes entirely.

"Batgirl said that, and I'm quoting her on this, "It looks like Gotham on a Bad Day" end quote." Raven replies and Robin grimaces visibly before bracing himself as the warehouse shakes. "Now then, may I ask why you're only wearing your mask, vest, shirt, and pants?" Raven questions with a raised brow and Robin twitches before clearing his throat and crossing his arms over his chest.

"Harley and Ivy are so used to the Gadget users in Gotham that they eliminated the threat of any of my hidden gadgets by taking everything I had that I could have reached or hidden something in…" Robin replies with a bitter tone and Raven blinks, then shakes her head with an amused smirk.

"Right. Guess your tricks are starting to get a little too predictable then." She quips once more and blinks yet again, swearing she's starting to talk like Naruto, which makes her shiver slightly. _'Maybe I do spend too much time with him… but then again, there are worse fates than talking like him.'_ Raven mused to herself while Robin looked at her strangely for a moment.

"You're really hanging around your boyfriend way too much, Raven, your actually starting to talk like him now." Robin notes with a look at the girl and Raven merely shrugged her shoulders before both heroes braced themselves as the building shuddered once more.

"Where are your things? We really need to get out of here before those plants break in here and start tearing into us." Raven questions then states urgently and Robin frowned in thought before shaking his head.

"No Raven, I think your right about me becoming too predictable. If Harley and Ivy figured out my style so easily, it's only a matter of time before the villains around here do as well." Robin states then walks over to the girl, Raven having a brow raised in his direction. "Take me to the Tower, I have something there I'm going to need… I think its finally time for me to spread my wings and fly on my own." Robin muses and Raven looks at him strangely before nodding her head, then pulled the shadows in around them and teleported them both to Titans Tower…

--

(Elsewhere…)

Starfire flew through the air while looking down towards the ground for Cyborg around the Jump City Prison. "Please… where are you my friend…" She wondered while looking to the oddly shaped device she had on her belt. It looked something like a hi-tech syringe, complete with a needle, however instead of a plunger it had a button for it to rapidly inject the target, was made of titanium, and their was very little glass on it, the little bit she could see being shatter proof and tempered… clearly this "Batman" wasn't taking any chances with his toys.

Ignoring that Starfire finally spotted her half mechanical friend and smiled brightly while coming down near him. Seeing him looking at the Prison with a vacant expression, Starfire looked at the syringe at her waist before taking a breath and walking towards Cyborg. "Please, Friend Cyborg, are you yourself?" Starfire questions then yelps as Cyborg turns towards her, aiming his sonic cannon at her. Now she can see that his one normal eye is glowing a sinister green color, much like those of Ivy…

"Go away, the mistress don't want you here." Cy states in a dead monotone and Starfire looks at him with obvious hurt before taking a breath and standing her ground.

"Please friend Cyborg, I truly do not wish to do you any harm…" Starfire starts, but Cy merely continues to aim his cannon at her, causing the alien princess to sigh for a moment. "But, if you insist on aiding the Poison of Ivy, I will be forced to!" Starfire states with her normally chipper eyes glowing a bright green and locking onto the half metal teen as well, Starbolts forming in her hands. In response to her declaration Cyborg quickly fired his Sonic Cannon at the Alien Princess.

Growling Starfire flew over the attack and lunged at Cyborg, rearing a fist back she slammed it into his face. _'I must remember to make the apology to Friend Cyborg when is in the right of mind later…'_ Starfire thought before Cy grabbed her by her head turned on one heel and sent her flying. Spinning in the air, Starfire soon managed to right herself and then shook her head to get her bearings straight. Looking down towards Cyborg, the alien princess yelped and evaded Sonic Cannon fire as it came flying at her.

"Perhaps it is better that neither of us do the apologizing…" Starfire suddenly notes before concentrating and then sent a beam of energy at Cyborg from her eyes. The beam connected with the Titanium Titan and sent him flying back, skidding across the ground for a moment before impacting with the side of the prison. "Oh my… I did not wish to hit him that hard!" Starfire notes before shaking her head, she needed to focus at the moment, not worry about her friend when she was the one fighting him!

Moving back and then launching towards Cyborg, Starfire hoped he could forgive her for ramming him into the ground. However before she could, one of Cyborg's fists nailed her and sent her flying back before rolling along the ground. Reaching up to rub her jaw Starfire then slowly got up to her feet and balked when she saw Cyborg rushing towards her with surprising speed. Cyborg then gave a battle cry as he reared an arm back and slammed it forward, Starfire flipping over him at the last second and landing behind him in a low crouch.

"By X'hol… he's really trying to do me the bodily harm…" Starfire says in shock before looking to the metallic syringe on her belt. "I need to get hold of him, if only for a second so that I may help him." She notes quietly then powers up her Starbolts as Cyborg turns his eyes towards her. "But, in order to do that, I must first wear him down!" Starfire says to herself as she floats into the air, eyes glowing brightly…

--

(Meanwhile…)

Kitten could say her day was worse than it had been earlier, getting to Beast Boy had been the easy part… it was actually fighting him that had proven itself to be the real challenge. From what she could gather, Cinderblock, Overload, and Plasmus had taken off as soon as they were free, it was undoubted that the Titans would have to deal with them, though when she really didn't know nor care. All she did know was that BB was a much more dangerous opponent than she would have given him credit for, hence her problems thus far…

Cursing under her breath, the girl quickly flipped over a green tiger and landed in a low crouch behind it. _'You are SOOOO lucky I like you Beasty… I don't normally take this kind of shit from guys…'_ Kitten thinks to herself as the snarling tiger turns around to face her, fangs and claws bared, before it suddenly roared and lunged forward. Narrowing her eyes, Kitten evaded the first swipe of the tiger's claws then twisted into a kick, slamming her foot into the tigers face. However it only move slightly to the side, giving Kitten only just enough time to evade its next attack.

"So those Lara Croft games are right about not being able to hit a big cat like that…" She muttered to herself lowly then pulled a few shuriken from her belt. BB snarled towards her as she did, fangs bore as he lunged forward once more, swinging his razor sharp claws at her. Smirking slightly, Kitten flipped back and then threw her Shuriken at the green furred titan, her weapons slamming into his head and leaving several deep cuts while making him back up a ways. However before she could do anything BB suddenly changed shapes, now in the form of a rhino…

"Oh you have got to be shitting me…" Kitten states with a gaping jaw, seeing as a Rhino has very tough skin her syringe wasn't going to work on this sucker, so even if she managed to get on his back she wouldn't be able to do anything too him… Cursing a second later Kitten ducked out of the way of the BB Rhino as he slammed into a wall behind her. Pulling his head from the rubble BB turned towards Kitten once more and lunged forward, horn directed towards the pinkette.

Growling Kitten jumped up and then ran along the beasts back before flipping off of it and landing behind it in a low crouch. Quickly turning back to it she saw BB skid to a halt before shape shifting once more, now in the shape of a bull. "Oh great… as if that were any better…" She mutters to herself bitterly, glad she wasn't 'RED'-X right now… thought Pink was a shade of Red. Shaking her head of that thought Kitten considered getting onto BB's back and trying the syringe now. However, this beast would be harder to hang onto, especially with how wild he was at the moment. Looking at her mind controlled Boyfriend for a moment she grimaced to herself inwardly.

'_If I drop the syringe it could take me a bit to find it, and with his ability to change into fast deadly creatures on a dime that could turn out fatal for me. No. I need to wait for him to turn into something where I can actually use the syringe on him without worry about dropping it or him retaliating.'_ Kitten muses to herself as BB drags one of his hooves along the ground, puffing out his breath through his snout. Inwardly grimacing Kitten crouched back, ready for anything, or at least hoping she was.

Seconds afterwards Kitten watched as BB came towards her with a loud cry, horns aimed for her. Narrowing her eyes the pinkette waited for the right moment and then flipped back onto the wall behind her then flipped off the wall and over the green Bull. As she did, BB slammed into the wall, now stuck in it with parts of the wall covering his neck. Grinning Kitten quickly jumped onto his back and made to reach for the syringe, however BB suddenly changed and threw her from his back. Landing with a grunt, Kitten turned then cursed as a green gorilla brought its fists down onto the ground where she had been less a moment ago.

Roaring and beating on his chest, BB quickly rushed Kitten once more, swinging his massive fists at the girl. Grunting and dancing around the beast's fists Kitten twisted into a kick to its head, then flipped away as it bared its fangs at her. Roaring in outrage BB jumped into the air and then brought both fists down on her. Cursing and jumping back at the same time, the gorilla missed Kitten by a hair's breadth while both his fists slammed into the ground. The ground around them shuddered as he did so and Kitten deftly twisted on one heel in order to keep her footing as she came back to the ground.

Panting, Kitten made a mental note to workout more while narrowing her masked white eyes onto the green gorilla. _'Why did I have to choose Beasty? Why not Cyborg!? At least he's still partly reasonable! Besides, I don't want to hurt Beasty too bad, not to mention the fact those stupid pheromones of Ivy's have driven him completely crazy!'_ Kitten inwardly complains while watching as the gorilla came at her once more. Sighing inwardly Kitten lunged forward into a flying kick to BB's face, knocking him off balance where she then flipped backwards off of his face.

Landing in a crouch as BB hit the ground once more, Kitten felt proud of her small achievement for a moment… only for her eyes to widen in fear as BB changed once more… this time into the shape of a dinosaur. However, looking at the new form Kitten was unable to tell what species it was, only that it had a line of quill like knobs down the back of its head and neck, two VERY sharp looking talons on its hind feet, a long thin shout that gave the impression of a Velociraptor, but it had a somewhat too short a tail for that species and green scales with dark green stripes down its back…

'_That sort of looks like a Velociraptor from Jurassic Park Three… But those things were so inaccurate to a real Velociraptor it's not even funny, I wonder why Beasty looks like one?'_ Kitten notes then wonders silently while blinking towards the beast, shaking her head of those thoughts a moment later she looks at the beast warily when it hisses towards her, back arched and body postured to attack. Roaring out BB suddenly lunged forward at Kitten, the girl quickly ducking under it to avoid its razor sharp talons.

Rolling to her feet behind it Kitten grunted when its tail slammed into her, knocking her to the side. Groaning in pain she then looked up and saw it was crouching low now, its sharp teeth bared before it ran at her once more. Rolling onto her feet Kitten cried out as it lashed out at her with a quick kick, her left arm now sporting a long gash from its razor sharp talon. Rolling out of the way as BB suddenly lashed out at her with his snapping jaws Kitten panted out while looking at the beast.

"Oh shit… why did I have to get the one who literally has 'Killer' instincts?" Kitten had to wonder before reminding herself she choose Beasty cause she liked him… Shaking her head of that Kitten grimaced when the creature hissed towards her once more and then came lunging at her again. Rolling back as he bit forward Kitten then kicked the side of the Dino's muzzle before jumping onto its back. Yelping as he then started to buck and jump around Kitten grabbed the quills on its head to steady herself.

Hissing the Raptor like creature then rolled over, Kitten quickly jumping off of him before grunting as its tail lashed out, knocking her off her feet. Giving a loud coughing like call, the beast then shrieked while lunging at her, and Kitten rolled out of the way as its right foot came at her, claw ready to tear into her. Rolling into a crouch as the thing gave an odd snarling sound towards her, Kitten quickly considered the ways it could kill her and slowly started to back up.

"He had to turn into one of the most infamous and outright deadly creatures from the Jurassic Park series, didn't he…" She muttered under her breath before screaming as the beast lunged at her once more. Thinking quickly the pinkette flipped back onto the side of a wall and BB slammed into his head into it. Breathing a sigh of relief, Kitten hopped down to the ground, hopeful that he was back to normal only to call out when his left leg lashed out and cut her right hip. Looking at it with wide eyes, she saw its green eyes were open and narrowed on her dangerously, an evil hiss echoing from its throat as it got back to its feet…

--

(Tartarus HQ…)

"Everyone down!" Jinx shouted as the rest of the team evaded several lashing and twining vines. The group had been waiting for some kind of message from Naruto, only for the proximity alarm to go off. When the group got outside they had been shocked to learn that Ivy's plants had not only made it passed the city limits, but also seemed to be making their way further across the landscape. "What the hell is going on here? I thought Ivy said they wouldn't get this far?!" Jinx demanded and Gizmo grunted while hiding behind some rubble and fiddling with a portable keypad on his left arm.

"Shit, looks like the mighty plant avenger miscalculated the reach of her control on these things!" Gizmo exclaimed and then moved his arms over his head as the plants around them began to spasm once more.

"Oh what new hell is this?" Dani wondered with a light groan while now in ghost form and floating in the air, beams of green energy formed in her hands. In response to the question, several of the vines started to change further, splitting into roughly a dozen smaller vines before suddenly sprouting large colorful blossoms with sharp looking black barbs at the center.

"Okay, what the hell is that?" Jinx asked while Gizmo's eyes widened.

"Oh no… Some rare jungle plants are capable of firing small barbs laced with poison when threatened… and I think the vines can too now!" The Tiny terror exclaimed as his explanation before one of the many barbed plants fired at them. Those who could quickly ducked out of the way while Dani went intangible and Kid Wykkyd vanished into his cloak before reappearing with Jinx and the others, Duela flipping and twisting around the numerous barbs before landing with them as well. Once they had the barbs started to slam into the boulder they were stationed behind, the rest slamming into the walls of their HQ…

"Just fucking great… now what did you mean Ivy miscalculated Giz? Maybe she's just pissed off about Temp attacking her." Jinx questioned then offered while covering her head as several barbs went over their heads.

"No, she'd normally keep the plants inside the city limits, this lessons the chances for them to do any damage to the current eco-system outside since she's still an eco freak. However, from the looks of things, she miscalculated her ability to control the plants for such a massive area. Add in the fact the plants are rapidly mutating and now even adapting and I'm guessing their starting to develop a pseudo intellect. Basically she's lost control of these things and their just starting to run wild, destroying anything in their damn path that they perceive as a threat." Gizmo explained and Jinx then looked out from behind their hiding spot and widened her eyes.

"Aw shit! Everyone move!" She ordered and the others quickly did as told when one of the large thorny vines suddenly slammed down where they had been. "Now what do you mean they have a pseudo intellect Giz? Their nothing but fucking plants remember!" Jinx demanded then exclaimed and Gizmo grunted while using his portable to calculate something.

"What I mean ya damn shit licker is that the fucking plants are no longer completely under Ivy's control. Her telepathy isn't advanced enough to control an entire city's worth of plants at one time. What she's done is created a massive force of plants, and is only actively controlling smaller sections of it. The rest of the plants are linking to the others like a hive mind, thus as Ivy continues to control only a few sections of the plants, they start to adapt their own will with her goals in mind…" Gizmo explained and Jinx slapped the back of the tiny terrors head.

"In English Gizmo!" She exclaimed and the boy growled before pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Put simply, the plants are basically taking Ivy's goals and will and taking them as their own. Since they are constantly mutating they must have developed something similar to a hive mind, thus every plant in the entire city is linked to one another. While this would normally help Ivy it looks like she's unable to assert her will over so many at the same time. The will of the hive is so strong that their doing whatever they damn well please at this point!" Gizmo explained with a deep scowl and Jinx's eyes widened while looking all around.

"You mean to tell me these plants WANT to do all this damage?" She demanded and Gizmo rubbed his eyes.

"Sort of. The plants themselves would probably have no goals; however add in the mutagens and Ivy's blood and I'd say they have a few basic instincts. One, sustenance, two, survival, three, reproduction. These are the basic instincts of all life, even Ivy herself, now then, seeing as the plants are constantly mutating I'd have to guess that they perceive something in the city as a major threat and are constantly evolving to try and get rid of the problem. As far as sustenance goes, there's more than likely a reason they're spreading out like they are." Gizmo explained and Jinx frowned while watching as Blackfire and Dani started firing their beams at the plant once more.

"We can't keep up this pointless running and dodging for much longer, Jinx! We could really use a plan here!" Dani noted while firing several ghost rays at the barb shooting plants causing them to start arching as if in pain.

"I'm with her, unfortunately our powers are of very little use against these damn things!" Blackfire stated before firing her eyes beams and cutting down a vine, only for a Venus Flytrap like plant to rise up where it had been. "Oh by X'hol, I swear I'm killing anyone who tries to give me flowers after this over…" Blackfire muttered to herself with Jinx, Dani, and even Duela agreeing with the alien teen.

"Yo, this isn't the fucking time to be making plans for the future, we need a way to take these fucking plants down right now! If they continue to spread like this, the fucking city will be the least of our problems, the entire planet will be in for one very bad day if they manage to grow to a sufficient source of food." Gizmo reminds the other members of Tartarus with a deep scowl and Jinx grits her teeth while throwing several hex-bolts at the plants, causing a few to spontaneously combust.

"Well I've got nothing here, so what exactly did you have in mind shrimpy?" Jinx demanded before cursing as she flipped away from a vine and then was surprised as a blade came out of nowhere and sliced the vine in half. Blinking, the pinkette turned to find Duela grinning with a familiar umbrella in her hands. However, the handle of the umbrella had been ejected, a small circular blade present in the top of it, while a short sword like blade escaped from the very tip of the umbrella, a strong looking chain binding both pieces together.

"These plants are a real hassle, too bad we don't have any weed killer to get rid of them." Duela said sarcastically before laughing and flipping back, away from a vine witch she then threw the upper part of her umbrella at and pulled herself over to it. Grinning madly the girl then whooped as she rode the vine, waving an imaginary hat in the air while hanging onto the chain…

"Ugh, could that girl be any more random?" Jinx demanded while Giz was silent, typing on his portable before suddenly grinning widely.

"Random as hell and completely bat-shit crazy but damn I could kiss the bitch right now!" Gizmo exclaimed much to Jinx and Mammoth's confusion.

"How is that any different to what you'd normally do?" Mammoth questioned seriously, seeing as Duela was anything but ugly and Gizmo would probably have no reservations about ever kissing her.

"Because now I have a reason too! Duela said she wished we had some weed killer right?" Gizmo questioned and Jinx and Mammoth both nodded while the others continued to fight with the vines and plants attacking them. "Well think about it, if I can manage to whip up some kind of plant killer just for these suckers, we could be rid of the plants and if we play our cards right and spread it over the city, Temp won't be completely pissed off about you girls leaving his girlfriend to the mercy of two depraved psychos and attack us all." Gizmo replied then reminded with a look at the pinkette and Jinx shuddered before blinking.

"Hell, if she gave you all that from just one sentence, then I could kiss the crazy bitch…" Jinx muttered and then heard a laugh and turned to see Duela pull something out of her backpack before jabbing her hand down into the vine. It instantly started to rock and shake wildly, slamming even into the other plants around it while she flipped off of it to stand in front of Jinx and the others.

"What did you do to it?" Mammoth questioned and Duela held up her right hand, showing what appeared to be a black glove with several claw rings with syringes attached to them on each finger, leaving her thumb bare, tubes leading from the syringes to a manacle around her wrist with three tubes holding an odd glowing yellow solution within each of them.

"Fear-Toxin from uncle Scarecrow, I never leave Gotham without it!" Duela replied with a wide grin and Jinx looked at her warily as she leaned her sword / umbrella into her left shoulder.

"You carry Fear-Toxin around with you as well?" Jinx asked meekly and Duela shrugged her shoulders before suddenly kicking Jinx out of the way while rolling backwards into a low crouch. "Hey! What the…" Jinx started to say only for Mammoth to turn her head and see where she'd only just missed being impaled by one of the sharp barbs from the plants. "Oh… thanks…" She mumbled and Duela flipped onto her feet while looking back over to the plants with a frown.

"I was afraid of that, looks like my fear toxin only lasted a few seconds before they built up an immunity… Ivy's immunity to Poison's and toxins must have been transferred to them, though the new batch at least lasted for a few seconds… it'll be the same for any Weed-Killer we develop so we'll have to hit them all at once…" She mumbled to herself, sounding oddly sane to the other members of Tartarus, before she suddenly giggled crazily and placed her Fear-Toxin back into her backpack. "Oh well, back to work! This weed needs a whacking!" Duela exclaimed before lunging back into the fray with her umbrella and Jinx blinked.

"Okay, I'm confused, is she really insane or is she just messing with us by pretending she is?" Jinx asked seriously and Mammoth sighed while shrugging his shoulders with a flat look.

"That is one of the great mysteries of life…" He mumbled while rubbing his face and Gizmo growled in his throat.

"Would you shit lickers stop talking about Duela! I need someone to guard the lab and me while I try to whip up that weed killer! And oddly enough she's right about us needing to hit the entire city all at once if we want it to work!" Gizmo suddenly shouted and Jinx shook her head to snap herself into a better set of mind. Right now she didn't have Tempest to take control, she had to be the leader for the time being and that meant she needed to keep focused…

"Right then, Kid Wykkyd, I want you Private and Billy to head inside with Giz, the rest of us are far more effective against the plants than any of you guys anyways." Jinx ordered and the said three nodded their heads while rushing back into their HQ with Gizmo while Mammoth grabbed Jinx and ducked behind a boulder when another couple of the barb plants started to fire at them.

"Don't those things ever stop?" Mammoth wondered seriously and saw Blackfire as she flew into the fray roaring out and firing her eyebeams into the many plants, tearing several apart and smirking, only to gape in shock when the easily reformed and then lashed out, lunging at her.

"Shit! Now they're starting to regenerate too!" Dani exclaimed with wide eyes hidden by the black lenses of her domino-mask. "Got to think something, got to think… think… think!" Dani said to herself before yelping and turning intangible when one of the vines reached out for her. "Urgh! Dammit! Would all of you…" Dani growled out while flying around a hail of fire from the barbed plants, turning upwards into the air Dani then held her hands at her sides before slamming them together and firing a powerful beam down onto them, destroying the plants for a moment. "… mother fucking plants just…" She gritted out with a twitching eye as she threw beam after beam into the plants to destroy them, only for them to start to grow back soon after.

"LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE!" She roared out as fire suddenly burst from her body in a massive circular wave of ivory flames and then quickly spread outwards like a raging inferno. Seeing the flames, Blackfire cursed while quickly grabbing Duela and pulling her to Mammoth and Jinx as the Pinkette grabbed Seemore from his spot. Ducking down the teens felt as the flames passed over them while they also burned there way through the plants, leaving only ash in their wake. Slowly, once they heard the flames start to die down, Blackfire lifted her head up, mostly due to being nigh invulnerable with her powers, but also because she was the only one willing to do so.

What she saw was something slightly disturbing, Dani was on the ground panting, and her ponytail was now seemingly made of arching white flames while more of the ivory colored flames also slightly covered her hands and feet… and more of the ivory flames spiraled up from her feet in wispy waves around her body. "Whoa… maybe we should start calling her "Whitefire" instead of Rei…" Mammoth muttered while looking on with Blackfire and the alien princess twitched.

"More like "Kaliand'r'" sometimes called "The Burning Princess" and goddess of death on my home world…" Blackfire murmured with no small amount of fear in her tone while Jinx and Seemore looked around at the damage with wide eyes.

"Wow… how much power is she packing in that hot little body of hers anyway?" Seemore demanded and got looks from the others. "What?" He questioned only for the others to turn back to the panting Dani as she looked around for a moment.

"Whoa, that was so cool!" She stated with a grin beneath her facemask. "How'd I do that?" She then asked eagerly while looking at her hands with wonder as the white flames started to dim, then disappear completely while the others face faulted.

"You've got to be shitting me!" Jinx exclaimed before shaking her head. "No, never mind, at least she bought us some time with that last bit, but I just hope it was enough." Jinx stated while reaching a hand up to rub her forehead and Mammoth squinted before grimacing.

"I don't think so…" He mumbled and Duela sat up and looked around quizzically.

"Why's that?" She wondered aloud and Mammoth pointed to the distance, squinting, Duela suddenly groaned when more plants could be seen heading their way.

"That's why." Mammoth stated and Jinx groaned before looking to Dani as she started rubbing her hands together and then throws them forward in some awkward attempt to restart the flames from before.

"Dani, think you can start another blaze like the last one?" Jinx questioned and Dani looked at her, then the advancing plants.

"Not really… unfortunately like with my Bio-Dad, any of my newer powers will kind of sporadically activate at first…" Dani replies to the older teen nervously and Jinx sighed while shaking her head.

"I was afraid you were going to say something like that…" She murmured softly before looking back to the others and then to the plants heading their way. "Alright team, its do or die time so get ready, we absolutely cannot let these damn plants get through to Gizmo!" Jinx stated and Dani and Blackfire formed their energy into their hands, Mammoth crouched down, Seemore switched to a laser vision, and Jinx herself called her hex-energy into her hands…

--

(Back with Starfire…)

Starfire yelped, as she was slammed into by Cyborg, then grunted as she skidded along the ground before flipping into the air and shook her head. Looking to see Cyborg lunging at her with a roar, the girl flew over her and then shot down and rammed into the titanium teen and rammed him into a wall. Quickly backing up and flying back into the air, Starfire formed a Starbolt with both hands before throwing the larger than normal blast at the Titan boy, slamming him further into the wall.

"P-please X'hol, may he be tired enough for me to finish this now…" The girl pleaded softly then groaned as Cyborg showed his normal stubborn attitude as he rose out of the rubble and then brushed a chip off his shoulder. Sighing the princess got ready to attack the titanium teen once more, only to gasp as Cyborg was knocked off his feet by a red and yellow blur that then skidded to a halt with a smirk beneath her.

"Hey Starbabe, nice to see you again, need a hand with metal man over there?" Kid-Flash questioned with a smirk and Starfire blinked for a moment before smiling brightly towards the boy.

"Your assistance would be much appreciated new friend." She replied and a grin spread over KF's lips before he suddenly moved like lightning, knocking Cyborg off his feet once more and then yawning behind him.

"C'mon big guy, you've gotta be faster than that if you want to win this fight." KF taunted and Cyborg growled while kicking out at the teen, only for him to quickly side step him and then moved over to lean into a wall. "Too slow." He mused and Cyborg growled while getting back to his feet and then fired his sonic cannon at KF, the hyper fast boy then popping up behind him while leaning over his shoulder. "Did you get me?" He asked humorously and Cyborg growled while trying to punch KF then started to fire at the teen as he ran away from him.

"Hold still you little…!" He stated to say only for Starfire to come from behind and grab him from under his shoulders.

"Excuse me Friend Cyborg, but I am ending this battle now!" Starfire stated and then kicked off into the air before suddenly stopping. Turning herself and Cyborg back down towards the ground and spinning, Starfire let go of her titanium teammate a split second before he slammed into the ground with a crash, KF grimacing as the alien princess and he then walked over towards him as he groaned.

"Well… he probably won't put up much of a fight now…" KF mused while rubbing the underside of his nose and Starfire nodded in agreement while jumping down into the hole and quickly pulled the Syringe from her belt.

"Please forgive me for this friend Cyborg, I know of your fear of the needles but in this case I believe that it is most necessary." Starfire then said while using the odd syringe on the human side of the Titanium Titans' neck, watching as he stiffened and then groaned before passing out completely.

"Well, that's one, down, one to more Titan, two hot villains, and a bunch of vegetables to go…" KF mused and Starfire nodded her head, then lifted Cyborg from the ditch and pulled one of his arms over her shoulders. "Need some help there?" KF questioned and Starfire smiled kindly before shaking her head.

"I am no longer in need of the assistance new friend." Starfire stated and walked over to lean Cyborg against a wall and then looked at the broken wall of the prison with a frown. "However, that I believe we must close up soon or we shall never be returning the prisoners to their rightful places within the Prison of holding…" Starfire mused aloud and KF smirked slightly in response.

"Right then lets get to work, princess!" He stated while rushing off, collecting numerous individual bricks and started to placed them down, Starfire flying to larger pieces of the wall and placing them down herself before using her eye beams to melt them together…

--

(With Naruto…)

"Snake do you think we could hurry this crate along, I'm getting a little worried about Pinky." Naruto questions then states while looking to the old soldier and Snake turns to his pilot.

"You heard him Otacon, would move this thing already!" Snake grumbles and Otacon lets out an annoyed groan / sigh.

"Sorry, but this isn't a military Chopper, Snake, it can only go so fast." Otacon reminds while Snake grunts and looks to Naruto, the blond nodding his head slowly before turning back to the carnage outside. Looking out of the door and down to the ground below, Batgirl has a worried frown cross her features while seeing the numerous vines, poisons, and pods that cover the city below them.

"I sure hope the city has enough to cover all these damages…" Batgirl muses and Naruto nods his head in agreement with her.

"We do thanks to TURF." Snake offers while looking out as well and Batgirl turns to him with a raised brow. "Titan Urban Reconstruction Fund… TURF." Snake responds and Batgirl plainly gapes at the man before shaking her head.

"I bet half the league wishes we had something like that." Batgirl muses mostly to herself and Naruto nodded his head before narrowing his eyes.

"Shit! Snake, we got more incoming plants!" Naruto shouted and the said man cursed while quickly raising his Stinger. Firing the man watched as he took out one of the plants, only to gape as it slowly started to regenerate.

"Aw hell!" He grumbled and Naruto and Batgirl both grimaced.

"Agreed, now their starting to regenerate… tearing 'em apart all this time must've triggered some kind of evolutionary response." Naruto mumbled and Batgirl nodded her head in agreement with the sword-carrying thief. "Oh well, looks like I'll have to deal with them the hard way… or in other words, the fun way!" Naruto noted before jumping out of the chopper, then hit his teleportation button, appearing in the air above the vines and other numerous plants. Cursing as several Barb-Plants suddenly sprouted on a nearby building, the blond thief rolled in midair to evade them and then unsheathed both swords.

"C'mon! Show me what you got!" Naruto called out while swinging both swords, sending arcs of wind into the plants to cut them down to size. However, he then grunted as they started to grow back, thus sheathed one sword and held one hand at his side. He had two options as a Venus-Flytrap rose up out of the ground and lunged at him, create a Type A Rsen-shuriken or a Type B.

Type B was a new Rasen-shuriken he'd developed in the HIVE, this was because he'd always hated not being able to throw his Rasen-Shuriken when he wasn't in Sage or Kyuubi mode. The attack was identical to the Rasengan in creation, save that he had also added four spiraling blades of wind to the outside of it that swirled inwards to keep the attack stable over a distance. When thrown, the spiraling blades on the outside were all that lost power, not the Rasengan on the inside.

Also, when holding it, Naruto had to keep his palm flat, and upon throwing it, it curved slightly. This was the version he'd been using for the last few plants since it was a long-range version and he'd wanted to keep away from them. He'd actually meant to give it a new name like "Spiral-Swirling-Shuriken" or something like it, though he wasn't exactly sure about that name…

Shaking his head, Naruto decided to screw it and formed the said technique into his left hand, allowing the spinning blades that made it to spin faster and faster, narrowing his eyes he pushed more and more power into the attack and it began to spin faster. Rearing he arm back he then threw the attack at the Plant and watched as it ripped through and destroyed the stalk of the massive plant. "Heh, now that's what I like to call pay-dirt!" Naruto said before teleporting forward and then swinging his Ninjatou in the air, slicing the next few vines into pieces before teleporting once more.

Forming another of his Type-B Rasenshuriken into his hand and then sheathing his Ninjatou to form a second one the blond threw both of them towards the ground where they tore through the street and formed massive spiral craters, taking out all the plants in their paths as well. Grinning despite himself Naruto then flipped up in the air and gave a mock salute to the decimated portion of the city as he teleported to the chopper and took hold of the outer portion of the door before pulling himself back inside.

"Are you completely insane?!" Batgirl demanded while grabbing him by the front of his coat and Naruto blinked for a moment.

"Why do you ask?" He questioned and the red head twitched while glaring at the teen with gritted teeth.

"Because you just jumped out of a chopper going at full speed, decimated a portion of Jump-City to take out a couple dozens plants and then jumped right back in like it was the easiest thing in the world!" She exclaimed and Naruto reached up to take a thoughtful look, Batgirl sighing and releasing the teen as he does. "On second thought, I don't want to know…" She mumbled to herself and Naruto chuckled lightly while looking to Snake who just shook his head. Moving up to the front of the Chopper, Naruto then spotted the prison they normally kept the "Ternion-Trio" and narrowed his eyes.

"There!" He finally says upon seeing Kitten running from the Dinosaur Beast Boy had become.

"You weren't kidding about Beast Boy being dangerous." Batgirl said lowly before Naruto quickly wrapped an arm around her waist and teleported them over to Kitten. Back in the chopper, Snake looked over to Otacon and his partner nodded his head while heading for a place to land.

As Naruto and Batgirl landed Kitten jumped and hid behind Naruto, panting labouredly while looking towards the green dinosaur that had been chasing her with wide eyes. The pinkette then looked up at her male counterpart with a pleading expression and Naruto raised a brow. The girl had numerous cuts and tears over her suit, one of her lenses was cracked and to top it all off she was covered head to toe in dirt and grime. "Help." She said meekly and Naruto rolled his eyes while turning to BB's dino form.

"Batgirl, you and Pinky wait for an opportunity to give him the antidote… I still got a little steam to blow off and Dino breath seems like a prime candidate." Naruto says with a dark grin as he cracks his knuckles, Kitten nodding her head rapidly before pulling Batgirl away to hide behind one of the walls BB had knocked down. Cracking his neck as he looked at the VR beast BB had turned himself into; Naruto then cracked his fingers and crouched into a stance.

"Alright then green bean lets finally see what you've got!" Naruto called out and BB screeched while lunging forward, snapping his jaws at Naruto, the thief quickly leaning back and then twisting into a roundhouse kick. Watching the beast right itself in midair then tap its talons, Naruto clenched his fists, then narrowed his eyes. "C'mon." He taunted and the beast screeched once more, lunging forward and swinging its large tail at the thief.

Catching the Tail and grunting, as he had to pump Chakra into his arms to do so, Naruto then turned and threw BB by his tail into a wall. "Is that all you got?" Naruto taunted and BB hissed angrily while getting back up, then roared loudly while lunging for the blond thief. Kicking out with a leg Naruto easily evaded before punching the beast in the snout. The hit was significantly stronger than Kitten's own as BB lost his balance and fell onto his side, Naruto twisting into a turn before ducking low and kicking BB to the side where he slammed into another wall.

"Don't want to be so rough with you Green Bean, but you've seriously got to calm down." Naruto muttered lowly only to blink as he heard a strange sound coming from the VR. Seconds later it changed shapes, now in the form of a massive green colored Tyrannosaurus-Rex… "Oh you have got to be shitting me…" Naruto mumbled before cursing as the T-Rex roared loudly, nearly knocking him off balance. Quickly lashing out, BB then turned on one foot, using its tail to attack and Naruto cursed as he flipped over it, the tail slamming into the remaining bits of the wall and knocking them all down completely.

Grunting, Naruto jumped onto the tail, only for BB to flip him up into the air with it. Quickly attacking him, BB opened his mouth to try and eat the young thief; cursing dino's in his mind Naruto caught BB's open jaws and placed his feet and hands between the many razor sharp teeth of the beast. Narrowing his eyes, BB applied more pressure only for Naruto to push himself out of his mouth. Roaring once more BB used his nose to knock Naruto back up into the air. "Alright that's it, this ends now!" Naruto exclaimed while forming two Shadow-Clones at his sides, each quickly forming a Rasengan into both of his hands.

Slamming his hands together, Naruto lunged back at the T-Rex and slammed the attack into its head. **"ODAMA-RASENGAN!"** He exclaimed as the attack forced the skull of the T-Rex down and into the ground, while Naruto was pushed back up into the air. Looking down at the T-Rex, Naruto was glad to see the beast was unconscious, but otherwise okay… _'With a skull as tough as diamond that isn't saying much…'_ He inwardly notes before flipping in the air and landing in a low crouch on top of the T-Rex as it slowly changed back to BB, both Kitten and Batgirl gaping at the thief.

"You took him down in five minutes when I've been fighting him little under an hour and barely given him a scratch!?" Kitten demanded loudly and Batgirl looked at the pinkette incredulously for a moment, and then shook her head in exasperation… why did she agree to go with the thieves again?

"Just administer the antidote before he wakes up." She mumbled while rubbing her face and Kitten nodded before she quickly rushed over to her current Beau and used the syringe on him. Seeing him grimace slightly before taking a peaceful expression in his sleep, thus Kitten gave a relieved sigh.

"You owe me big for this shredded suit Beasty…" She mumbled fondly while Naruto crossed his arms and looked up to see Snake and Otacon circling them.

"C'mon, lets go check up on Starfire and KF, they should've taken care of Cyborg by now." Naruto stated only to turn his head at a grinding sound, then cursed as a vine wrapped around part of the chopper. "Shit!" He stated as Snake and Otacon jumped out of the chopper while the vines tore it apart.

"Well, what now?" Kitten questioned as Snake and Otacon landed, Snake hanging onto the back of Otacon's belt.

"Now we check up on them to make sure their okay!" Naruto replies while running over to Snake with Batgirl following him. "Yo, you alright Snake?" Naruto questioned and the old soldier grunted while rubbing his head, Otacon groaning from his spot before throwing off his helmet.

"A few bumps and bruises, but none the worse for ware." The man replies while Otacon then reached into a pocket and pulled out a pair of cracked glasses.

"Speak for yourself Snake, some of us aren't formerly soldiers… I was just a Scientist who specialized in robotics and stealth enhancements before I met you." Otacon mumbled and Batgirl looked at the man with an impressed expression before all of them felt the ground shudder and shake.

"Great, now what?" Naruto gritted out while Kitten dragged Beast Boy over to them, the girl then grunting as she drops him to the ground. However, seemingly in response to Naruto's inquiry, several spore Pods like they'd seen before started to pop up before them, some of them started to shake.

"Why do they always have to mutate at the worst possible moments?" Kitten wondered aloud and Batgirl sighed.

"Probably just bad luck…" She stated and Naruto ignored her while narrowing his eyes on the pods as one suddenly opened up and shot out several poison spores.

"We need to take out those plants and quick!" Naruto stated and Batgirl nodded her head in agreement. "Pinky, you Snake and Otacon take BB and find cover while me and Bat Babe deal with the spores." Naruto ordered and Kitten nodded her head, Snake crouching down and scooping up BB before turning and jumping behind one of the overturned walls. "Alright, **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**!" Naruto exclaimed and a dozen clones popped into existence around him.

"Alright boys, move out and deal with the spore plants, something tells me the shaking ones are going to turn into something really nasty." Naruto ordered and the clones quickly ran off and did as ordered while the Spores continued to shake and spasm for a moment before suddenly growing. As the clones started destroying the pods the ground suddenly rumbled as a massive Venus-Flytrap burst from the ground, snapping its jaws around several of Naruto's clones.

"Ah shit, its another one of those damn things!" Naruto complained while backing up with Batgirl as the Venus-Flytrap watched them unflinchingly, the pods around it all shaking and shuddering in preparation to mutate.

"What next? They've got giant thorned vines, venus-flytraps, spore pods, poison gas, and barb shooting plants all over the city, what else could they possibly start turning into?" Batgirl demanded seriously and Naruto backed up for a moment as one of the pods suddenly took on a drastic change in appearance. The pod not only grew, but then it started to glow an ominous green before suddenly bursting open. Out of it dropped an odd almost skeletal creature made of what appeared to be wood with a flower on its back, a single vine leading towards the ground from the flower.

"How about that…" He mumbled lowly and Batgirl's eyes widened dramatically as they both took low stances. As they watched the figures fall out of the pods, they also watched as they started to shake, vines suddenly bursting from the flowers on their backs and wrapping around their wooden forms, forming into a humanoid yet somehow still feminine body structure, making them appear thicker before leaves sprouted, then started to cover them like pale green skin, long vines of hair then falling from their heads to finish the oddly disturbing creatures off…

"Holy shit…" Naruto whispered as the plant like creatures all looked towards him with the exact same eyes as Ivy… "Bat Babe, what the hell is this?" Naruto questioned in shock while Batgirl gaped in awe towards the creatures.

"Ivy's blood is what allows her control of these things, and thanks to their constant mutations and adaptations, it looks like the plants are starting to turn themselves into copies of Ivy herself…" Batgirl guessed while Naruto gritted his teeth and pulled his swords from his back.

"Great, a whole batch of Dryads…" Naruto muttered and Batgirl blinked, and then nodded her head, agreeing that the name seemed to suit the creatures. "How can a bunch of fucking plants turn into something this complex, I mean, the rest of the mutations I can pretty much understand, but to be able to turn into a plant variation of Human life?" Naruto questioned while some of the Dryad's suddenly sprouted what appeared to be bark over their bodies like armor, large thorns growing out of portions of them as well, giving them a very fearsome look…

"Ivy has created intelligent plants in the shape of humans several times before, these are only different in that they appear very similar to Ivy's build and structure… More than likely that is a side effect of Ivy's blood being so concentrated into them." Batgirl replied while pulling the two saw-bracers she'd used earlier and crouched into a stance apposing the many Dryads.

"Wait, she's done this kind of shit before? That would have been really good information a while back you know!" Naruto demanded then said angrily before turning back to the oncoming Dryads as they started to form the barb shooters on their arms.

"These also seem to be adapting the larger plant variations into themselves, they're all just an amalgam of the other larger plants, only smaller…" Batgirl whispered to herself while ignoring Naruto, the blond grunting as he crouched down.

"Fine, ignore me, but I'm sick of standing around!" Naruto growled out before lunging into the Dryads, rolling and dodging several barbs from them before twisting on his heel and swinging his swords, unleashing two massive blades of wind to cut the Dryads in half. Smirking the blond stood up, only to widen his eyes while the Dryads started to regenerate lost limbs and armor… "Oh shit, didn't see that coming." Naruto mumbled while Batgirl threw an explosive Batarang at the Dryads, the weapon exploding and knocking the front few back into their "Sisters".

Growling and lunging forward once more, Naruto started to twist and turn, slicing through the Dryads quickly before jumping into a spinning slash, cutting one in half before coming out of it and slicing two more in two. Turning, Naruto grunted as they started to regenerate once more, the other Dryads slowly walking towards him. _'Stupid Plant babes need to learn how to stay down…'_ Naruto thought to himself before twisting on his heel and slicing them in half, then flipped up and over a few barbs. Landing in a low crouch, Naruto twisted into a sweeping kick, knocking a Dryad off her feet before stabbing the Dryad through the head.

Standing up and pulling his sword from the Dryad, he cursed as it grabbed his leg. Kicking it off he watched it slowly get back up, its wound healing instantly before several thin vines sprouted from its arms. Holding its arms towards the blond they shot out towards him in a massive wave. Cursing, Naruto held both of his swords before quickly spinning them both before himself, slicing and dicing the vines that got too close to him. Once the wave Ended, Naruto held both swords out before twisting all around, sending a massive wave of wind blades all around and slicing a vast majority of the Dryads in half.

Looking around as the Dryads continued to regenerate, Naruto raised a brow when he suddenly noticed that the pieces of them not connected to the main body of the Dryad started to wilt, then quickly die. Narrowing his eyes, Naruto wondered what the difference was then grinned, the vine attaching to the flower on their backs! _'That must act as their roots, take that away and the Dryads die! Ha, being a Gardener finally comes in handy in a fight!'_ Naruto thought to himself before lunging at the Dryads once more, flipping and rolling out of the way of the ones that fired barbs at him.

"I've got your number now…" Naruto whispered before flipping into the air and coming down behind a Dryad, cutting the vine from her back as he did. Landing in a crouch he turned and watched the Dryad fall to its knees, then turn a beautiful red, then dull brown, before finally becoming black and withering away. "Huh… nice way to die all things considered." Naruto mused before grinning as he turned to face the other Dryads, said creatures quickly firing on him, only for him to vanish.

Appearing above the Dryads, Naruto swung his swords, slicing dozens of the vines connecting to the many Dryads and causing them to wilt and die as well. Seeing this, Batgirl got the idea and smirked while taking a gasmask from her belt and placing it over her lower-face, lenses instantly snapping over her eyes as she lunged into the fray as well. Flipping over a Dryad she brought her saw-bracer down on the vine, cutting it and causing the Dryad to wilt before throwing several Batarangs at some nearby Dryads to cut their vines as well.

"I have to admit, X does have his moments of brilliance." Batgirl admitted while ducking and rolling out of the way as the Dryads started to fire more barbs at her. "Barbs at Barb? Irony at its best." Batgirl mused while throwing several Batrangs at the Dryads to cut their vines. Smirking the Dark-Angel of Gotham lunged forward, pulling a few capsules from her belt and tossing them at the Dryads. The capsules instantly started to explode; freezing the Dryads solid as she then slammed her fists through them and then flipped to the next few without missing a beat.

Elsewhere, Naruto flipped and jumped over Dryads while slicing the vines from their backs. As the battlefield started to turn into a graveyard for Dryads, those remaining quickly ducked underground, leaving Batgirl and Naruto alone with the giant flytrap. "Well this sucks, once you figure out how to get rid of them those Dryads aren't such a nuisance…" Naruto mumbled to himself before cursing as two vines shot out of the ground, a pair of Dryads riding on each of them.

"You were saying!?" Batgirl demanded and Naruto merely grunted before teleporting into the air. Falling down towards the Dryads, Naruto cursed as the Flytrap grabbed him in its jaws instead.

"Oh I am so sick of this happening!" Naruto shouted angrily while holding its jaws up. "That's it, no more mister nice Red-X! I fucking sick and tired of you giant Kami damned plants trying to turn me into plant food! It ends now!" Naruto exclaimed while forming a "One-Thousand-Blades-Jutsu" around his body. Once he had The flytrap was torn apart from the inside out as Naruto briefly floated in the air as the air spun around him and then spun in place while pushing Chakra into his hands. **"FUUTON: MAKYOU KAITEN!"** He exclaimed loudly while spinning even faster, forming a mini-tornado and pulling the vines and Dryads up into it before forming a quick One-Thousand-Blades-Jutsu inside of the Tornado as well.

The effect was instantaneous; everything unlucky enough to be trapped within the swirling tornado was torn apart piece by piece. Cursing, Batgirl fired a Grapple to the ground as the Tornado started to pull her in, Snake, Kitten, and Otacon holding onto BB while also ducking behind a large piece of rubble as the wind picked up the smaller pieces. Soon the wind finally died down, a now blazing red-eyed Naruto falling from the Tornado as numerous Vines and a roar of fury from Ivy came forth. Narrowing his eyes, the former Nin brought his swords back before swinging them both forward, the force of the wind he created knocking the oncoming plants to the ground while pushing him back up into the air.

Unlocking the thermal blasters from his gauntlets as soon as he was far enough in the air, Naruto aimed downwards and fired on the many vines, the blasts of pure red-hot heat setting them ablaze. Writhing and lashing out in pain, the vines started to slam into the ground, Batgirl cursing as she ran away and ducked behind the same rubble as Kitten and the others. "How the hell is he doing all that?" Batgirl finally demanded and Kitten shrugged her shoulders, though also made a mental note to never get on his bad side…

"I don't known, and so long as he's on our side for the moment I don't really care." Snake replied and Otacon nodded his head in agreement with the former soldier. Sighing, Batgirl then turned to look over the battle as the vines continued to writhe in pain, Naruto above them. Sheathing one of his swords, Naruto held a hand to the side, blood red energy forming in his palm and spinning into a bright red Rasenshuriken…

"**RASENSHURIKEN!!"** The blond exclaimed as he reared back his arm and then threw the Rasenshuriken towards the ground below. The Rasenshuriken hit the ground and tore every vine and plant below him apart, Pods, barb-shooters, Dryads, all were ripped to pieces as the attack seemed to spiral outwards, leaving nothing below him but a large spiral target. Panting in midair for a bit the blond haired ex-shinobi then began to fall towards the ground, only for his eyes to snap open mid fall.

Rolling to the side, Naruto watched as another couple vines started to rise out of the ground and growled angrily, eyes starting to burn an even fiercer crimson as the Kyuubi's chakra slowly became visible. **"Stupid plants…"** Naruto said in a low growling voice, only for one green and one red beam of light to slice through the vines, Naruto blinking and then shaking his head to rid himself of the Kyuubi's influence. Turning his head, Naruto saw Stafire carrying Cyborg, Wondergirl carrying Kid-Flash, and Supergirl all heading their way.

"Bout damn time…" Naruto mumbled to himself before teleporting to the ground and falling to one knee, panting heavily. _'Whoa… must've really overdid it with all the Jutsu that time…'_ He mused to himself inwardly while slowly rising back to his feet as the other Teens landed nearby. "Nice to see you're alright Tin-Man, hate for you to be out of the game thanks to Ivy." Naruto offers the teen and Cy looked at the thief pointedly for a moment.

"You know, if Rob were here he'd probably try and arrest you…" Cyborg noted and Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Kid has a bit of a one tracked mind, huh?" Naruto noted and Cyborg nodded his head in agreement.

"Luckily for you I'm not Rob, and I'm still a little pissed at him for not warning us about Ivy's kisses… or her pheromones… so I don't mind that you're here, so long as your trying to help us this time." Cyborg then said and Naruto smirked while giving a light chuckle as Supergirl landed next to him.

"Your alright Tin-Head, better than the kid at least, that's for sure." Naruto offered while Cyborg shrugged and then looked around and shook his head.

"Thanks X… but man what the hell happened around here? Looks like a nuclear weapon was dropped on top of this place." Cyborg questioned then stated and Naruto chuckled nervously while rubbing the back of his neck.

"He happened…" Batgirl deadpanned as she walked over to them with Kitten, Snake, and Otacon, Snake carrying the still unconscious Beast-Boy. In response to the accusation, Cy gave a look to Naruto and he shrugged his shoulders.

"What, the plants were getting on my nerves." He replied simply and Cy groaned while palming his face with a grimace.

"Man has enough power to level a city block and acts like its nothing…" He muttered while Batgirl and the others stopped nearby, Batgirl removing her Saw-Bracers. "You guys okay?" Cy asked the red head and she looked to the wounded Kitten fro a moment before replying.

"Save for Pink-X we are, Red-X here took on the bulk of the plants and leveled at least a quarter of your city while he was at it. And just so you know, it is a proven fact that Beast-Boy can literally sleep through a hurricane…" Batgirl then said flatly and Cyborg rolled his eyes and smirked in response.

"I've known that forever…" He replied while looking to the unconscious teen.

"Whoa, what happened to you?" Supergirl asked while flying over to Kitten as the girl held a large gash on her right bicep.

"Beast-Boy was tougher than he looked…" She replied and Supergirl grimaced before looking around.

"Where is that Raven girl from your team? She can heal people right?" She asked and Cyborg nodded his head before looking to his left arm and hitting a button.

"Hey Rae, can you head over here, Pink-X is in need of medical attention thanks to an out of control BB." Cyborg questioned and Raven raised a single brow for a moment before frowning.

"Me and Robin will be over shortly." She replied and the transmission was cut while Snake dropped Beast-Boy to the ground. Once he had Starfire rushed over to the green teen worriedly, then looked up at Snake with a frown.

"Did you have to drop friend Beast-Boy officer? Surely you could have let him down more gently." She questioned and Snake grunted while lighting a cig and then blew a little smoke from the side of his mouth.

"Don't care… I'm sick of dragging his green ass around… and I really needed a smoke." Snake replied while taking a puff of his cig, Otacon sighing when he did so.

"Please excuse Snake, he's not really a people person." Otacon offered and Snake scoffed while turning his back on the teens, Naruto rubbing his head through his helmet before looking to the side as Raven finally appeared with a very familiar teen now dressed in black beside her.

"Hi." Raven offered flatly and then looked around and widened her eyes when she saw Kitten. "I'll skip any witty banter and just get to work, you can fill Robin in on the situation…" Raven offered while walking over to Kitten and Naruto looked to newly dressed Robin with a raised brow. The suit he was wearing was skintight and black with a large blue firebird on his chest, a gray utility belt synched around his waist, metal capped steel soled boots like his old pair, a pair of gray forearm protectors with black gloves that had steel plates at the back of each hand, and a black and white V shaped domino mask.

"Wow kid, have you decided to join the dark side or is all the black and blue just an attempt to escape the Traffic Light nickname?" Naruto wondered aloud with a smirk and Robin gave him a look in response.

"One, what are you doing here, two, I've decided I'm going by Nightwing now, three, shut up." 'Nightwing' ordered and Naruto mocked him for a moment while Cyborg cracked his knuckles and walked over to his leader.

"Rob, me and you need to have a serious talk about this 'Need to know basis' shit you've been using with the rest of us lately…" Cy stated angrily and Night blinked before grimacing towards him.

"Can it wait until after we've saved the city from Ivy?" He pleaded and Cy twitched before breathing out a breath.

"For the time being, yeah, after this though, we are having that discussion Rob." Cy stated simply and Night flinched slightly before nodding his head.

"Now that Tin-Man has had his say…" Kid-Flash started to say before zipping over to stand next to Nightwing with a smirk. "How you doing Dick, long time no see." KF offered and Naruto blinked at the name. _'Dick? Oh the mileage I'm going to be getting off that one!'_ Naruto thought to himself with a mental, and oddly, maniacal laugh while Night looked at Kid-Flash in surprise.

"Bart? What are you doing here?" He wondered and then felt someone place an arm over his shoulder and looked to the side to see Wondergirl. "Donna? Wow, you too? This is a surprise, a pleasant one for once, but still a surprise." Night noted and Wondergirl rolled her eyes.

"All we need is Garth here and the team would be back together again." She noted to herself and Night smirked slightly.

"Actually, Garth is a member of Titans East, Donna." Night replied and Cyborg looked between the two with confusion written over his face.

"You know each other?" He asked with a blink and Kid-Flash grinned.

"Yeah, let's just say we're old friends." Kid-Flash offered while Nightwing smirked and rolled his eyes behind his mask.

"I met them back when I still worked with Batman, hell, that's back when I first met Duela…" Night noted thoughtfully and Wondergirl shivered.

"Speaking of Duela, is she still as psychotic as I remember her?" Wondergirl asked her old friend flatly and Night grunted.

"More so…" He stated and Wondergirl looked to Kid-Flash who was staring off into space before grinning.

"Leave it to Duela to prove us wrong…" He mused and Cyborg tapped his head.

"How so?" He asked pointedly and Kid-Flash wrapped his arms behind his head.

"Back when we fought her, we all swore she couldn't possibly be anymore insane without turning out like the Joker, looks like we were wrong though." Kid-Flash offered and Naruto looked at them and then crossed his arms with a frown.

"You guys seem really relaxed considering we're in the middle of a city that's practically under Ivy's complete control." He noted flatly and Night smirked towards the black clad thief.

"What's the matter X, running out of steam?" Night quipped and Naruto gave him a flat look in response.

"Let's see you take down a T-Rex, fight your way through half a city's worth of mutant plants, kick the asses of a dozen bikers, beat the hell out of some random Rocker in orange, save dozens of people numerous times, all in the same day and in only a few hours before finally getting tired…" Naruto stated flatly and Night blinked before looking to Batgirl for conformation.

"See the damage around here…" She stated and Night looked around then nodded. "He did that." She then stated while pointing to Naruto and Night looked at him with widened eyes.

"Alright… never mind." He muttered and then looked over to where Raven was finishing healing Kitten. "Raven, could you check up on Beast Boy when you're done?" He asked and the girl mutely nodded while working on the injured pinkette. "Alright, now can anyone tell me what the situation is thus far, and before I forget is anyone else around here that's normally not in Jump City?" Night asked while looking around then spotted Supergirl who gave a small wave to the teen. "Kara… why am I not surprised that you're here?" He wondered aloud and Cyborg through his arms up.

"Do you know every super teen in the world or what?" Cyborg asked seriously and Naruto looked at him with a raised brow.

"Jeez Kid, how many teams were you on before the Titans?" Naruto asked and Night cleared his throat while looking away from them both.

"Anyways, Donna, what can you tell me about the city thus far?" Night questioned while ignoring both older teens and both looked to one another before sighing.

"You know, he ignores us like you used to ignore that creepy Stalker Ninja girl Cheshire Temp…" Cyborg stated and Naruto scoffed.

"Are you kidding Stone head, she…" He started to say only to stop at Cyborg's smirk and give him a dirty look. "Cheater…" He muttered and Cyborg merely grinned.

"After seeing that tornado trick, you could only be Tempest man." Cyborg reminded while patting him on the back and Naruto waved him off then walked over to BB, Cyborg following while KF and Wondergirl filled Robin in on the situation thus far.

"Is Friend Beast-Boy going to be okay?" Starfire asked worriedly and Kitten sighed while Batgirl rolled her eyes.

"X might have been a tad too rough with him, but he should wake up soon enough." Batgirl offered and Kitten nodded her head in agreement, Starfire sighing in relief while Raven placed a hand to BB's head.

"He's just sleeping…" She offered flatly and Naruto snickered.

"Guy could sleep through a hurricane… and did." Naruto noted and Cyborg shook his head before leaning down.

"Watch and learn…" He said before holding one of BB's ears and took a deep breath. "WAKE UP GRASS STAIN! I'M MAKING STEAK AND EGGS FOR BREAKFAST!" He then shouted, getting looks from those around him only for BB to jump up and look all around before glaring at a grinning Cyborg.

"Dude! That is so not cool!" BB stated angrily while Kitten snickered and Naruto outright laughed.

"Now that BB's up, who else feels like a fifth wheel on the "New" team?" Cy asked while nudging over to where Night was talking to Wonder-Girl and Kid-Flash.

"Cyborg, chill, so Robin has old friends, its not like you didn't before, either." Raven reminded and Batgirl nodded her head in agreement with the statement.

"And lets not forget that you guys do have more members than they did." Batgirl reminds simply and BB blinks.

"Dudes, what'd I miss?" He asks while looking around with obvious confusion and Cyborg sighed.

"You don't want to know BB… you really don't want to know." Cyborg replied while Supergirl floated above the ground with her legs crossed below her, causing BB to point and stare at the girl in shock.

"Supergirl!" He exclaimed and the blond bombshell nodded while waving with one hand. "Dude! We have Supergirl in town!" BB said loudly and Cyborg turned his friends head to see Kid-Flash and Wondergirl as well. "DUDE! It's totally like a Mini-Justice league around here!" BB says in shock and Cyborg rolled his eyes before patting BB on the head.

"Yeah, we know BB… it's old news." He said simply while Naruto grunted and then held his hands in a T shape.

"Yo. Timeout, enough chit chat, we still have the problem of Ivy and Harley to deal with encase you heroes have forgotten." Naruto reminds flatly and Cyborg looked to the others who nodded their heads.

"Temp's right, and he WAS called the "Anti-Robin" of the Hive." Cyborg stated then mused with a smirk and Naruto narrowed his eyes in response.

"Temp?" BB questioned and Cyborg nodded his head.

"Short for Tempest, as in that one HIVE student I used to bunk with who was a Ninja with control over Wind." Cy replied and BB made an O with his mouth before gaping towards Naruto.

"You're the Anti-Robin?" He demanded in shock and Batgirl snickered, thus making Naruto grunt while crossing his arms.

"Not literally green bean, I was called that because I was a good team leader, used mostly weapons, but I was 'evil'. Though, I was the one who blew up the HIVE when you kids decided to invade…" Naruto stated then mused aloud and Cy blinked.

"You did that? Wow, that must've been fun." Cy guessed and got a look from Naruto in response.

"More fun than I care to admit but that's not the point. The point is we have a city that's covered from streets to sewers in plants and vines, a single person trying to control them…" Naruto started to say only to stop when he got a message from Gizmo, thus smirked when he finished reading it. "And I do mean trying since it looks like their starting to run out of control, and Gizmo says he's working on a plant killer for these suckers as we speak." Naruto reminds then offers and Cyborg blinked in surprise.

"Wow, Gizmo actually comes through for us in the end." Cy said in shock and Naruto snorted.

"No, he's saving his own Hyde, I'm still more than a little annoyed that my teammates helped Harley and Ivy when I explicitly said not to trash my city…" Naruto grumbled out angrily and Cy blinked before rolling his eyes.

"You know, you really shouldn't trust women like them." Cyborg reminds and Naruto grunted before looking over to Nightwing.

"Yo kid, my techie Gizmo says he's working on some Plant Killer for these things. Says he only needs some time to finish it off before he and the other members of Tartarus can spread it over the city." Naruto states and Nightwing nodded his head with a thoughtful expression while Wondergirl gave him a look.

"Your team is named Tartarus?" She asked and Naruto sighed.

"I heard that The "Titans of Myth" were all sealed in Tartarus, my team is basically made up of Evil teens with powers, apposing the Titans, thus, it just seemed to work." Naruto replied and Wondergirl decided she didn't want to know while Robin nodded his head.

"Alright listen up. Harley and Ivy are holed up in the Lex-Corp building in the center of town. We're going to have to split up for this to work. One team is going in through the buildings, while the other take a sewer entrance. This way at least one team can hopefully sneak up on Ivy. Pink-X, you stay here with Officer Connors and his friend, you might be fine now but you never know when they could use help." Night stated and Kitten nodded her head slowly while Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Excellent plan you got there kid, but might I ask whose going with whom?" Naruto questioned pointedly and Night gave him a look.

"Since neither of us would work well if we were on the same team we'll be on the apposing teams. Whoever wants to work with X can go with him." Night offered and Raven, Batgirl, Cyborg, and Supergirl stood with him. "Right, then Donna, Beast-Boy, Star, and Bart are with me." Night said while looking around and Naruto nodded his head, this team he could work with…

"Alright, then who's going which way?" Naruto asked and Night frowned for a moment before nodding his head.

"You have a greater number of land based members, you'll head in through the sewers while me and the flyers head in via the buildings and rooftops." Night states and Naruto looks over his team for a moment before nodding his head. "Alright then, Titans, Move Out!" Nightwing ordered as the two teams split off…

--

TBC…

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AN: A new chapter is finally completed! I'd like to thank all of you who haven't decided to stop reading this story just because I haven't really updated in a while. Sorry about that but I'm hoping this chapter partly makes up for it. Anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter; The "Dryads" are based after a few of the humanoid plant creatures Ivy was known to use in Batman The Animated Series. One version of them was strictly used as henchmen and spies, the others were intelligent enough to speak and think for themselves unlike the normal variation.


	37. Urban Jungle Pt4

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

**Chapter 36**: **Urban Jungle Pt. 4**…

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Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

--

(??)

Harley happily bobbed her head from side to side with a small smile across her lips. "What a wonderful day, the plants a green, the flowers are all bright and colorful, the city is in ruins as far as the eye can see, and the people are running and screaming in terror… it reminds me of home." Harley said to herself with a sigh while Ivy was grunting and rubbing her temples with an irritated frown.

"Would you please be quiet Harley, I'm picking up something unusual from my babies." Ivy pleaded before grimacing once more as her head started to feel like it was splitting open. Why in the hell were they spreading out so far? She didn't want to totally cover the earth in mutant plants after all. What was the point? It'd be no different than all of humanity destroying her babies themselves.

"Aw, what's da matter Red? Your head hurting ya or somethin?" Harley asked while leaning back with her arms crossed under her head at the odd angle. Yet for the most part Harley was completely comfortable, she had to admit that when Ivy wanted to improve you, she spared no expense!

"Unfortunately yes Harley, my babies seem more and more active, some of them are even growing at a rate I didn't predict… at the rate their going they'll reach the desert outside the city and possibly a freshwater area where they might just start to take permanent root. And if that happens they'll start adapting to a point they won't need my mist to survive, and could grow at an exponential rate." Ivy explained while rubbing her temples and wondering why she always ended up explaining everything to Harley.

"Wait, how are dey doing dat? Your in control a does plants ain't ya?" Harley questioned with a confused expression and Ivy visibly grimaces as the minds of the many plants start talking to one another… THROUGH HER…

"Yes… no… I don't even know anymore. The plants have grown and evolved to such a state that they no longer need me to give them orders… they've gained basic animal instincts and are starting to adapt a will of their own…" Ivy explained and Harley frowned for a moment, keeping her head back while crossing her arms over her chest.

"So, basically what ya saying is dat they're growing up?" Harley questioned and Ivy nodded her head slowly, the analogy seemed to work better than anything she could come up with.

"Yes, and unfortunately their turning out to be very, very rowdy when they get like this." Ivy stated and Harley tilted her head to one side with a confused expression.

"But your Poison Ivy! Surely you can control a little cities worth of giant mutated plants." Harley stated with her arms outstretched and Ivy couldn't help it as she frowned towards her blond friend.

"Harley, I'm not that…" Ivy started to say only for Harley to start on a rant.

"But you're The Personal Assassin of Mother Nature! The Poisonous Princess of The Plant Kingdom! The Bad ass Botanist Bitch! The Felonious Flower of… of… well, er, your Poison Ivy herself! How can you lose control of a few rowdy Plants?" Harley questioned with her arms placed on her hips and Ivy frowned deeply.

"Harley calm down." Ivy ordered flatly, a deadly tone to her voice as the nagging migraine made her even more moody than usual. Seeing the positively furious look on her red haired friends face, Harley instantly fell silent while Ivy grit her teeth and rung her fingers through her hair. "The area of the city is much larger than anything I've ever tried to control before. The amount of plants spread out across the area is so numerous that I'm unable to control more than a few dozen at a time." Ivy started to explain and then grimaced once more when she felt something… big, start trying to speak to the smaller plants around the city.

"Not only that but my babies have grown to a point where they are as alive as you or me, they are even thinking and talking to one another to some small extent… this is why I can no longer control them, they have started to link to one another, unfortunately their using me as a sort of main hub, thus all my migraines recently." Ivy finished explaining to the blond haired clown girl and Harley frowned for a moment.

"Well that ain't good at all. What happens when they decide they don't want me or you here?" Harley questioned and Ivy rolled her eyes for a moment.

"That won't happen Harley. I'm half plant, and encase you've forgotten, your part plant since I changed you." Ivy reminded and Harley blinked before shrugging her shoulders and leaning back further, her spine making a near perfect sideways L.

"I don't even think about that anymore Ivy, my point is, what happens when dose plants don't like the HUMAN dat's still in us?" Harley then questioned with an uncharacteristically serious expression over her face. In response, Ivy suddenly blinked then mulled that over for a moment before shaking her head.

"They won't. Without me they have no way of surviving a prolonged period on their own Harl. So long as they need me, they'll allow me to do as I wish, besides, any that try to attack me would be Childs play to control." Ivy reminded and Harley rubbed her arms worriedly.

"Dat I understand Ivy, what I don't is what happens ta me…" Harley reminds and Ivy frowned once more.

"You just stay close to me and I'll ensure your protected as well Harl, I won't let my babies hurt you." Ivy tells the blond and Harley grins, though it obviously doesn't reach the girl's eyes and Ivy doesn't seem to notice…

--

(Sewers…)

"I hate sewers…" Naruto mumbled as he made his way further down the sewers, those behind him in complete agreement with him.

"Stop whining, at least you don't have to walk in this shit…" Batgirl reminded as she and Cyborg trudged through slime, shit and only god knew what else while following the black-clad thief. Said thief shrugged his shoulders, making liberal use of Water Walking so he wouldn't have to walk in the sewer while Supergirl and Raven both floated over the water.

"Man, how do you do this shit? I can somewhat understand you're an elemental type warrior, but to be able to walk on Water? Since when are miracles on a Ninja's list of techniques?" Cyborg asked and Naruto scoffed.

"It's not, Tin head. Believe me when I say that this little trick is most definitely not the work of the divine…" Naruto stated while Raven sighed and flew next to him while giving him a look.

"Be nice, we're actually helping you for once." She reminded and Naruto gave her a look in response.

"No. I'm helping you guys when you've gotten yourself over your heads. Again." The ex-shinobi stated and Raven rolled her eyes while Cy grumbled under his breath. _'Seriously Kara-Chan, I'm starting to see a pattern, you guys get in over your head, I come save you, and once I save your collective asses, The Kid tries to throw me in Jail…'_ Naruto suddenly says in his mind, Raven picking it up and frowning in thought, truth be told that was actually pretty true…

'_Well it could be worse.'_ She offered and Naruto snapped his head over to her with a raised brow. _'What?'_ She mentally questioned with a raised brow and Naruto smirked beneath his mask.

'_Your being optimistic Kara-Chan, that's new.'_ He replied and the girl blinked while looking more than a little surprised.

'_Wow… your right.'_ She mused then sighed before giving him a sidelong glare. _'I swear Naruto, you're starting to rub off on me a little too much.'_ She intoned mock seriously and Naruto rubbed his chin while keeping a look out for any of Ivy's plants.

'_I am? Does that mean your rubbing off on me then Kara-Chan?'_ Naruto wondered and Raven snorted while Cyborg looked between the two with confusion.

'_Not possible, my personality is nearly non-existent since I suppress my emotions, yours on the other hand, it's like a Fungus, it sticks to you and just won't let go.'_ Raven stated playfully and Naruto shrugged his shoulders.

"Man what is up with you two?" Cyborg questioned and Raven blinked before thanking Azar her hood was up to hide her blush.

"Uh, nothing Cyborg." She offered quietly and Naruto nodded his head.

"Yeah tin-man, why? Did it look like something was going on?" Naruto questioned while turning his head to look at the half metal teen.

"Not sure, kind of looked like you were talking or something… but without actually speaking." Cyborg replied simply and Naruto shrugged his shoulders while Raven floated forward a little. Coming to a corner, Naruto held up a hand to signal for the others to stop while he turned and looked around.

"Can't see anything up ahead… man it'd be so much easier to navigate around the plants if we had some kind of a Sonar to track them…" Naruto mumbled to himself and Cyborg slapped his face in realization.

"Give me a minute, I've got one but it needs a few minor tweaks…" The metal teen stated while looking to his left arm and tweaking a few wires while Supergirl flew over to Naruto and looked at him strangely.

"What?" Naruto finally asked and the blond sighed.

"I wanted to say, thanks for sending me out with Wondergirl earlier." Supergirl offered uncomfortably and Naruto raised a brow.

"After the fuss you made I thought you'd be mad at me." Naruto noted and Supergirl nodded her head.

"And your right, I was more than a little mad. But, while we were out I heard someone screaming for help. Donna wasn't able to hear it and we only just made it in time to save a little girl that was trapped in a collapsed building. So, thanks for her." Supergirl explained and Naruto nodded his head.

"That's one of my main reasons I sent you with her, your super hearing and X-ray vision make you a perfect choice for searching for survivors, your strength and ability to fly makes you optimum for rescue. Raven with her Empathic and Telekinetic abilities is as well but she had to take care of Bird-Brain or I would have sent her out with you two also." Naruto offered and Supergirl slowly nodded her head.

"You know a good deal about us and our abilities if you understood who to send out on a mission like that." She mused thoughtfully and Naruto shrugged his shoulders.

"Not really, I know a basic list of abilities and powers for most of you based on the older heroes you guys mirror. Thus Kid-Flash is fast but he's not strong enough to move boulders. Batgirl isn't able to cover the kind of ground you can without a vehicle, nor is she as strong or fast. Starfire is a warrior by nature but wouldn't be able to locate the civilians that were buried, Wondergirl is the same as Star, and Pink-X is more or less just your average thief. I had to be precise in my choices or something really bad could've happened out there, its one of the many things you learn to deal with when you're a leader of a team." Naruto explained and Supergirl shivered slightly.

"If that's what you have to deal with when you're a leader, then you can have it. I'll stick to being a member of the League away from all the crap leaders have to deal with." She muttered and Naruto chuckled lightly to himself. "Still, I wish Superman and the rest of the league wouldn't always treat me like a kid." Supergirl grumbled and Naruto rolled his eyes.

"My advice to you on that matter, is to get used to it. The sooner you learn to stop caring about what others think about you, the sooner you'll find real happiness." Naruto offered smirkingly and Supergirl huffed while Batgirl gave them both looks.

"Hello, can we please focus, we've got a psycho with control of an entire city to beat unless you'd rather Jump-City become Ivy's personal garden." The older red-haired girl reminded and Supergirl grinned nervously before nodding her head.

"Sorry, just needed to say my peace." Supergirl offered while Cyborg finally finished working on his Sonar.

"Alright gang, my Sonar is up and running, we're clear for the next forty or so feet." Cy offered and Naruto nodded his head before making his way down the sewers, followed by Cyborg and Raven while Batgirl and Supergirl were behind them.

"So what were you talking to him about anyways?" Batgirl questioned of her friend and Supergirl shrugged her shoulders.

"Nothing important." She offered and Batgirl shook her head with a smile.

"C'mon Kara, you can tell me." She offered and Supergirl looked at her with a slight grin across her face.

"I was just having a little chat about non-important stuff…" She offered and Batgirl rolled her eyes.

"Right. And you couldn't do that with me why?" Batgirl challenged and Supergirl took a mock thoughtful expression.

"Well for one, your being all serious right now and he's easier to talk too in that department…" Supergirl offered and Batgirl scoffed while crossing her arms over her chest with an annoyed frown.

"Alright, alright, but we're kind of in a very bad situation encase you hadn't noticed." Batgirl reminded and Supergirl nodded her head with a serious expression across her features.

"I know, but sometimes you need to lighten up or the weight of the world will all coming falling down on top of you." Supergirl offered in retort and Batgirl blinked towards her friend in mild shock.

"That was very insightful Kara." She said and Supergirl smirked.

"Hey, I'm older and wiser than I look, though Clark never seems to notice…" Kara offers then mutters under her breath before flying off to keep up with Naruto and the others, Batgirl hanging back for a moment to reflect on the platinum blond girl's words before following after them as well…

--

(Jump-City…)

"Alright, now what do we do?" Kid-Flash questioned while looking to the Lex-Corp building apprehensively. The entire building was covered top to bottom in vines, spore pods, barb shooters, and every other kind of plant imaginable, a mist of Poison Gas surrounded it on the street with four massive Flytraps guarding it…

"I'm thinking…" Nightwing replied while trying to figure out a point of entry that wouldn't kill them as well… Obviously, given the very near psychotic level of security, Ivy wasn't taking any chances this time.

"Well think faster, we can't just stand here all night or we'll eventually get spotted." Kid-Flash stated while tapping one foot with a frown, truth be told he just really didn't like holding still for too long, it kind of bored him to tears…

"Please be patient new friend, Robin needs the silence in order to concentrate." Starfire pleaded while Wondergirl looked over the defenses of the building with a thin frown across her face. While not a natural born leader like Nightwing, she was an Amazon, a warrior born and bred for combat, this was her element, not Nightwings. His was protecting a city, and while she could do so as well, her true element and very nature was in combat.

"If we had some kind of distraction, we could fly over to that ledge right there." Wondergirl pointed out and Nightwing looked to Donna before nodding his head.

"Donna's right, that looks like it's the only way we'll be able to get in undetected." Night replied and BB decided to put in his own two cents.

"But dude, where are we going to find a distraction big enough to draw the attention of all those plants?" BB questioned and his companions gave him a look before all five stopped when they heard a sound. "Is that buzzing?" BB asked with one ear upwards and Night nodded his head.

"I know that sound…" Starfire whispered thoughtfully and Wondergirl frowned.

"It sounds like an insects wings, lots of them." The Amazonian girl thought aloud and Nightwing nodded his head in agreement.

"Yeah, like the wings of millions of mutated moths…" Kid-Flash mused aloud and Nightwing blinked.

"That was an oddly accurate example…" He noted and Kid-Flash pointed to the side with a flat expression.

"What example, there's really millions of mutated moths over there." The teen stated and the others quickly looked to where he was pointing, BB and Nightwing gaping while Starfire gasped.

"It is the Killer Moth!" Starfire exclaimed as the said mothman flew closer and closer to the Lex-Corp building.

"ATTACK!" He exclaimed while throwing a clawed hand forward, his mutant moth army quickly flying passed him and attacking the mutant vines around the massive building. Several of the vines began to lash out, the giant mutant moths dodging them before starting to munch on the vines. Shaking and lashing out the vines tried to throw off the creatures, yet it proved futile for them. Dodging and weaving around the flailing vines Killer-Moth himself suddenly dive-bombed the building.

"CHARGE!" He exclaimed while the rest of his Moth-Army followed him, flying straight at the building, Killer-Moth then pulled up at the last second with a few of his Moths following him. As they flew upwards the other moths started to attack the flytraps below, the mutant creatures easily being smart enough not to get into the mouths of the plants. As the moths were doing this Killer Moth slammed a fist into a nearby Dryad as it got too close to him while he was flying up the side of the building.

"Leave none alive! Devour every plant that you see!" Killer-Moth exclaimed to his army as a few Moths broke off from behind him and flew towards the sides each one heading straight for more dryads. Narrowing his compound eyes as he flew upwards Killer-Moth suddenly jerked to the side to evade a vine as it grew out of the side of the building. Keeping on course, Killer-Moth continued flying upwards until finally stopping and slamming his fists into the solid concrete of the building, soon breaking through and then flying into the building as his Moth Army continued to face off against the numerous plants.

"Dude! For some weird old guy that lives in his basement, not to mention is pushed around by his teenaged daughter, he's seriously tough!" BB stated in shock and Nightwing nodded his head in agreement as he watched the mutated man successfully lay siege to the Lex-Corp building… and with only the help of an army of genetically altered insects no less.

"That a big enough distraction for you?" Kid-Flash questioned while still staring at the spectacle and Nightwing sighed while rubbing his face.

"First Ivy and Harley, now Killer Moth as well… it's a whose who of Gotham Villains around here. Not to mention we've got at the very least a dozen of our normal rogues helping us with this problem… ugh… what a day." Nightwing muttered before shaking his head with a frown. "Alright team, lets move out while we still have a chance!" Night ordered before quickly jumping off the side of the building, a pair of wings opening up as he spread his arms and then started to glide towards the ledge Wondergirl had seen.

"You heard the man." Wondergirl stated with an amused smrik while grabbing Kid-Flash and carrying him as she flew off, Starfire flying next to her while BB turned into a Pterodactyl to keep up with the rest of them.

As they were infiltrating the building, Killer-Moth landed inside and looked around, eyes narrowing. "I know you're here Ivy, you can't hide from me." KM stated darkly while looking all around himself.

"Killer-Moth? Is dat you?" A familiar bouncy voice questioned as Harley looked down at the Moth-Man from a ledge. "What da hell happened to ya? Last time I checked you were just some guy in a silly purple costume with a lame as hell silk spitter gun, and delusions of grandeur." Harley noted while tilting her head to one side and Killer-Moth scowled deeply.

"Things and people change Harley, most of us do at least." He stated and Harley shrugged her shoulders disinterestedly.

"Eh, I like how I am just fine, don't really got an interest in slicing my lips open like Mister Jay." Harley stated and then took a far away look as she sighed. "Oh Puddin, I wonder how your doing without your Harley to help ya…" The psychotic blond wondered aloud and Killer-Moth mentally groaned. _'He's probably the happiest man alive right now…'_ Killer-Moth thought to himself with a thin frown. Even given her great beauty, flexibility, and loyalty, Harley was the single most annoying woman he'd ever had the misfortune of meeting.

"That's nice and all Harley, but where is Ivy, I'm stopping this madness before it gets anymore out of hand!" Killer-Moth states simply and Harley looks at the moth-man with a confused stare.

"Wha… don't you remember da rules Moth-Man, when one of da big cats goes after something, you second strings stay out a da way." Harley said while trying to remind Killer-Moth of an "Unwritten-Rule" back in Gotham.

"Encase you've forgotten Harley, this isn't Gotham, this is MY city! Not The Joker's, not Ivy's, and certainly not yours!" Killer-Moth stated and Harley sighed while flipping up to sit on the ledge, both hands folded under her chin.

"Boy, when did you grow a backbone Moth-man?" She then asked with a tilted head and Killer-Moth gritted his "Teeth" in fury, Harley suddenly noticing it wasn't a mask he was wearing. "Seriously though, what's wit the way you look now? I feel like I'm watching a rerun of that "Moth-Man" movie… what was it called again?" Harley questioned then wondered quietly and Killer-Moth let out a low almost clicking sound as he started to rise up into the air with his wings.

"Ivy's not the only one with Genetic Mutations to help her you know!" Killer-Moth stated before lunging forward and ramming into Harley, knocking her back through a curtain with Killer following after her. Landing on the ground Killer's eyes bolted open as a vine suddenly slammed into him, knocking him back and into a wall. Grunting, Killer-Moth looked up and gritted his teeth when he saw Ivy, setting on a throne made up of numerous different vines.

"So he's the one who's had all those annoying moths attack my babies…" Ivy noted and Killer-Moth narrowed his eyes dangerously.

"And you're the god damned plant bitch whose stupid "Babies" are endangering my little girl!" Killer growled out angrily, Ivy blinking in surprise, while Harley sat up and gaped towards the Moth-Man.

"You have a daughter?!" She demanded loudly and Killer-Moth merely clicked for a moment while glaring at Ivy. "Wow, who knew you was the Family man type?" Harley wondered aloud and Killer-Moth twitched while crouching low, his claws extending slightly as he did so.

"Would you shut the hell up already!?" Killer-Moth demanded and Ivy scowled towards Killer-Moth, a vine launching at him from the side.

"You shouldn't talk to Harley like that." She stated and Killer-Moth merely flipped over the vine then grabbed it with both arms before ripping it out of the wall with his bare hands, then threw it to the side as he continued to make a low clicking sound.

"Whoa, someone got an upgrade." Harley murmured to herself while flipping onto her feet and then stretched out a bit. "Seriously, do you honestly think you can take us both on alone when those five Titan kids couldn't take us together?" Harley questioned and Killer-Moth clicked somewhat louder, Harley figuring it was the equivalent to a growl for the bug man.

"I don't have to stop you, just keep you busy while my army devours Ivy's plants." Killer stated and Ivy growled towards the insect like man.

"Harley, please show Killer-Moth the exit." Ivy questioned and Harley grinned, then rushed over to Ivy and pulled out her duffle bag from behind the plant woman's throne. Pulling her sledgehammer from the bag and leaning it into her shoulder, Killer-Moth looked at her with a blank expression.

"Uh… didn't you used to use a big ass Mallet?" He questioned and Harley snickered into one hand before grinning towards the Moth man.

"Get with the times ol' sport! It's like you said…" Harley started to say in her normal chipper voice then narrowed her eyes dangerously with a monstrous grin. "… things change." She echoed and then flipped forward, still holding onto the sledgehammer before slamming it into Killer-Moth's midriff, sending him flying back into a wall. "Now this is a real fly swatter!" Harley stated while holding her sledgehammer up, Killer-Moth groaning as he pushed himself back to his feet.

"Now I remember why we "Second-String" villains never took the heavy hitters on…" Killer-Moth mumbled before shaking his head, the clicking noise returning as he then reached to his side and lifted a boulder over his head, Harley blinking.

"Wow… I'll give you one thing Moth-Man, you're certainly a helluva lot stronger than ya used ta be…" Harley noted before yelping and ducking out of the way of the boulder as Killer-Moth cracked his neck then lunged forward. Placing her legs under Killer-Moth to hold him back, Harley then jammed her Sledgehammers handle into his mouth and pushed the moth-man back and off of her. "Ha! Eat steel bug for brains!" Harley stated and an odd look crossed Killer-Moth's features before he literally chomped down on the handle of Harley's sledgehammer, easily taking a bite out of it.

"You were saying Quinn!?!" Killer-Moth demanded and Harley looked at her sledgehammer and then the mutant moth man…

"I'm in trouble aren't I…?" She questioned while Killer-Moth merely clicked lightly again then lunged at her with his jaws opened wide…

--

(Sewers…)

Naruto turned to look out from behind a corner, frowning when he saw dozens of spore pods in the next room. Unlike the rest of the rooms before it, Cyborg's Sonar hadn't been able to spot the plants within the room. This was more than likely due to the fact the Pods were only growing out of the roof of the room, leaving the floor untouched. _'Shit, now we'll need another detour, this is really getting annoying.'_ The blond haired ex-Shinobi thought to himself before pulling back slightly when one of the pods started to twitch. Raising a brow, Naruto watched a pale green skinned hand burst out of the pod as another Dryad pulled itself out of the pod before it fell to the ground.

However, unlike the last batch, her skin was smooth with no visible differences between the leaves that made up her skin, the vines that made up her hair were also thinner, appearing somewhat like dozens of braids all falling down to her shoulders. Twitching and stumbling the Dryad pushed itself up, then looked to its hands as its fingers formed sharp claws. Vines then reached up and stated wrapping over it in the same pattern as the one's over Ivy's body, even forming into a pair of panties, bark then grew over it like armor and thorns grew out to finish off the appearance of the Dryad as it was then pulled up through the roof and into the unknown.

"So?" Raven questioned and Naruto sighed while turning to the team he was working with for the moment.

"This way's a no go if we don't want Ivy to notice us, not to mention the Spore Pods double as Dryad Birth Pods now, we need another detour Cy." Naruto explained and Cyborg grunted while checking his Sonar once more.

"Alright, we got one other path we can take without any of Ivy's plants to bug us. Follow me." Cy stated before waving for the others to follow him as he walked down a hall while looking at his Sonar, the others following behind him. Journeying down the sewers the five teens soon came to another open area and Naruto looked around. The room was about the size of a small football field with the walls appearing to have been dug out for more room, water had pooled in the room and was falling down open holes like whirlpools here and there…

"Looks like the coast is clear." He stated and Cy grinned as they walked into a massive circular room, the walls appearing to have been dug out by something…

"What did all this?" Supergirl wondered and Batgirl knelt down when her foot touched something. Reaching into the water with a Grimace, Batgirl them pulled the object out, then yelped when she saw it was a human skull.

"I really don't want to know!" The red head stated and Raven narrowed her eyes then formed black energy in her hand and lifted several objects out of the water, her eyes widening to see dozens of skulls and other bones had littered the bottom of the pool. Now wide eyed, Raven threw all the bones into a pile to the side, her right eye twitching slightly as she got closer to Naruto.

"Shit, this is bad." Naruto murmured before looking over to a very green Cyborg and mentally rolled his eyes. _'Why is it that these kids can't take a few bones? Its not like people don't die everyday…'_ Naruto wondered to himself before shaking his head and reminding himself that the kids hadn't had to deal with never being able to save someone before… "Cy, you sure nothings down here?" Naruto asked the teen and Cyborg shook his head and started to check his Sonar again, only to stop when slime fell down on him and he slowly looked up with the others.

Eyes widening the teens all saw a massive plant creature wrapped around the entirety of the ceiling like a long coiled up snake. Its body was green like the other plants, only with dozens of thorns poking out along its wooden "Spine", its "skin" unlike with the other plants appeared much rougher with vines twining and coiling beneath it like muscle, its three glowing green eyes were half closed and its mouth was made up of four separate petal like parts with rows of teeth along the edges of each, and finally its tail was tipped with a spiked protrusion of some kind with dozens of sharp needles like a cactus.

"Ah shit. And I hated giant snakes enough to begin with." Naruto mumbled while the "Giant Snake" hissed while slithering down the side of the walls, numerous vines coiling off of its form from behind and attaching to the dir to take full root. Hissing the thing then surrounded them, blocking the exits while Naruto crouched and the others got ready to attack.

"Talk about your Garden-Snakes…" Cy muttered and Naruto smirked slightly before pulling his two Ninjatou from his back and flipped them in a reverse grip.

"So Tin-Man, any ideas for this sucker?" Naruto asked and before Cy could answer Supergirl cracked her knuckles.

"Just leave this to me!" She stated and then flew off as Naruto tried to stop her.

"Shit, what the hell does she think she's doing?" Naruto demanded with wide eyes and Batgirl pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Proving the League was right for one, they treat her like a kid because she does stupid stuff like this…" Batgirl stated while Supergirl flew towards the massive Plant-Snake, only to curse as it opened its mouth, dozens of barbs flying towards her. Batting the thorns away easily, Supergirl then slammed her fists into the Plants head, knocking it to the ground, only to yelp as its tail came from behind and whipped her away. Once Supergirl hit the ground away from the others, places along the Snake's body peeled back to reveal more barb shooters that now surrounded them.

"Shit! Raven, Shield!" Naruto said quickly and Raven instantly did as told when hundreds of barbs came flying at them from all around. Soon the barbs abated and Naruto grit his teeth with narrowed eyes. "We need to deal with the Barb Shooters first and foremost, after that we deal with the main body of the snake." Naruto ordered as the shield came down and then mentally groaned. "I'm going to kick myself for saying this later, but… Titans, GO!" Naruto ordered as he lunged towards the Snake's sides while the others went to separate sides of the massive snake.

Frowning as she got back up, Supergirl looked at the snake as it hissed towards her and cracked her knuckles. "I really hate weeds." She mumbled before slapping her face. "Duh, Heat vision." She muttered before firing the beams of heat towards the Snake, only for the Snake to lunge out of the way as the beam hit the wall near it. This caused some of the roof to fall down where Naruto was, the Ex-Shinobi cursing as he flipped back from the rocks before turning to glare at Supergirl. "Uh, oops." Supergirl muttered with a shrug while Naruto turned back to his job and twisted on his heel, sending a blade of wind out to slice several of the barb spitters.

As he was doing that Batgirl threw several ice capsules at those she was dealing with, freezing them and then throwing Batarangs to shatter them completely. Cyborg took his favorite route as he fired his Sonic Cannon at the plants, tearing them apart instantly. Raven used a much easier method of getting rid of them by forming her normal black energy over and then ripping the barb shooters out of the Snake. Hissing out in pain the Snake suddenly moved, coiling around the room quickly before ending up in a reverse position it had been in, more slots opening along its sides to reveal more Barb Shooters.

"Shit…" Naruto muttered before teleporting to Batgirl as Raven went to Cy and formed a Shield. The Barb-Shooters then began to fire onto the teens, Naruto swinging and spinning his swords while ducking and moving around Batgirl to keep the barbs away from both of them while Raven held up her shield. Supergirl merely batted the barbs away while the Snake hissed towards them. Once the barbs had abated once more, Naruto lunged at the next few Barb-Shooters with the others doing likewise while Supergirl flew towards the head of the snake once more.

Smirking to herself, as she got closer to the Snake she yelped when it opened its mouth and dozens of twining vines wrapped around her. "Dammit, why can't these things just die!?" Supergirl demanded while taking hold of several of the vines and yanking on them, pulling the Snake with her. Turning towards this, Naruto grinned to himself as he saw something unusual on the Snake, a large hole near the base of its neck where five vines were coiling into the ground.

"Hell, I think she actually did something intelligent!" Naruto noted before swinging his sword and severing a few of the vines, the Snake hissing in pain as it thrashed for a moment. Crying out as the Snake thrashed Supergirl held firm as she held the Snake in place, only for it to bite down and sever the vines, causing her to spin backwards. Hissing angrily, the Plant then retracted its vines and dug into the side of the walls, soon vanishing.

"Well, that was easy." Cy noted with a blink and Naruto frowned darkly.

"I don't think its over yet…" He said flatly then cursed as the Snake suddenly came down at them from the roof with its tail placed into the ground to act as its roots. "Shit, I hate it when I'm right!" Naruto exclaimed as the Snake then unleashed a cloud of Poison from its mouth. "Aw man, why us?" Naruto wondered aloud before spinning one of his blades, causing the Poison to flow towards him before he then twisted on one heel and threw the poison to one side.

"Nice." Cy offered as he looked to the teen and Naruto frowned.

"Yeah yeah, now how do we deal with this freaking monster?" Naruto questioned as the girls made their way over to them and looked up at the Snake as it started to convulse and spasm yet again.

"What next?" Raven wondered before the creature spit out several things that bore a disturbing resemblance to plant bulbs.

"Bulbs? Okay, that's new." Naruto noted for a moment, then cursed when the Bulbs sprouted vines that shot at the Snake, attaching to it while they then developed more Vines, these thicker with sharp thorns on them and round cactus like balls at the very tips of the vines…

"Ten to one, those are extremely poisonous…" Cy noted flatly while pointing towards the plant creature and Naruto growled in his throat.

"Is there anything these fucking plants can't adapt too!?!" Naruto demanded angrily and Batgirl rolled her eyes.

"Less complaining, we need to focus." She reminded and Naruto crouched down.

"Supergirl, try and deal with the Snake, we'll handle these Bulbs." Naruto ordered and Supergirl grinned as she flew towards the Snake, Raven smirking slightly.

'_You did that to get her out of the way didn't you?'_ She questioned and Naruto merely rolled his eyes as he lunged forward and dodged around the many poison tipped vines of the bulbs.

'_She's more a liability down here than anything else Kara-Chan. She's strong, fast, and tough, but when she's in a group she has to realize the rest of us DO have limits and that we CAN be crushed and killed if she's not careful! She's going to get us all killed with the way she's fighting the crazy Snake!'_ Naruto replied while flipping over a Bulb and severed its vine while coming down in a crouch and flipping to the side to evade a swing from one of the other bulbs.

'_Sounds like she reminds you of yourself.'_ Raven noted as she formed a shield to block a Bulb and then ripped it from the Snake before tossing it over her shoulder as it started to wilt.

'_Maybe just a little, the blue eyed blond haired thing doesn't help the comparison any either. But all that means is I know how to deal with her better than the league, say she's too young or not experienced enough and she'll just barrel in headlong anyways, trick her into thinking she's helping and she won't get in the way.'_ Naruto noted then explained while ducking under another vine and swinging his Ninjatou up to sever it from the bulb. Nearby, Batgirl was ducking and rolling away from several vines before throwing a few Batarangs, taking out three of the Bulbs instantly while Cy grabbed two of them by their vines and then ripped them from the Snake. Above them, Supergirl was flying around the Snake, dodging its snapping jaws before slamming into its head and grabbing it by its mouths.

"Alright ugly, time for you to get down!" Supergirl growled out while pulling the Snake out from the wall and Naruto jumped onto its back and swung his swords at its head, the Snake crying out in pain as its head split open to show a glowing green core of some kind.

"That's like the core the Pods have! If we take that out the Snake is toast!" Batgirl exclaimed while Naruto was thrown from the back of the Snake when it pulled back into the roof, Supergirl grabbing him out of midair.

"Put. Me. Down." Naruto ordered flatly and Supergirl shrugged with a smirk as she flew back to the ground and Naruto rolled out of her arms and into a low crouch.

"Alright, where is it coming from this time?" Cyborg wondered while looking around then cursed as it came out of the ground before them, hissing and snarling viciously.

"Well, that answers that…" Raven mused flatly and Naruto snorted, honestly how was the girl always so funny?

"Yeah, unfortunately for us it looks more than a little pissed now." Naruto added as an after thought as the Snake started to convulse and spasm once more. "Oh what new hell is this?" He wondered aloud as the Snake started to cough up dozens of the Poison Spores of the pods they normally dealt with into the air.

"Aw hell." Cyborg muttered while Supergirl gaped.

"That could be a problem." She noted and then cursed as the Snake started to spew poison all around its form, forcing the teens to back up. The spores then started to shoot towards them, the group ducking and evading them as the poison started to spread.

"Man, if we don't stop this thing soon we're going to be in some serious trouble!" Cy exclaimed while Naruto nodded his head and then narrowed his eyes on the poison.

"Supergirl, use your superbreath and push the poison away!" Naruto shouted and Super-Girl nodded her head before taking a deep breath and blowing, sending the poison the opposite direction and back into the sewers. Seeing the Snake hiss before starting to convulse, Naruto narrowed his eyes then teleported above the snake. "Alright ugly, this ends now!" Naruto shouted as he sheathed his swords and then fell into the mouth of the Snake. Dodging and weaving around the spores in the Snake, Naruto grinned when he finally spotted the Core of the creature.

"**One Thousand Blades Jutsu!"** He exclaimed as the thousands of blades suddenly started to spin around him, tearing the Snake apart from the inside out as it cried out and thrashed before starting to wilt. Naruto then teleported out of the snake as it fell to the ground, green goop seeping out of it. Landing in a low crouch Naruto gave off a few panting breaths while staring at the Snake. "I _really_ hate giant snakes…" He grumbled aloud with a hand to his head and Raven floated over to him.

"Yeah, and how many times have they eaten you by know?" She quipped and Naruto grunted seeing an amused smirk grace her features.

"I shouldn't have told you that story…" He muttered while standing up and then looked around as Batgirl looked over the dead plant Snake.

"Alright, this is new even for Ivy." She finally stated and Cyborg frowned.

"The creatures are getting more and more complex right, chances are this is just a tougher version of the Flytraps we have to deal with." Cy noted and Batgirl slowly nodded her head, seeing as that was very likely.

"Either that or the pods." Naruto reminded with a shrug and Gotham's Dark-Angel nodded her head to that as well since it had a Core like a Pod.

"I don't care either way, its dead already so lets just hurry up and stop Ivy." Supergirl stated and Naruto rolled his eyes before motioning for Cy to lead. The Titanium teen nodded his head before checking his sonar and grinned.

"Alright gang, we're really close so lets hurry up and move out!" Cy stated while running off, followed by the rest of the group though Naruto rubbed his chin as he looked at the Snake for a moment longer. _'If their all becoming more complex… what happens when we dump that poison on them?'_ He wondered to himself then shook his head as he rushed to catch up with the rest of his group…

--

(With Harley and Ivy…)

Harley yelped while evading Killer-Moth's claws as the mad mutant moth man came at her with clear fury. _'Guy goes a way for a decade or so, and is suddenly able to beat the hell outa me? How does dat make any sense?'_ Harley wondered to herself as Killer-Moth opened his wings and flew into the air, ripping a chunk of the roof out before throwing it at the psychotic blond. Flipping and twirling out of the way, Harley looked to see Ivy was grimacing in pain, though choose to ignore it as she tried to deal with their little moth problem.

'_I'll give Moth-Man one thing, he's really got guts to take us both on, no brains, but some real guts.'_ Harley noted as Killer-Moth cried out angrily and flew straight towards her, making a crunching sound before spotting out a bit of silk that wrapped around the girls legs. "What the hell!?" Harley demanded before yelping as Killer-Moth grabbed her with an evil "Grin" across his face.

"Lame Silk Spitter huh?" He reminded with a twitch and Harley chuckled nervously while staring at Killer-Moth's VERY sharp "teeth".

"Uh, c'mon Moth Man, can't you take a joke?" Harley asked meekly and Killer-Moth narrowed his compound eyes on her. All things considered he didn't think that would work, his old "Silk-Spitter-Gun" had long since been taken by Batman for his little collection, adding the genetic mutation to spit silk out himself had just been for old times sakes, he never thought of using it in actual combat like that before.

"No, not really." Killer-Moth stated and Harley grinned nervously before kicking both legs upwards into Killer-Moth's chin and landing on the ground.

"Cripes your stupid, don't ya know not to give ya enemy a chance ta retaliate?" Harley questioned while pulling a knife out of… somewhere, and started to cut the silk away from her legs. An angry clicking was her only response as Killer-Moth narrowed his eyes on the blond and then grinned evily as he crunched down once more and spit several gobs of silk out. These wrapped around Harley's hands before he then lunged forward and grabbed her, carrying her up to the ceiling he spit out another gob and stuck the girl to it before spitting out more around her body, trapping her in a cocoon that only left her head free.

"Why don't you stick around, I'll hang with you later, Harl." Killer-Moth quipped and Harley blinked before suddenly bursting out with laughter.

"Oh that's a good one, Moth-Man! I thought you didn't like Jokes?" Harley exclaimed then demanded while Killer-Moth floated back to the ground where Ivy was looking at him with one eye open.

"Alright Ivy, shows over call off your plants now!" Killer-Moth stated with a low click and Ivy raised a brow before holding a hand forward. "Wha…?" Killer-Moth wondered before cursing as dozens of vines shot out of the ground and wrapped around his body tightly, the Moth-Man clicking angrily as he felt the thorns pierce his flesh. _'God am I happy I made that serum that made me immune to poisons and toxins!'_ Killer-Moth thought to himself while struggling with the vines wrapping around his form and Ivy smirked towards the mutant moth-man.

"Sorry, but I don't follow orders, I give them." Ivy stated before pointing down, the vines dragging Killer-Moth down as he struggled with their grip. As he cried out and nearly disappeared into the ground a Green T-Rex suddenly bit the vines and started yanking them up, careful of not touching the thorns.

"I don't think so Ivy!" Nightwing stated as he and his team entered the room, Starfire pulling Killer-Moth free and gasping when she saw him bleeding.

"You are injured!" She said in shock and Killer-Moth grunted while BB released the vines and rushed over to the man.

"I'm fine, I heal quickly and I'm immune to poison…" He grumbled while Ivy frowned towards the Titans and then crossed her arms.

"Robin, nice to see you again." Ivy offered sarcastically and Harley blinked before grinning.

"Hi Captain Tweet tweet! I just love the new outfit!" Harley shouted with a wide grin and Kid-Flash snorted as he tried not to laugh while Night twitched angrily. Smirking lightly Ivy then snapped her fingers as several Dryads popped out of the ground and looked towards the Titans darkly.

"Those are new…" Killer-Moth noted while the Titans got ready for a fight, Nightwing pulling out two new Birdarangs and slamming them together to form a broadsword that he held at his side.

"Titans, Go!" He exclaimed while lunging at the Dryads, followed by Starfire and Wondergirl as Kid-Flash zipped forward and kicked one of the Dryads, sending her flying back and snapping the vine she was connected too. As they did this, BB helped Killer-Moth over to a secluded spot to rest while the Moth-Man healed.

"Dude, what were you thinking jumping in here after Ivy and Harley like that? You could have been seriously hurt!" The Green Teen stated and Killer-Moth grunted once more while ducking as a Dryad came their way.

"I was thinking of Kitten. I lived in Gotham for years before I came here, I know how Harley and Ivy fight and I know how they think… unfortunately Ivy beating me was assured, but I did manage to get Harley at the least!" Killer-Moth explained then reminded as they both looked up only to grimace as a few Dryads started to come out of the roof and cut Harley free. "Well shit…" Killer-Moth grumbled as Harley was freed and fell to the ground, a Vine from the side catching her.

"Woo hoo! Lets do that again!" Harley cheered and Ivy rolled her eyes before giving the girl her duffle bag.

"Focus Harl, we have intruders trying to spoil all our fun." Ivy reminded and Harley nodded her head.

"Right, focus, this is me focused!" She stated and then reached into her bag and pulled out what appeared to be a bomb with jokers face on it. "Yo! Wonder-Brat, heads up!" She shouted and Wondergirl blinked while turning to the villainess, then cursed as she flew out of the way of the bomb before it exploded. Watching this Harley laughed to herself while holding her sides, clearly amused by the look on Wondergirls face. Rolling her eyes and turning back to the battle at hand, Ivy held her hands to the sides and pulled inwards, several Vines, Pods, and Shooters coming out of the walls to aide the Dryads.

Running around the room, Kid-Flash cursed as he dodged and weaved around the flailing vines, only to yelp as one of the Dryads kicked his feet out from under him, sending him skidding forward as a Shooter fired several barbs towards him. Wonder-Girl quickly rushed to her friend's aide, blocking the barbs with her bracelets and then grabbing a chunk of rock that she threw at them, crushing them all. Turning to Kid-Flash with a smirk Wondergirl held a hand towards the red head. "Need a hand?" She quipped and Kid-Flash grinned nervously.

"Well, looks like I owe you one." He offered then pushed Wondergirl down as a spore nearly slammed into them both.

"Actually, I think we're even…" Wondergirl stated simply and Kid-Flash nodded his head in agreement. Flying and dodging around the vines, Starfire started to hurl her starbolts at the pods, destroying them quickly while Nightwing frowned as he dealt with the Dryads. Ducking into a low kick he knocked a few off their feet and quickly severed the vines from them, causing them to wilt and die as he looked around to see more crawling up out of the ground.

"They never end…" He muttered before reaching to his belt and placed a mask over his face, a screen rising over his eyes, two extra plates locking over his ears as poison gas started to rise up out of the ground. "Titans, get to higher ground!" The teen exclaimed while firing a grapple to the roof, and Wonder-Girl lifted Kid-Flash.

"Dude, you think you can fly?" BB asked and Killer-Moth opened his wings before picking up the green teen and flying upwards to a ledge before groaning.

"Yeah, just smack Ivy around a few times for me would ya?" Killer-Moth asked and BB blinked.

"Dude… your being nice to me?" He asked and Killer-Moth rolled his eyes.

"Your dating Kitten…" He reminded and BB chuckled nervously. "One thing though, I like you more than her other boyfriends, but if you somehow manage to break her heart, you'll wish I wasn't from Gotham…" Killer-Moth stated darkly as the ominous clicking returned and BB nodded, looking several shades paler than normal.

"Right…" He said meekly while turning around and saw Nightwing land on a nearby ledge as Starfire and the others rushed over to them.

"Friend Beast-Boy are you and the Killer-Moth of the o and k?" Starfire asked and Killer-Moth scratched his head for a moment.

"What the hell did she just ask us?" The Moth-Man asked and BB grinned before turning to Starfire.

"Yeah we're fine Star, Killer-Moth here is just a little banged up." BB offered and Nightwing frowned before looking to the mutant moth man.

"Speaking of which, what are you even doing here?" Nightwing questioned and Killer-Moth gave the teen a flat look.

"You think I want these two psychos here? I moved to Jump-City to get away from nut-cases like them to raise Kitten in a safe environment!" Killer-Moth stated and Nightwing blinked for a moment.

"But your one of those psychos, and you've tried to do something like this before…" He reminded and Killer-Moth muttered something under his breath.

"Yeah, but I know I won't kill Kitten unlike them!" The Moth man reminded and Night gave him that before turning as the Dryads started to crawl up the walls and the vines rose up out of the poison.

"This is so not good." Kid-Flash noted and Nightwing nodded his head.

"Dude, if X was here he could go all tornado and blow the wind away! Or if Raven was here she could do her magic whatsit to get rid of it… or even if Supergirl was…" BB started to rant and Killer-Moth twitched before slapping a hand over the green teen's mouth.

"Word of advice kid, stop talking." Killer-Moth grumbled out and Night smirked slightly before turning back to the oncoming plants. Only for a burst of wind to come from a nearby hole and blow them back into the poison as Naruto kicked a few rocks out of his way as his team entered into the room.

"What the hell… what've you guys been doing up here kid, learning a new way to get your asses handed to you?" Naruto questioned seriously and Nightwing gave him an annoyed look mirrored by Kid-Flash and Wondergirl.

"Shut up." All three stated and Supergirl flew passed the thief before blowing the poison out a few windows, Ivy frowning while Harley gapped.

"Aw hell its Super-Babe… what next?" Harley wondered aloud while Naruto jumped to the ground, followed by both his team and Nightwings. "Skull-Face, what are you doing here?" Harley asked and Naruto gave the blond haired clown a flat look.

"I told you two NOT to destroy my town remember!" He exclaimed and Harley blinked then took a thoughtful expression before chuckling nervously.

"Woops, I kind of forgot, I was havin too much fun ya know." Harley admitted and Naruto slapped his face while muttering under his breath.

"Just goes to show Harl, can't trust anyone these days." Ivy mused and Harley gave her a look.

"Technically red, we broke his trust…" Harley reminded and Ivy blinked then shrugged her shoulders.

"Semantics." She replied while Naruto pulled his swords from his back and narrowed his eyes on the two.

"You girls really don't have any idea who you've pissed off do you?" Naruto asked with a raised brow and Ivy leaned forward with a smirk.

"Another guy in a costume with a lot of toys, what's to know?" Ivy replied and Naruto narrowed his eyes, Harley looking to Ivy nervously.

"Uh, red…" She started to say only for lightning to spark along Naruto's arms.

"Actually no, no I'm not!" Naruto growled out as the lenses of his mask started to glow blood red, Raven widening her eyes as wind spiraled with the lightning over his arms. "So allow me to show you… **exactly who you've pissed off!"** Naruto finished in a low demonic tone as he then brought his hands together and sent a burst of both wind and lightning shooting towards Harley and Ivy…

--

(Elsewhere…)

Gizmo breathed a sigh of relief as he finally put the finishing touches on the poison to take down the plants around the city. "Now to talk to Temp and see where he is…" Gizmo muttered while trying to call his leader, only getting static when he did so. Blinking and looking at his communicator for a moment Gizmo growled before grabbing a different one. "Looks like I have to call Batbabe…" He muttered to himself while calling the red head with the device that had come from Batman's belt… and he'd wanted to save it to crank call Batman too…

"Hello? I'm kind of busy here Batman!" Batgirl said while Gizmo heard the sounds of thunder and static, two very familiar screams and what sounded like a wild animal tearing the place apart.

"This ain't Bat-Breath! I'm Gizmo and I can't get in contact with my leader Red-X." Gizmo stated and waited for a reply as he tapped a pen against one of the three canisters of his poison.

"How the hell are you talking to me?!" Batgirl demanded and Gizmo muttered under his breath before replying.

"Thank X, he swiped Bat-Breaths tech and a communicator was among it. I was actually saving it to make crank calls to the Batcave or something but desperate times call for desperate measures." Gizmo replied simply while inwardly calculating how they would have to go over the city to hit all the plants.

"Crank calls, what are you, five?" Batgirl demanded and Gizmo gritted his teeth and mentally twitched.

"NO SNOT FOR BRAINS! Now shut up and tell me why X isn't picking up." Gizmo stated then demanded as he rubbed his temples only to frown when he heard a very loud explosion.

"Uh, he's busy throwing bolts of lightning at Harley and Ivy…" Batgirl replied and Gizmo blinked before shaking his head.

"Great, he's pissed off. All right, well we're going to be dousing the city with the plant-killer, smell ya later pit sniffer." Gizmo replied while turning off the connection and frowning heavily before taking his own communicator back up. "Yo, Blackfire and Rei, report to the lab I'm going to need you two for this." Gizmo stated and the two appeared through the roof a few moments later, both panting heavily. "Getting rough out there?" Gizmo asked with his head tilted and Dani grit her teeth.

"What's it look like ass wipe?!" She demanded and Gizmo rolled his eyes before pointing to three cylinders before him.

"Look, I don't have all night to explain how I made these or how vital it is that we get every plant. All I'm going to say is that Dani, you take the east side, Blackfire, the west side, and I'll handle everything in between. The green button will release the poison and keep releasing it when you're within the city limits." Gizmo explained flatly while Dani and Blackfire looked to one another then nodded their heads to Gizmo. "Alright then, lets move out girls, and I can't believe I'm actually saying this, we've got a city to save." Gizmo stated then shivered in distaste as he strapped the device to himself then activated his jets. Pressing another button while pulling his goggles down Gizmo flew out of the base through a long tube, followed closely by Blackfire and Dani…

--

(Back with the Titans…)

The Lex-Corp building had seen much better days, Harley was certain her life had flashed before her eyes more in the passed few minutes than should be possible. Ivy was beside her, some of her leaves charred from the electrical current that Naruto seemed to generate now. "Red, you seriously need to apologize to Skull-Face!" Harley stated and Ivy gave the clown girl a flat look as her response.

"I only did what any villain would do Harl, even you." She reminded curtly and Harley yelped while pulling her friend behind a boulder.

"Listen Red, unless you wanna be cooked vegetables I suggest you swallow your pride and apologize already!" The girl proclaimed and Ivy frowned before shaking her head, Harley crying comical tears as she grabbed Ivy's shoulders. "Why red?!" She demanded pleadingly and Ivy rolled her eyes before crossing her arms and looking to the nails of her left hand.

"Because he shouldn't have trusted a villainess like me in the first place." She replied and both heard an odd sizzling sound, thus looked up to see the red-eyed Naruto. Harley couldn't help it as she whimpered lowly as the crimson red orbs narrowed onto them both dangerously.

"**Thanks, I'll remember that for future reference!"** Naruto growled while calling forth his Chakra into his hands, molding it into both wind and lightning before hurling the orbs at Harley and Ivy, the blond clown pulling her friend out of the way. **"Would you hold fucking still already?!"** Naruto demanded while throwing more bolts of lightning towards the girl, Harley giving him an incredulous expression.

"What do you think I am, Crazy?!" She demanded and Naruto gave her a flat expression.

"**Yeah."** He admitted and Harley blinked and then shrugged her shoulders.

"True, but I'm not THAT crazy!" Harley retorted before yelping and running as the furious blond came at them once more. If one looked around they might notice the distinct lack of one, Killer-Moth, who had actually escaped during the insanity caused by Naruto and the many plants around the building…

Said Moth-Man was actually scaling the side of the building, using the insanity inside to get at Ivy's Mister while she was distracted. _'Distracted? More like fighting for her life… that kid is like Batman with demonic powers right now…'_ Killer-Moth thought to himself before shivering at the thought of such a thing. Looking to either side and seeing streams of energy followed by an odd mist, Killer-Moth grinned as he figure someone had thought to make a plant killer. Blinking as he wondered why he hadn't thought of that himself, the moth man pulled himself to the top of the building and then grinned when he saw the Mister, strapped to the side of it.

"Finally, now to finally end this nightmare…" He muttered to himself while walking over to the Mister. However he then stopped and looked around, half expecting something to pop up. Shrugging, the moth-man walked over to the Mister and then reared a fist back before slamming it into the device. The mister sparked wildly for a few moments before sizzling out, the green mist stopping as he did. Blinking, Killer-Moth looked around once more before scratching his head when nothing came out and attacked him this time either.

"Nothings… happening?" He wondered while feeling almost cheated in a way, and then decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth. Opening his wings the Mutated-Moth-Man flew into the air, leaving the Titans and his Moth-Army to deal with the remaining plants around the building…

Meanwhile back inside, Starfire flew out of the way of another vine then yelped as a stray bolt of lightning very nearly got her from the side. _'I believe the Red-X is most displeased…'_ Starfire thought to herself while then ducking towards the ground and picking BB up before a Dryad got him from behind. "Dude! X has gone totally mental!" BB exclaimed while Starfire mentally agreed with her friend, carrying him to a safe place to touch down.

As she did, Kid-Flash rushed across the room, pulling the vines from the Dryads with his speed while trying to evade the poisonous vines. Flipping over some barbs and then cursing as he put on the brakes and ran as Naruto slammed a fist into the ground nearby, shattering a portion of the floor. Coming to a stop and gaping at the black clad teen Kid-Flash shook his head. "Since when was he the son of Zeus?" Kid-Flash asked only half seriously while Wondergirl flew over and pulled him to the ground, a Vine lashing out above them.

"He's not, Zeus's son's rarely had the ability to hurl bolts of lightning like this." The Amazonian girl stated simply and Kid-Flash slapped his face.

"I wasn't being serious Donna." He stated and the girl made an oh with her mouth before pulling him with her as she rolled out of the way of several barbs. "We can't keep up like this." He then said and Wondergirl gave him an incredulous look.

"Are you actually getting tired?" She questioned and Kid-Flash rolled his eyes before giving her a flat look.

"No, I mean we can't keep up like this because while I do love this position, it's not exactly helping us survive at the moment." Kid-Flash stated and Wondergirl blinked before finally realizing she was practically on top of him and quickly got up and helped him to his feet.

"Sorry Bart." She offered and Kid-Flash waved it off only to push her out of the way and zip off as a Dryad with flailing vines coming out of her back lunged at them.

Elsewhere Nightwing flipped over a vine while forming a sword from one of his birdarangs. Holding the weapon he swung it, slicing the vine in half before landing in a low crouch. Narrowing his eyes the teen then held out a second birdarang and twisted it in his hands, it forming into a swords as well. Holding both blades in his hands, Night lunged forwards, evading several barbs from Shooter Plants before swinging his blades and cutting a vine in half. Rolling into a crouch, Night then used his swords to block several more barbs before rolling to the side as a Dryad came at him.

Twisting on the ground and slicing upwards, the former boy wonder cut the vine from its back. Flipping to the side to evade a spore from a pod, Night then twisted one blade in hand before lunging at it and slamming his hand into the pod, ripping the core out soon after. Leaning back quickly to evade as a flytrap tried to snap its jaws around him, Night then swung both of his blades to cut it from its body. Twisting into a cartwheel to the side to evade, Night then swung his blades into two Dryads, disorientating them before he then brought them forward and up, slicing through their vines easily…

"Not bad…" Batgirl noted as she flipped off of a vine and landed next to her old partner. "But when did you get so good with a blade?" She asked seriously and Night smirked beneath his gasmask before answering.

"I've been training myself since X started using a sword. Never thought it'd come in handy in other battles, though I have to admit it's a pleasant surprise." Night replied before he and Batgirl turned as another Flytrap came towards them. "I'll handle this…" Night stated while flipping back and away from the trap. Landing in a crouch the teen then lunged forward, his swords tip down to the ground and grinding along it, sparking as he then jumped up onto a vine and then into the air. Throwing his swords up into the air, Night then quickly pulled eight Exploding-Disks from his belt and held them between the fingers of each hand.

Quickly throwing the disks at the massive plant he watched as each of the razor edged disks dug into the stalk of the plant. Soon finished, Night flipped in the air to evade a flailing tentacle before catching his swords mid-fall. Twirling one blade in hand, Night then threw it straight for the flytrap, the weapon connecting with one of the exploding disks before setting it off. Flipping backwards and landing on the ground in a sliding crouch. Night then held his hand to the side to catch his other blade and twisted around from the momentum of the blade…

"Wow…" Batgirl stated and Nightwing chuckled while leaning his two blades into his shoulders.

"X isn't the only one who's learning new tricks…" Night stated before turning and rushing back into the thick of battle.

"No, no he's not…" Batgirl mused before following after one of her oldest friends and lunging into the fray by his side.

As they were doing that, Cyborg and Raven were with Supergirl as they tried to stop the flytraps that were suddenly growing out of the ground. "Man why did Temp have to go ape shit now of all times?" Cyborg demanded loudly and Raven frowned while forming her energy over one flytrap, then gritted her teeth as she ripped it out of the ground and threw it into one of the others. Breathing into her bangs the girl then turned to give a slightly dull look to Cyborg.

"Bad luck. Karma. The universe hates us…" Raven then offered with a shrug and Cyborg groaned under his breath, why did she always have to do that.

"Would you both stop talking, we're here to stop these stupid plants, not play twenty questions." Supergirl reminded while Wondergirl flew passed her and then threw a lasso over one of the flytraps.

"Kara!" The girl then exclaimed and Supergirl grabbed the golden rope with Wondergirl and both heaved on it. Pulling they soon ripped the flytrap out of the ground before moving on to the next one as Cyborg and Raven turned to see more of the Snakes from earlier making their way up through the floor.

"Aw hell…" Cy muttered to himself and Raven grimaced as well.

"Just when you think things couldn't possibly get any worse." Raven intoned flatly with her head tilted to one side and Cyborg nodded his head in agreement with the gray skinned girl.

"We're going to need some major help with all these plants…" Cy noted and Raven nodded her head in agreement, turning her head to see Naruto had finally stopped hurling bolts of lightning, she grimaced seeing he now had his swords out.

"Well we're also going to need a shoe-box for whatever he leaves left of those two." Raven noted and Cy snorted before shaking his head and lunging at a pair of Dryads, slamming into them and quickly ripping the vines from their backs. Sighing, Raven began floating into the air and off to battle as well.

Back with Naruto, the said blond was never this angry in all his life; these two idiots had officially pissed him off worse than Orochimaru ever could. It was only sheer willpower that kept the Kyuubi's cloak from forming at this point, sheer will and the fact he really didn't need it for them. Roaring out the blond teen suddenly teleported appearing above Harley and Ivy and bringing his swords down, only for Batgirl and Nightwing to block his strike.

"**Out of my way kid, those two need to learn a lesson about not messing with someone else's town!"** Naruto growled out angrily and Nightwing grunted while holding the furious thief back.

"Yes, yes they do. But not from you, X." Night responded and Naruto gave a low guttural growl towards the other teen.

"**Big mistake."** He rumbled before twisting down and knocked the two heroes off their feet and flipped over them. Roaring out he brought down both of his blades on the girls, planting them less that an inch from impaling their heads. **"Alright you little bitches…"** Naruto growled out while leaning down towards both of them, said girls hugging one another for dear life. **"I'm only giving you ONE more chance, but if you fuck with my city ever again, I swear to all that is sacred and holy in the world I will hunt you down, find you, kill you, and then bring you back to do it all over again, clone you, then kill the fucking clones as well! You got me?"** Naruto demanded angrily and both girls nodded their heads rapidly.

However as that was happening the man plants around the building began to thrash, the Dryads screaming in pain. "Oh what new hell is this?" Night wondered aloud while Naruto looked all around and Ivy grabbed her head, pain visible in her eyes.

"Stop! Stop! It hurts! It hurts! Please make it stop, please make it stop!" She started screaming and Naruto blinked.

"**But I haven't touched her… that much."** Naruto mumbled to himself and Harley looked at Ivy before feeling the ground shake and shudder. **"Alright what the hell is going on around here?"** Naruto demanded while pulling his swords up and then looked all around as the other Titans shrugged their shoulders. Seconds later Naruto got a call and placed his hands to his ear to answer it.

"SHIT! Temp we have a major problem out here!" Gizmo shouted and Naruto frowned as he walked away from Harley and Ivy.

"**What's going on Giz, Ivy's twitching and shaking like she's dieing or something?"** Naruto questioned of the tiny terror and Gizmo took a few quick breaths, the sounds of missiles flying coming from the background.

"Well you remember that poison I made to get rid of all the plants?" Gizmo questioned and Naruto slowly nodded his head. "Well it worked, all the plants that we doused with the stuff have started to wither and die… problem is the rest are already starting to try and adapt to the shit…" Gizmo mumbled and Naruto's eyes narrowed while turning a brighter red.

"**Would you get to the point already Gizmo?"** Naruto demanded angrily and Giz sighed for a moment before replying.

"Just look out the window…" He stated before cutting the transmission and Naruto blinked before walking to the window then widened his eyes.

"**Oh shit…"** He mumbled then cursed as giant vines tore through the building at all sides, wrapping around and then seeming to absorb the other plant creatures into itself.

"Aw hell what's going on now?!" Cyborg demanded and Naruto braced himself while looking around and then gritting his fanged teeth.

"**Gizmo's poison worked, unfortunately the survivors are pissed off!"** The teen exclaimed while rolling out of the way as some… THING started to rip its way through the building a vine grabbing Ivy as it rose up.

"Red!" Harley said in shock only for a pod to enclose on her soon after and lift her into the air.

"Harley! Ivy! What the hell is going on?" Batgirl demanded before crying out as a vine grabbed her.

"Barbara!" Night shouted then cursed while evading a vine himself. The other vines then started grabbing the other Titans while Naruto and Nightwing both flipped out of the building, Raven captured last as the two teens fell towards the ground. Meanwhile the many mutant moths that had been attacking the building earlier were now being crushed and killed by the plants as they continued to rise up higher and higher into the air. "Got any ideas, X?" Nightwing demanded and Naruto narrowed his eyes before holding a hand towards the boy.

"**Only one! Take my hand and trust me!"** Naruto exclaimed and Night look at him incredulously. **"If you don't your dead anyways!"** The blond reminded loudly and Night grabbed Naruto's hand as he used a quick Shunshin to teleport onto the roof of a nearby building. Grunting and pushing himself up, Naruto gaped as he saw what they were now facing, Night voicing his own thoughts.

"Oh crap…" Nightwing mumbled and Naruto nodded his head mutely, eyes wide.

The creature was made up of hundreds of different kinds of plants and other vegetation. Spikes visibly formed along its spine, "arms" which appeared more like very long vine-like roots growing from where its shoulders would be, and the back of its head, its mouth was five flower petals of some kind with teeth lining the sides and folding together into an almost beak shape, its head was distinctly lizard like somehow with three glowing green eyes, its massive arms were made up of hundreds of small vines, barb shooters visible at its shoulders with spore pods down the length of its back. Rather than one vine serving as the root for this beast it had hundreds of vines arched into the ground to act as its roots, bark formed along most of its body like armor, giving it a distinctly dragonish appearance…

"**Now that could be a big problem."** Naruto noted before zooming in on the creature's throat, then felt disgust well up within him. Within the creatures throat was Ivy, vines wrapped around her and coiling like snakes over her body, strange thorns were dug into her and glowing green blood was pulled out of her and into the creature threw translucent vines.

"It's vampirizing her… using her blood to stay alive." Nightwing said with no small amount of disgust as he zoomed away from the disgusting scene.

"**Why? She's it's mother, why would it do this to her?"** Naruto questioned incredulously and Nightwing snorted.

"If it allows her "Babies" to survive, I'd say she's allowing them to do it to her." Night replied and Naruto remembered the girl was certifiably insane. "The real problem lies with those pods on its arms." Night then said while zooming in on them, Naruto doing the same and growling low in his throat upon seeing the Titans held within them, those leading to the beast's chest where Harley was stationed in a pod as well.

"**What the hell?!"** Naruto demanded and Night frowned.

"It must be using the others as a sort of shield to ensure no one tries anything against it." Night mused and Naruto grit his and gripped his swords hilts tightly.

"**I'm going to make this thing into mulch for this!"** Naruto growled out and Nightwing leaned his broadsword into his shoulder.

"Get in line, X." Nightwing stated and Naruto narrowed his eyes on the teen before spotting Raven on the things right arm.

"**I'll take the right arm you take the left, we free the others then figure out some way to take it down that doesn't include nuclear weapons."** Naruto stated and Nightwing frowned in thought for a moment before nodding his head in agreement with the blond haired ex-shinobi.

"Agreed. But this is a one-time thing X. Don't get too used to it." Nightwing quipped and Naruto looked at the teen with a raised brow and a cocky smirk suddenly crossing his lips.

"**That's my line."** Naruto stated before both then turned and lunged towards the creature, Naruto teleporting as Nightwing used his wings to fly over. Landing on the right arm of the creature the blond haired ex-Shinobi quickly formed two shadow clones and sent them to either direction away from the creature. Smirking slightly Naruto then lunged up the length of the arm, several barb-shooters suddenly popping up and firing at the blond. Smirking as he ran forward he blocked with his twin Ninjatou, he soon came towards the first of the "People-Pods" he sliced it open and caught Raven.

"Eww…" She grumbled in an annoyed monotone, covered in a sticky green goop while Naruto continued running up the length of the creatures arm.

"**It's really great to see you again Kara-Chan, but we kind of have a situation here."** Naruto Stated flatly while motioning up the side of the creatures arm, Raven raising a brow before using her powers to float next to the blond Ex-Shinobi.

On the other arm of the creature, Night flipped and evaded the many barbs the creature was hurling towards him. Flipping back to his feet soon after the teen threw a birdarang at the first of the People-Pods on his own arm, Starfire falling out only for him to catch her. "You okay?" Nightwing questioned softly and Starfire blinked before smiling up at her friend.

"I am now." She whispered and Night smiled before looking back up the length of the creatures arm.

"The others are still trapped Starfire, let's get to work." Nightwing stated and Starfire nodded her head, flying beside of Nightwing as they went further up the length of the creature's arms.

Back on the other side, Naruto and Raven were just coming to the next pods, Raven slicing this one open with her powers and caught Kid-Flash from it. Catching the boy with her powers she watched him shake his head before grinning up at her. "Thanks for the save…" Kid-Flash said and then rubbed his chin. "You know if your free later maybe we could…" He started to say and Raven frowned.

"I have a boyfriend." She stated flatly and Kid-Flash blinked before he then playfully snapped his fingers.

"Aw man, all the cute girls always do don't they." He mused aloud while Naruto ignored the red head; soon coming on the next pod he sliced it open, grabbing Beast-Boy by his leg.

"Dude, talk about weird… and man why do we always get covered in the slimiest, grossest, most disgusting shit in the world?" BB wondered to himself as they continued up the side of the plant's arms.

"**Complain later, we have a job to do right now."** Naruto rumbled out at the green teen and BB nodded before changing into a pterodactyl and flying with the others, Kid-Flash hopping onto his feet and rushing up the side of the arm with them…

Back on the other arm, Nightwing and Starfire came to the next pod as well, Starfire using her eyebeams to free Wondergirl and catch her. "Ugh… by Hera this is the most disgusting thing I've ever had the misfortune of encountering…" Wondergirl muttered while flinging a string of green slime from her body.

"Welcome to our world." Nightwing offered with a smirk before throwing a birdarang at the next pod, Cyborg falling out of it. "Star, Donna, Heads up!" Night called and Wondergirl shot out of Starfires arms and grabbed the metal man by his underarms.

"Ugh… man, I'm seriously going to need a shower after all of this." Cyborg muttered while getting mental agreements from both Wondergirl and Starfire. "What's the situation here Rob?" Cy then asked as he looked to his leader and the said boy pointed to where Naruto and his group were running up their arm.

"We're going to free everyone then finish this plant off once and for all." Night stated and Cy looked at the sheer size of the plant and gaped.

"How short of a nuclear device do you plan on accomplishing this task?" Cy asked mockingly and Nightwing twitched slightly.

"I'm still working that one out." Night admitted as they continued up the sides of the massive plant, soon coming towards the vines on its shoulders…

Meanwhile, Naruto and his group were coming towards their last pod, Naruto swinging his swords and slicing the many vines out of their way as they went. "Dude! You're a plant killing machine!" BB exclaimed as he landed next to Kid-Flash and tried to keep up, only for Raven to pick him up with a black platform.

"Why did you change back?" Kid-Flash questioned and BB grinned nervously.

"Uh… my arms got tired." He admitted and Kid-Flash burst out laughing before grinning towards the green teen.

"You and me will get along just fine!" He decided before rushing forward as BB gaped then grinned.

"Dude! Someone else who thinks I'm funny!" BB exclaimed and Raven rolled her eyes.

"Wow, it really is the end of the world." She mused and got a glare from BB for the barb while Naruto swung his sword at the last pod, Kid-Flash scooping up Batgirl as she spit out some of the green slime.

"Nobody say a word." The girl grumbled angrily and the others decided to take the red heads advice given how she appeared ready to kill someone. "Where are Harley and Ivy?" Batgirl asked while turning her head as the rushed towards the throat of the massive plant creature.

"**Just up ahead, everyone prepare yourselves!"** Naruto stated and the group got ready, Batgirl flipping back and onto one of Raven's black platforms, as they got closer to Harley and Ivy.

Meanwhile back with Robin and the rest of his group they spotted the last captured Titan and Night threw a batarang at it, Starfire catching Supergirl as she fell out of the pod and twitched. "I officially hate vegetables." She grumbled out before pushing away from Starfire and flying next to the Titans as they continued towards the neck of the creature. "So what now?" She asked and Nightwing frowned for a moment.

"First we get Harley and Ivy free, then we can worry about taking this thing down." Nightwing replied while Cyborg sighed in exasperation.

"In other words he has no idea…" Cy offered with a smirk and Night gave the titanium teen a look while Supergirl giggled into one hand. Coming closer to the massive plant's throat, Nightwing looked to Supergirl and held out a hand.

"Kara!" He shouted and Supergirl grabbed his arm before twisting and throwing the black clad teen towards Harley. Meanwhile on the other side, Naruto smirked, thus deciding not to let the kid outdo him he turned his head.

"**Raven!"** He called out and the girl made a black wall, Naruto hopping back onto it and then launching himself towards Harley as well. Naruto and Nightwing then both threw a weapon towards the girl, cutting the pod while Naruto teleported to Harley and then threw her up to Nightwing. Catching Harley, Night fired a grapple and swung back over to his team while Naruto teleported to rest before Ivy.

"**I know you seriously love your plants Ivy, but this is really not a good place to be."** Naruto murmured only to curse as some form of biological shell formed over Ivy's form. Slamming his hands into it, Naruto growled low in his throat before chuckling darkly, taking three explosive tags he placed them onto the shell and then fell back. **"FIRE IN THE HOLE!"** He cried out and the other Titans began running away as the blond haired Ex-Shinobi grinned beneath his mask. **"BOOM!"** Naruto exclaimed with a laugh as the explosive notes went off the plant beast roaring out in pain while Ivy fell, only for him to Teleport and quickly grab her. Teleporting away the blond sat Ivy down on the rooftop from before while the Titans landed nearby.

"Well, everyone's safe, but we've still got to take care of that thing." Cyborg noted and Naruto chuckled in his throat while walking forward.

"**Don't worry too much kids, I've got this one handled."** Naruto stated while walking passed them and then took a quick breath. **"Alright boys, time to really bring the house down!"** Naruto stated to himself as he dispelled one of his clones from earlier, feeling a surge of energy flow through his body before narrowing his eyes dangerously. **"SENJUTSU: SENNIN MODO!! (Sage Art: Sage-Mode!!)"** Naruto exclaimed as Raven felt a burst of pure power suddenly start to flow off of Naruto's body while he looked up at the massive plant, then teleported into the air.

Grunting as he got into the air part of the right side of his helmet blew apart exposing one of his eyes to the world. Opening the eye to show a golden iris with a horizontal slit for a pupil and red markings around them Naruto narrowed his eyes dangerously as the lens for his other eye turned pitch black. _'Alright, time to finish this baby with one hell of a bang!'_ Naruto thought to himself while his suit started to heat up, what was once black turning white while his coat armor and sword remained the only black on him, the X on his mask and chest glowing brightly.

Lunging down at the plant he watched as it suddenly spit up a poison cloud at him and mentally scoffed. Sheathing his swords the blond twisted into a wave of his hands, the resulting wind he created blowing all of the poison away instantly and partly knocked the plant beast down. _'Whoa, I must've really gotten stronger if Sage-Mode does this to my Wind-Chakra-Manipulation!'_ Naruto thought to himself before bracing his arms against his sides while the plant fired dozens of barbs at the blond haired youth.

Chuckling to himself, the blond twisted and dodged the barbs, the edges of his coat being torn by stray barbs. Grinning to himself the blond then continued on his downward assent towards the creature as it roared out at him, a long snake like tongue coming at him, complete with head and jaws, and snapping its own jaws tight over him. Grinning beneath his mask the blond then formed chakra around his body while closing his eyes. **"Senjutsu: One-Million-Blades Jutsu!"** The blond called out loudly as a sphere of highly condensed blades of wind wrapped around his body.

Instantly the head of the Snake like tongue was torn apart from the inside out right down to its molecules. The main Plant-Beast roared out in pain as he did, the blond flipping in midair to look down on it as it pulled its tongue back into its mouth. Falling ever closer to the plant, Naruto felt a wide grin start to split across his face while holding his hands out to slow his decent.

"C'mon, Smile ugly!" Naruto exclaimed loudly with a wide grin over his face and the plant roared out at him angrily. Lashing out with hundreds of vines towards the blond, the plant could only watch on as Naruto pulled his swords from his back and started to swing them into the many vines, slicing and dicing his way through the vines easily, soon passing them and drawing ever closer to the enormous plant. Grunting as he felt his power start to wane a bit, Naruto shook his head and narrowed his eyes.

'_Alright, time for a quick charge…'_ Naruto thought while dispelling his last clone, another burst of pure Natural Energy flowing into his body as the X on his mask started to glow even brighter than ever. Quickly sheathing his blades the blond then created two clones, one at each of his sides as they looked around before turning to the original, one grinning under his mask while the other looked wide eyed towards him.

"Aw shit, we're going to be using THAT Jutsu aren't we?" One asked and Naruto chuckled deviously while the other clone started whooping in jubilation.

"Alright Bossu! Lets teach this oversized weed just who's the boss around here!" It exclaimed and both the other clone and the original looked to it. "What?" He asked them curiously and Naruto looked to his other clone.

"Why does he act like we did back when we were a Dobe?" Naruto questioned seriously and the other one shrugged before all three started looking down. "Alright boys, no more time for chitchat, lets finish this thing off once and for all!" Naruto called out while holding his hands to the sides, each clone moving and forming a swirling mass of wind into their hands as he did the same.

"**Senjutsu! Fuuton: Odama Rasengan! (Sage Art! Wind-Release: Great Ball Spiraling Sphere!)"** The clones and Naruto said at the same time and then placed their hands over Naruto's as he looked down at the plant beast. _'Alright, now its time for an Uzumaki Naruto Original!'_ Naruto thought to himself before he and the clones merged the three Rasengan's into one massive one.

"**Senjutsu! Fuuton: Cho Odama Raserengan! (Sage-Art! Wind-Release: Big Great Ball Spiraling Group Sphere!)"** Naruto exclaimed as he and the clones slammed the attack into the mouth of the massive plant. "Open wide!" Naruto shouted over the wind as he and the clones slammed the massive sphere into the mouth of the creature, blown back by a sudden gust of wind once they were. Flying into the air, Naruto watched as the massive sphere of Chakra seemed stuck in the creature's mouth for a moment and snickered darkly.

Unsheathing both his swords, the blond then swung both, a massive X shaped blast of wind pushing the sphere down further into the mouth of the beast. Instantly it started to jet through the massive creature's head and neck, the wind element began shredding apart the creature around it as it went further and further down its body. From the outside it appeared as if some inner force was tearing apart the creature, spiraling down its body and leaving nothing of the creature but bits and shredded pieces in its wake. Soon inside the beast the sphere dissipated a smaller, yet faster Fuuton: Odama Rasengan continuing its path.

Outside Naruto smirked to himself as his clones dispelled themselves to give him back what little power they had left. As they did that the small Fuuton: Odama Rasengan shredded the insides out of the now thrashing wildly plant creature, leaving its outsides relatively fine. Then out of the Odama Rasengan came a rapidly spinning Fuuton: Rasengan, the small sphere spinning faster and faster before stopping and creating a vacuum inside of the beast as it compressed itself. Grinning beneath his mask, Naruto held up a hand and quickly made a seal while giving a mock salute to the creature.

"Alright big guy, time for you to go out with a bang!" He exclaimed as the Fuuton: Rasengan inside of the creature rapidly expanded, expelling its condensed Chakra and wind outwards and ripping apart the plant creature from the inside out as it did… _'Heh, who else but me could make a Jutsu that starts as a large attack, then decreases in size as it condenses its accumulated mass and continues to speed up the smaller it gets before expanding into an explosion?'_ Naruto wondered to himself with a mental smirk as he watched the attack do just that…

Once the wind had shredded its way through the massive creature, Naruto himself was pushed further up into the air while the Titans ducked out of the way as globs of its flesh and insides were sent flying every which way. Soon standing and looking on to see the massive roots of the plants falling, Cyborg shook his head for a moment before continuing to gape in shocked awe. "Whao…" Cy breathed out in awe seeing the massive amount of damage from the single attack.

"DUDE!" BB exclaimed while gaping in shock and pointing towards the white speck that was Naruto as he still floated in the air. "He wasted that thing with one move!" BB exclaimed while Nightwing openly gaped Raven rolling her eyes as she used one hand to close his mouth.

"Keep your mouth closed, otherwise a bird might make a roost." Raven offered with a smirk and Nightwing slowly nodded his head while Supergirl whistled at the amount of destruction caused by the blond.

"Fast, strong, brave, and fun, I wonder if he has a girlfriend already?" Supergirl wondered aloud and Raven blinked before turning and looking towards the girl with a raised brow. Supergirl merely whistling innocently as she did so, an amused smirk crossing over her features as Raven scowled.

"Wow, that's one of the guys you normally fight Dick?" Kid-Flash questioned and Nightwing grunted while rubbing his face.

"Cy, take X off the list for "Common Thieves" among our normal villains… and then we seriously have to reevaluate his threat level…" Nightwing murmured and Cyborg nodded his head dumbly while watching Naruto as he continued to fall.

Said boy was hitting the teleport button on his belt, only to groan when it started to spark and then steam. "Great, the things fried." He muttered to himself before being caught by two pairs of arms, looking up he saw Blackfire and Dani, and then tilted his head. "What's with your hair?" He asked while looking to Dani's flaming white ponytail and she blinked as she looked at his one visible eye.

"What's with your eyes?" She asked in retort and Gismo decided to make his presence known as he flew over to the teen with gritted teeth.

"What the hell kind of shit did you just pull, Temp!? You were putting out enough power to not only fry your suit but also light up the damn sky like the fucking sun?! What the hell did you do?!" Gizmo demanded angrily while shaking Naruto and the blond shook his head before groaning when he noticed he was almost completely out of chakra.

"Can we please talk about this later… I'm majorly wiped right now Giz." Naruto pleaded tiredly while groaning slightly and Gizmo gritted his teeth before grunting.

"Fine then, lets get the shit licker back to base." Gizmo conceded with a deep scowl, Dani snickering as they started to fly back to Tartarus HQ.

"Oh yeah, Dani, Blackfire, you and the other girls are all seriously in for one hell of a training session when I recover." Naruto stated angrily and both girls groaned, given his ideas on "Training" AKA Torture, they were not too happy to learn that…

"Looks like his team came to get him." Raven noted and Night was silent for a moment then looked over to see a calculative look on Wondergirl's face.

"Something on your mind Donna?" He asked and Wondergirl nodded her head.

"It's nothing but… what kind of attack was that? It spins and shreds from what I can tell. Not only that but its extremely massive and explodes. I can understand wanting an attack to be effective, but the sheer size alone must be hell to use…" Wondegirl noted mostly to herself and Night looked at her then frowned in thought for a moment.

"Yeah… well as far as I'm concerned, X doesn't really know how to use intelligence in the methodology for his attacks." Night mused aloud while rubbing his chin and BB squinted while looking at him with his arms crossed.

"Dude, speak English!" BB shouted while throwing his arms in the air and Night sighed before turning when he heard a grunt, thus watched as Snake and Otacon crawled onto the roof.

"Officer Connors? Your alive?" Night asked with a blink, while also clearly surprised to see the man who had a radio in one hand as he climbed up a fire escape and gave him an annoyed look in response.

"Yeah I'm alive, and I called the rest of the JCPD to let 'em know the coast is clear. I basically told them that they can pull their heads from between their legs and stop kissing their asses goodbye now…" Snake grumbled and Kid-Flash and BB both started laughing, Cy joining in as well while Raven raised a brow with an amused smirk. "Unfortunately, that Pink-X chick got away, Killer-Moth came by and bailed her out…" Snake informed and Nightwing sighed before shaking his head.

"Why am I not surprised?" He wondered and then turned around to look at the city with the others. "Well, looks like the cops are here." Nightwing noted while seeing a van below them and the JCPD waiting on them.

"Funny how they're only ever on time when we're done beating the bad guys." Raven noted before turning around and looking to Snake with a slim ghost of a smile. "Well, all but one or two I guess…" She then corrected and Snake smirked while Otacon chuckled and adjusted his glasses.

"Ugh, what hit me?" Harley suddenly asked and BB suddenly jumped on her and held her down. "Hey! Get offa me! I have rights ya know!" Harley started to shout before the JCPD arrived and cuffed her and the still unconscious Ivy. Dragging the girls back down to ground level with the Titans following they were all treated to Harley ranting. "Hey! I wanna hear my rights! I wanna see my layer!" She exclaimed while they tossed her and Ivy into the back of the van only for her to poke her head back out. "I wanna ham sandwich!" She then shouted only for a female officer to throw her back into the van roughly before slamming the doors on the blond.

"Huh, new addition?" Cy asked of Snake with a smirk, the said man merely shrugging his shoulders in response.

"I think their taking volunteers now… only one requirement for the job, be stupid enough to be a human meat shield for you guys." Snake offered and Cy, KF, and BB snickered while Raven shook her head.

"So, what now, we've beaten Harley and Ivy, survived a killer plant invasion, and made a few new friends along the way." Raven noted while ticking off fingers and Nightwing nodded his head slowly before then turning around to look at the mentioned "New Friends".

"Speaking of which, Supergirl, Batgirl, Wondergirl, and Kid-Flash, it was great working with you guys again." Nightwing said and the girls waved it off though Kid-Flash zipped over to the former boy wonder and placed an arm over his shoulders.

"Then would you mind putting an old pal up? I mean, I like working alone as much as the next guy… but I'd kinda like having someone to watch my back, know what I mean?" Kid-Flash asked and Night looked to Cyborg the metal man grinned as he reached into a compartment in his chest and pulled out a Titans Communicator.

"Welcome to the team man!" Cy offered and Kid-Flash grinned. "You play game station?" Cy questioned and a sly look came over KF's face.

"Are you joking, who doesn't?" He asked while Wondergirl shook her head then walked over to Nightwing.

"If it wouldn't be too much trouble Dick, could I also join your team? The Justice League is… well… I just don't feel comfortable with them, and Diana is always fighting with them now so I haven't been able to fight with a group. And as you know I prefer working with others so…" Wondergirl asked then explained and Nightwing rolled his eyes as Cy and KF argued about something game related.

"Sure thing Donna, and with X's team out and about, something tells me we're going to need all the help we can get around here." Nightwing offers while pulling a spare Communicator from his belt and tossing it to the girl. Looking over to Batgirl and Supergirl, Nightwing smirked towards the two. "So, what about you two?" He asked the two girls with a small smile and Batgirl frowned.

"Sorry, too old to join a group of "Teen" Titans." She offered playfully the teen simply and Supergirl pushed her slightly.

"Your still young at heart." She offered just as playfully as her friend and Batgirl nodded her head.

"This is true, but I don't think I'd fit in here, I'm just too used to Gotham for it." Batgirl mused and Starfire gave a near silent 'Yes' to the side and Supergirl chose to ignore it for the sake of not wanting to know.

"Eh, I'm actually with the JLU now, but I'll see you guys around sometime. But until then, later!" Supergirl offered before crouching down and then jetting off into the air and soon enough into the distance where she seemed to disappear.

"That was such a cool exit." BB said and Batgirl gave him a look.

"It's the only exit she or Superman use." She reminds and BB babbles before crossing his arms over his chest.

"Alright y'all, time to head on back to the tower, I've got to teach Speedy here a thing or two about real gaming!" Cy says while holding Kid-Flash in a headlock, the speedster somehow pulling his head free to move in front of the titanium teen.

"Race you there, Tin-Man!" He offered before zipping off and Cyborg growled before chasing after Kid-Flash the others watching them before shaking their heads.

"The more things change the more they stay the same." Raven noted with a slim frown while BB flew after Cy and Kid-Flash.

"Yeah, but lets not forget, we have new Titans." Nightwing reminded and both Starfire and Raven raised a brow towards the boy. "Thus, we have to commence with… Initiations." Nightwing stated with a toothy grin and Starfire smiled brightly while Raven smirked evilly, Wondergirl wondering why she had a bad feeling about this…

--

(Elsewhere…)

Ravager smirked as she looked over dozens of hours of video footage, all of which depicted different battles Naruto had been in, as Red-X, as Tempest, and as himself… "Simply marvelous…" She whispered to herself then felt a presence come up from behind her. "What do you want now?" She questioned coldly and then turned around to face one Uchiha Sasuke.

"What are you doing? Watching all those stupid videos isn't helping us or you." He reminds and Ravager shakes her head while turning around, wondering why he couldn't see what she was doing.

"Actually it does. What I've been doing is watching the actions of The Titans, Tartarus, and your Target." Ravager replied while pressing a few buttons while the other Konoha Nin walked towards her.

"So what have you learned?" Kakashi questioned and Ravager hit a few switches show scenes where Naruto went out of his way to protect Raven, others where all he did was stick an X over her mouth, and such. And then showed footage of him visibly flirting and even dating the dark Titans.

"First. Your Target is in a relationship with the Titan known as Raven. The lengths he would go to protect her are simply mind boggling, he even tore through the city above during the recent attack almost solely to protect her." Ravager explained and Ino watched the videos and couldn't help a sigh.

"I wish I had a guy to treat me like that." She whispered while Hinata felt more and more jealous while watching the screens.

"Anything else? We know Naruto can do stupid things for the wrong reasons already." Sasuke demanded and Hinata scowled towards the Uchiha, as did Ino.

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" Ino demanded and Sasuke grunted while crossing his arms over his chest.

"It means he should look after himself before worrying about some girl." He replied and Ino felt her fingers twitched as she wished to reach for a Kunai.

"Anyways, that's not my point. My point is, we capture Raven, Naruto comes to us." Ravager said, deciding to derail the situation and Sakura paled at the thought. While deluded she wasn't stupid… well, not completely stupid and Ayame seemed even less enthused by that idea.

"But then Naruto would come at us like a bull if we did that, a very VERY pissed off Kyuubi empowered wind controlling bull with swords for horns!" Sakura exclaimed, visions of a furious Four-Tailed Naruto making her whimper lightly. _**"Shit! We'd be lucky if it was only four tails! He'd annihilate us if we touched someone precious to him!"**_ Ayame shouted in her head while Kakashi shivered, having a fairly good idea how that would end as well.

"Yes it's true that might work… but like Sakura said given our and Naruto's recent past its safe to assume that he'd try to actually kill us if we so much as even breathed near the girl." Kakashi reminded and Ravager nodded her head with a slim smirk on her face. She then brought up several occasions on screen of when Raven and the Titans fought with various villains… yet Naruto never showed up? "What the?" Kakashi wondered to himself while watching and Ravager chuckled lightly in her throat.

"Naruto isn't a fool, whenever the Titans take on a lesser criminal, he doesn't get involved no matter how dangerous it seems. When they take on truly violent or evil villains, then he gets himself involved." She replied and Kakashi slowly nodded his head while looking at the screens. "Also, Raven has some level of control over his actions, such as even convincing him to help the city." Ravager went on while waving a hand and Neji frowned for a moment while crossing his arms.

"And since Naruto is trying to hide, that would mean he does indeed care for her greatly if he's willing to risk exposure for her." Neji noted and Ravager nodded her head once more before bringing up several other shots.

"Also, whenever Naruto faces an opponent, he never tries to involve his own team for fear of them getting caught in the crossfire." Ravager stated and Kakashi nodded his head, seeing what the blond was doing.

"Sounds like him alright, since most if not all of his attacks do cause a mass amount of damage and destruction. That's probably why he's always using those gadgets of his… but how does this make a plan?" Kakashi questioned while looking to Ravager who then started changing the different videos to show Naruto fighting against Harley and Ivy. "Wow, he's certainly stronger than I remember." Kakashi noted as the boy moved across the vast battlefield of the city, easily decimating everything in his path or that got in his way.

"Yes, but, notice he almost never uses his larger attacks when a Titan or civilian is in the immediate area." Ravager continued to explain while bringing up a screen and Kakashi snapped his fingers.

"Because he doesn't want any of them to get hurt." Kakashi noted and Ravager nodded her head once more before smirking darkly.

"However, I do have a question, from what you've said this "Uzumaki Naruto" was an orphan correct?" Ravager questioned and the others nodded, Kakashi doing so after a moments pause. Smirking at the pause Ravager then held her finger over a button and tilted her head to one side. "Then explain this…" She stated ominously while a new screen came up, a box zooming in on a picture Naruto was handing to Raven…

The picture was of a beautiful woman with similar features to Naruto, though a paler skin tone; deep crimson red hair and bright yellow gold eyes that seemed to flicker like flames, in her arms was a young Naruto, half asleep and with bandages over his face and forearms…

"Who is that?" Sasuke wondered aloud and Sakura gaped at the woman.

"She looks like… no, it can't be." She whispered while Kakashi paled visibly.

"Uzumaki Kushina…" He whispered and the teens snapped their heads to him, Ravager smirking towards the man. Sighing, Kakashi rubbed his face and turned away from them for a moment. "The village was never honest with anyone about Naruto, not even himself. He was raised by his mother, Uzumaki Kushina, the "Crimson Angel" of Uzu no Kuni until he was eight years old." Kakashi started to explain and then shook his head while Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"That's not possible, Naruto had no parents or any living family, he said so himself." Sasuke reminded the older man with a deep scowl across his face and Kakashi nodded his head slowly.

"He thought so as well. But, Kushina and… a girl named Rin were both murdered on his eighth birthday, right in front him no less." Kakashi started to explain and both Hinata and Sakura gasped while the others gaped towards him, Ravager merely listening on as he spoke. "That same night, Naruto first tapped into the power of the Kyuubi and mercilessly slaughtered the man, ripping him apart till almost nothing was left. It took ten AnBu to hold him down just so we could sedate him…" Kakashi recalled and shivered violently, Sasuke clenching his fists at his sides.

"So… he was an avenger himself… he also knows my pain." Sasuke muttered under his breath while Hinata brought her hands over her arms.

"P-poor Naruto-Kun… to be plagued b-by those m-memories for s-so long…" Hinata said softly and Kakashi shook his head.

"Naruto didn't remember it. The Sandaime Hokage feared Naruto would abandon Konoha, or worse that he might seek out The Kyuubi for its power. So, he decided to seal away all Naruto's memories of his mother, rendering everything he ever learned from her or gained from her, non-existent. The Sandaime went so far as to seal away anything that might have reawakened those memories in the library of Konoha." Kakashi then explained and Neji grit his teeth while clenching his fists at his sides.

"Then, the things he "Stole" from the library, were actuality his clan scrolls?" Neji demanded of the older Jounin and Kakashi mutely nodded his head.

"B-but that means Naruto was justified?" Sakura demanded loudly and Kakashi shrugged his shoulders for a moment.

"But there's still the sacred scroll of sealing." Ino then reminded and Kakashi grimaced while rubbing the back of his neck.

"No. That was compiled by The Sandaime, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, Tsunade and my sensei, his father, and was to be passed onto him on his sixteenth birthday as a gift since it was passed onto the Yondaime from the others." Kakashi explained and Sasuke frowned, calculating in his head before narrowing his eyes.

"And he stole it about four months after he turned sixteen." The teen noted and Kakashi grimaced as Ino looked at him completely appalled.

"What the hell, we're chasing after someone whose only crime is stealing what was already his!?!" Ino demanded and Sakura started to gape before shaking her head.

"N-no, of course not, he also attacked several Shinobi and broke into Danzo's home remember." Sakura reminded and Ino still fumed as she turned to Kakashi and stomped over to the man.

"Who's idea was it to keep those scrolls from Naruto exactly?" Ino demanded and Kakashi grimaced while pulling on his collar.

"That isn't important anymore, Ino. What is, is that Naruto obviously no longer has that seal, and that all of his old memories are finally loose in his mind, thus his increase in skill and aggression. Naruto was a very violent child before the seal, openly challenging anyone who made remarks about himself or his mother." Kakashi reminds and then explained to the ground while Neji nods his head slowly.

"Yes… but not being able to go to his mothers funeral, living with the thought you've always been alone, constantly being mocked for being an Orphan no one wanted… so many things forced onto him that weren't true… a seal ruined his life as well I see." Neji whispered quietly and Hinata placed a hand onto her cousin's shoulder before they all turned to see Ravager clapping.

"Yes and while that was a positively riveting story mister Kakashi. I believe we're getting off topic. Now we look at the facts. Naruto saw his mother die, he protects everyone around him like they might die as well, and lets not forget, he's blinded by the need to get strong enough on his own to defend them, training himself in ways and forms none of you have ever even dreamed correct?" Ravager questioned and Kakashi nodded his head slowly while wondering how she figured all this out. "Right, next few facts he doesn't interfere with the Titans fighting villains he doesn't perceive as a threat and yet would protect Raven with his very life…" Ravager mused aloud and then pressed a button, the nin turning and gasping as the Ternion Trio lumbered into the room.

"Dear Kami what are those things…" Kakashi whispered upon seeing them and Ravager smirked as she walked towards the three, Cinderblock bowing slightly.

"My father's three heavy soldiers will be ample to lure out the Titans… Then my droids and I will kidnap Raven among the insanity before bringing her to that lovely little warehouse you were staying at. Afterwards I will send a message to Tartarus giving the exact location of Raven. That way when he comes to save her, he'll be expecting me, not you, while you will all be waiting to surprise him." Ravager explained simply and Kakashi frowned in thought for a few moments.

"Why at the warehouse?" He asked and Ravager smirked.

"My droids may be able to hide in the shadows in an enclosed space like this, but he's the type of fighter where they will need room to maneuver. Also, I have a few new, heavily modified droids I've just been dieing to test out. And don't even worry about how you'll hold Raven, I have a few things in mind for that as well…" Ravager explains then said darkly while tapping her chin and walking over to the side, leaving the Nin with the Ternion Trio.

"Kakashi-Sensei… I have a bad feeling about this." Sakura whispered before she tried hiding behind Sasuke who merely pushed her to the side.

"So do I." Kakashi whispered while looking at the beings warily…

--

(Tartarus HQ…)

Naruto called out in pain while lying on his stomach as Gizmo pealed another super heated piece of his X-suit off of his body. "Dammit that hurts Giz! Can't you be a little more gentle?" Naruto demanded and Gizmo snorted while Jinx helped peal the suit off of him with a slight blush.

"Hey, you're the moron who went and super-heated the fucking thing. Be glad it didn't fuse to your damn skin. I keep telling you not to overload it, but do you listen to me, No, and what do you go and do, you use so much power it fucking bleached the thing!" Gizmo grumbled while removing another portion of the now useless X-suit. "Your just lucky I'm working on that new suit or I'd have to kick your ass for this." Gizmo then stated simply while making a mental note to put a limiter on the new suit so it wouldn't ever overload like this again.

"Yeah well why is Jinx helping undress me then?" Naruto demanded and Gizmo scoffed.

"That should be obvious." He started and Naruto blinked and gave him a look. Dani chose that moment to poke her head into the room and rolled her eyes with an amused smile on her lips.

"Clueless." She stated and Naruto turned only to see the girl had left, making him frown before gritting his teeth as another piece of the suit was pealed off of him.

"Ugh, damn Giz why did the fucking thing do that anyways?" Naruto demanded and Gizmo grunted while pealing yet another piece off of him. "YEOW! Dammit would you stop doing that?!" Naruto demanded and Gizmo snorted.

"Whatever, and as for the reason why it did this, its because your stupid ass overloaded the power grid of the suit. The circuits have fused with the rest of the suit and super heated it, thus the bleaching, and near fusing of the suit to your skin." Gizmo replied while making a note to put some kind of a cooling unit into the suit as well.

"Ugh… yeah well how was I supposed to know it was going to do that?" Naruto demanded and Gizmo smacked him on the head with part of the damaged suit.

"Because psycho I told you your powers are VERY similar to Jinx's! Thus, use too much of it and electronic shit blows up! I think that might actually be why your people didn't have that many electronics!" Gizmo explained and Naruto blinked then considered that, seeing as it was a very valid reason… well it was something to think on at least… Grimacing he then turned to see Jinx bite her lip as she had pulled yet another piece of the suit off of him, leaving him clad only in his black boxers.

"Finally…" Naruto murmured while rolling off of the table and then picked himself back up from the floor. "You have no idea how good it feels to be free of that." Naruto said mostly to himself while rubbing his head and Gizmo rolled his eyes.

"Yeah well go get some rest Temp, you look like shit." Gizmo stated and Naruto nodded his head while pushing himself back to his feet and making his way out of the room with a visible grimace. Watching the blond go, Jinx released her breath and a blush nearly consumed her face.

"Does he have to look so good even though he's taken?" She wondered aloud and Gizmo made a face.

"Ugh… I don't wanna hear about it!" The tiny terror exclaimed and Jinx blinked then rolled her eyes and walked off. "Finally gone, now I can actually get back to work…" Gizmo murmured while getting back to work on the new Red-X Suit 3.0…

--

TBC…

--

AN: Finally done! And I will not ever make a chapter this long again… well maybe if it's the last chapter for the fic I might. I made it long to reward those of you who have continued to put up with my laziness, as well as to wrap up the "Urban Jungle" arc of the story with a bang!


	38. Inner Demons Pt1

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

**Chapter 37**: **Inner Demons Pt. 1**…

--

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

--

(??)

Naruto's eyes snapped open as he heard evil laughter echo all around him. Sitting up, the blond looked around and then pushed himself to his feet when he saw Raven nearby. "Kara-Chan, what are you…?" He started to ask when Raven suddenly spoke.

"The Gem was born of evil's fire…" She stated, Naruto blinking as she did. "The Gem shall be his portal…" She added while suddenly opening four glowing red eyes. "He comes to claim he comes to sire…" She added before giving a sad smile as red markings formed over her skin. "The end of all things mortal!" She exclaimed before a ring of red energy formed around her waist.

"Kara-Chan!" Naruto exclaimed only to hold up his arms as the ring split in two, traveling up and down her body as they tore her apart. "No… no!" Naruto tried to say as he pushed towards Raven before her body suddenly vanished and he was sent flying back. Screaming out as he hit the ground then bounced several paces back, Naruto gritted his teeth while sitting up… only for his eyes to widen in a combination of shock and horror. All around him lay Jump-City, now left in ruins with two ominous shadows hovering over him.

"**Such a tiny thing this mortal."** A deep voice boomed out as Naruto sat up and looked around, eyes widening as he saw the silhouette of two monstrous beings looming over him.

"**I told you he was nothing but a Ningen runt."** The Kyuubi's voice echoed as the fox's eyes began to glow, narrowing on Naruto as it's wide psychotic grin stretched across its long muzzle.

"**Indeed. Although, he does hold a fair amount of power within that puny form."** The second voice intoned as a four-eyed monster with red skin stood beside of Kyuubi, arms crossed while looking down at Naruto with a deep frown. Chuckling, Kyuubi leaned his head towards Naruto, blood shot eye looking down at him as his grin widened to impossible lengths.

"**Do you see this child? This is your fate, you and all you love shall be consumed by our fires!"** Kyuubi stated darkly, the red skinned monster grinning as well as he raised a hand. Forming a ball of fire into his outstretched hand, the monster then looked down at Naruto and narrowed his eyes.

"**The time for Mortals shall soon come to an end!"** He exclaimed before slamming his flaming fist down into Naruto…

--

(Tartarus HQ…)

Sitting up and panting as he awoke from his most recent Nightmare, Naruto looked around. Seeing everything was fine the blond haired youth fell back into his pillow, heart beating a mile a minute. "Just a dream…" He whispered to himself, eyes closed before he opened them once more. "No… more like a Nightmare." He mumbled to himself while sitting back up. Yawning Naruto stretched his arms out, before smacking his lips for a moment. Rubbing his head with one hand, Naruto then cracked his neck and gave out a light sigh.

"Damn, I really needed that little nap." He noted to himself while getting up and stretching out his limbs for a moment. Looking to his clock, the blond blinked then grimaced upon seeing it wasn't a "Little Nap" instead being more of a day's worth of sleep since it was well after noon. "Yikes, I was really wiped out this time." He noted while rubbing his head, making a note never to overload his chakra like that ever again considering his normal Rasenrengan was a little more draining than a Fuuton Rasengan or Rasenshuriken, so one the size he used…

Shaking his head of that thought Naruto stretched to the sides for a moment, loosening his muscles a bit before placing his hands on his hips. "Alright, what to do today…" Naruto wondered before scowling as he remembered the "Punishment" he still had to dish out on the girls. "Right, business before I go out and enjoy myself a little." Naruto said to himself while walking over to his closet, then dug out his most durable clothes before laying them out. Looking around, he then remembered his Red-X suit was out of commission and shrugged his shoulders.

"I guess it wouldn't kill me to get back to basics…" Naruto mused while walking to his bed and pulled on a black AnBu issue shirt with the mask rolled down over his neck, a pair of fingerless black forearm length gloves with red bands around his wrists and metal plates at the back of each hand, a pair of black pants, his grey utility belt when he stowed the scroll into as well as a few other knickknacks, bandages around his shins and feet to hold his pants down tightly, a Kunai Case on his right thigh, and then pulled on his old black calf length Shinobi Sandals, some red bands placed around his ankles. Smirking, Naruto then grabbed his black Headband with a red spiral and tied it over his forehead before standing up and walking back into his closet.

Frowning, the teen looked around for one of his sheathes before pulling out an old one, this one being in a y shape with armor over one shoulder and only one sheath. "Hmm… I wore this one when I left Konoha…" Naruto mumbled to himself before shrugging as he slipped it on, then grabbed a Ninjatou and sheathed it on his back. Yawning for a brief moment then smacking his lips, Naruto then walked out of his room and looked around before making his way towards the Common Room. "Time to deal with the girls…" He mumbled under his breathed while reaching the room, then walked inside and turned his head to see Duela of all people was cooking…

"Duela can cook?" Naruto questioned seriously and Dani flew out of the floor, dressed in her casual attire in human form.

"Not really… but she likes to dream." Dani admitted while Naruto nodded his head slowly before looking to see the guys playing one of their video games… Blackfire watching with less than a dull interest in what they were doing. "What's with the Sandals?" Dani then asked while looking at the odd "Sandal Boots" as she mentally labeled them and Naruto rolled his eyes.

"I used to wear Sandals all the time, and I kind of felt like getting back to my roots while my suit is being redone." Naruto admitted before looking around the room for Jinx, then narrowed his eyes when he didn't see her. "Where's Jinx?" Naruto asked flatly and Dani took a thoughtful expression for a moment while tapping her chin.

"I think she's talking with Gizmo about something." Dani offered and Naruto frowned slightly before walking over to an intercom.

"Giz, is Jinx with you down there?" The blond questioned before watching as the bald midget came up on screen with a scowl.

"Yeah she is Shit licker, what do you need?" Gizmo replied with his arms crossed and Naruto narrowed his eyes on Dani, nearly making her sink into the ground.

"Have her head over to the Training room, she and the other girls are still in trouble for that stunt they pulled." Naruto growled out and Blackfire and Duela both grimaced upon hearing his words… this obviously wouldn't end well. Making their way down to the Holo-Room, the group entered it to find Jinx sitting down with a frown. Sighing when she saw Naruto, Jinx stood up and brushed her skirt off while giving him an annoyed look.

"Alright, what did you need me for?" Jinx questioned and Naruto ignored her, merely walking passed her and crossing his arms.

"Computer, activate training level, Konoha TG7." Naruto stated and instantly the room around them shimmered before turning into an almost perfect recreation of the old Training Ground 7 in Konoha…

"I've got a bad feeling about this…" Dani suddenly mumbled and Naruto turned around, his eyes narrowed and face set into a scowl. "REALLY have a bad feeling about this…" Dani mumbled while the door sealed behind them.

"Alright, each of you had a helping hand in our little problem yesterday…" Naruto stated and the girls gave a few sheepish looks in response. "And as I said, you're all going to be enjoying a little training. And that training is…" Naruto explained and then held up a single finger, smirking as he did. "Survival Exercises." Naruto stated and Jinx gaped towards the blond haired Ex-Shinobi.

"Survival Exercises? What the hell! We've taken on the Titans and your going to be making us go on a hike?" Jinx demanded and Naruto suddenly grinned darkly, Jinx shutting up and backing up behind Blackfire as he looked at them.

"Heh, you don't know what Konoha Survival Exercises are like… basically is all of you fighting for survival against me. However, whenever I capture one of you, you're out of the game and cannot help those still "Playing" as I try and beat them with my skills." Naruto stated simply and Jinx grimaced, the other girls giving her an annoyed glare. "Also… you might want to come at me with the Intent to Kill…" Naruto stated and got wide eyes from all but Duela, who grinned insanely as she reached a hand into her bag. "… because, I won't be holding back for once!" The blond haired teen uttered while vanishing into thin air, Duela looking around for him.

"Oh shit!" Dani said while she and Blackfire quickly flew into the air and started looking around for him.

"Where'd he go?" Blackfire questioned and Dani shook her head, Jinx forming pink energy around her hands before Naruto appeared before her.

"Lesson one, Taijutsu…" Naruto stated before smirking as he took a stance and thrusting his palm into Jinx's abdomen, sending her flying back into Duela. **"Shadow Claw Taijutsu, Style Four: The Art of the Open Palm…"** Naruto stated while looking up towards Dani and Blackfire, a smirk crossing over his lips as he made a simple "C'mon" gesture with one hand…

--

(Titans Tower…)

Nightwing was sitting down and looking over a file on Red-X with a scowl, nearby, BB and Cy were playing a videogame while Kid-Flash watched them. Starfire was explaining something to Wonder-Girl about the day-to-day workings of the tower, and Raven was watching all of this from the kitchen. _'Just another ordinary day at Titans tower…'_ Raven mused to herself since it seemed that even with two new titans added to the team, their habits would never change. Sighing, the violet haired girl then turned and readied some herbal tea, listening absently to the other's as they conversed…

"Oh, new friend Girl of Wonder, do you think that we could go to the mall of shopping later? I would very much like to introduce you to the joy's of earthly hair-ornaments!" Starfire questioned of Wonder-Girl with a bright innocent smile stretched across her face and the black haired girl blinked.

"First of all, it's Wonder-Girl, second, just call me Donna, third, I already know what "Hair-Ornaments" are and have a few." Donna stated and Starfire blinked before scratching her head and snapping her fingers with a bright smile.

"Then perhaps we could do the shopping of windows, it is most enjoyable and does not use any of the cash-monies." Starfire offered while hugging Donna with one arm and grinning widely, The Amazonian literally shrugging off Starfire's strength with her own formidable strength.

"Well if I go with you… could we get milk-shakes while we're out?" Donna asked and Starfire grinned widely before nodding her head vigorously.

"Indeed! I would be most mirthful to partake in the shaking of mile with you…" Starfire said and then blinked for a moment. "But please, why would you wish to shake the milk?" Starfire questioned naively, Donna snorting and then snickering as she tried to hold back full blown laughter.

"I don't mean shaking milk Starfire. It's Ice-cream mixed with milk that's made into a drink." Donna offered and Starfire blinked for a moment before making an oh with her mouth and then smiling brightly.

"Oh, that sounds most delightful, the sweetness of the ice-cream is always most enjoyable. And perhaps they will also have a mustard flavored shake of milk as well!" Starfire said aloud and Donna gaped at the alien girl incredulously before shivering at the thought of a Mustard Flavored Milkshake. _'Okay, I'm from an island with no men or technology, where we hunt for our food if we don't grow it, and I still think that's really weird…'_ Donna thought to herself while Raven shook her head in the background as she sipped her herbal tea, absently reading the Amazonian girl's surface thoughts…

'_If you think that was weird, wait till she introduces you to some more of her Tameranian Culture Donna…'_ Raven thought to herself before turning her eyes towards BB, Cy, and KF as they sat on the couch. "So when do I get a turn?" KF questioned of BB and Cy, the Titanium Titan answering for him.

"When Green Bean here gets KOed…" Cy replied with a smirk while BB narrowed his eyes on the game.

"No way dude, Cyborg Shinobi Showdown is so my game. You may whip me repeatedly in racing, first-person-shooters, and strategy games, but this is my…" BB started to say only to gape as Cy's character vanished, then reappeared behind him before slicing his character in half…

"You were saying BB?" Cy asked with a grin and BB gave him an annoyed glare, only to quickly have his control taken by KF.

"So what is this game anyways?" KF asked while taking over as BB sulked to the side with a pout.

"Cyborg-Shinobi-Showdown, it's just a basic fighting / role-playing game man. It's okay for it's make and all, but BB likes it mostly cause it has ninja in it." Cy offered with a yawn and BB glared at him indignantly once more.

"Dude! So not cool, Cy! I never diss any of your favorite games like that!" BB said while glaring and Cy rolled his eyes in response.

"Lets just face it B, it was a good game at first but it's not so fun after you've learned all the secrets and beaten the story-mode…" Cyborg said with a shake of his head and Beast-Boy crossed his arms with a huff.

"Yeah well the new one's going to be awesome!" BB stated and Cyborg frowned as he and KF played the game.

"You mean Cyborg-Shinobi-Chronicles right? That new MMORPG they came out with to increase the fan-base?" Cyborg questioned and BB frowned towards his long-time friend for a moment.

"Uh, yeah. You get to make your very own cyborg-ninja in it!" BB reminded and Cyborg had to admit that did sound a little interesting… "And it also gives you special items when you have a saved game of Cyborg-Shinobi-Showdown!" BB then added and Cyborg nodded his head before smirking as he took down KF's character.

"Man, how can you concentrate on beating me while talking to him?" KF questioned and Cyborg gave a cheeky grin in response.

"I'm just that good." He replied while blinking as a frowning Nightwing turned off the game off. "Hey, we were playing that!" Cy complained and Night pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment before hitting a button on the computer, bringing up several criminal files on the big screen.

"Sorry to interrupt your game guys, but we have more important things to worry about." Nightwing stated before bringing up files for Jinx, Duela, and Blackfire. "First of all, the fact that these three are now working together." Nightwing stated and both Donna and KF grimaced when they saw Duela.

"Aw shit it's the Joker's Daughter… man does she follow you or something, Dick?" KF questioned and Night twitched slightly for a moment before Starfire frowned at the list of girls on the screen.

"Please Friend Robin, what of the "Rei" girl that I did battle with. Was she not also working with my Sister, the Jinx, and this "Joker's Daughter" person?" Starfire questioned and Night sighed before typing in the name "Rei" with a blank folder with the others on screen.

"I would've added her Star, but I didn't know her name, nor do I have a picture of her to add to the list." Night responded and Starfire made an Oh while nodding her head. Crossing his arms, Night then turned to the screen while crossing his arms over his chest. "Alright, what we now know is that Jinx is a member of a team, what we've seen for a fact so far is that at the very least Blackfire, Duela, and this Rei girl are also on that team along with Red-X." Night explained while pointing to the screen and BB frowned.

"Dude, how do you know they're all on the same team?" BB asked and Nightwing rolled his eyes.

"Because X never showed up until after the girls attacked us. Also, he mentioned telling Harley and Ivy he didn't want them trashing his city, and he mentioned having Gizmo on his team. So, since Gizmo is most often teamed up with Jinx and Mammoth, we know who two more of his partners are and that Jinx and the other girls are on his team as well." Nightwing explained and BB blinked before slowly nodding his head. "Alright, now then, what do we know of X's team based on the members we know are in it thus far?" Nightwing questioned of the others and Cyborg rubbed his chin with a frown.

"Well for one, Jinx has powers over Bad-luck as we've seen before, she's also a gymnast and not to mention one of the smartest of the HIVE group. Add on Blackfire and X's intelligence and you've got some problems. Mammoth is strong, suitable for heavy moving or knocking down walls but not really for stealth. Gizmo is mechanically smart, regardless of how much he annoys me I gotta admit that he knows what he's doing when it comes to machines. So he's probably the one who works on X's suit and gadgets." Cyborg offered with a thoughtful expression across his face and Starfire grimaced.

"I would also like to add that the Rei girl could fly, pass through walls and other solid objects, do the vanishing, and form beams of energy from her body…" Starfire offered while rubbing her head, a phantom pain from being slammed into the ground still haunting her. "Also, my Sister Blackfire has all my powers, but added onto it is a keen military mind and numerous martial arts." Starfire then explained with a finger raised and KF blinked for a moment.

"I was wondering why they looked so similar…" KF stated while looking from Starfire to the picture of Blackfire.

"It isn't that hard to see the resemblance…" Raven mused while KF looked at her in shock as she appeared behind him. "What?" She asked with a raised brow and KF looked at her strangely.

"Don't sneak up on me like that." He stated and Raven rolled her eyes for a moment before turning back to the screen.

"Alright, good, anyone got anything to add?" Night asked and Raven nodded her head with a thin frown. However before anyone else could speak Beast-Boy then popped up with a grin.

"Dude's, if Jinx, Mammoth, and Gizmo are on X's team, what's to say none of the other members of the HIVE didn't join up with them?" BB asked and Nightwing frowned for a moment then nodded his head.

"Good point Beast-Boy, but we still don't know if that's the case." Nightwing reminded and BB shrugged his shoulders.

"True dude. But, maybe we should check out the old roster of HIVE members, Cy might be able to figure out if any of them are on that team." BB offered thoughtfully, Night, Star, Raven, and Cy all looking at him strangely. "What?" BB questioned and Cyborg shook his head for a moment.

"Wow… that was actually a good idea. I mean yeah I might not find who else is on his team exactly, but at least we could prepare." Cy said aloud and Raven suddenly reached out and poked BB in the head.

"Dude! What was that for?" Beast Boy demanded and Raven shrugged her shoulders.

"Just making sure you were you." She replied and BB gave her a look in response as she turned to Nightwing. "Also, we know Johnny Rancid isn't on good terms with Red-X and his team, especially if the fact he came in on one of the Motor-Heads Motorcycles is of any indication." Raven then offered and Night nodded his head slowly with a frown.

"True, but still this is all mostly just speculation." Night reminded and Raven shrugged her shoulders with a bored look.

"Yeah, but that's all we can really do for the time being… at least until X and his team decides to try and steal something so we can fight them." She reminded with a flat tone and Night nodded his head, he had to give her that much.

"Hey how much information do you actually have on this "Red-X" guy, Dick?" Donna suddenly asked while leaning forward on the back of the couch and Night turned to the computer and brought up a file on Red-X.

"Is it just me, or does he not wear that outfit?" KF asked while looking at the caped Red-X with a frown. Sighing for a moment Night started rubbing his face before he explained why that was.

"No, I suppose it's not the same one he wears now, but in my own defense I haven't had time to update these files recently, and I don't have a clear picture of X in his new gear since he's constantly changing it." Night explained with a slight frown across his face and KF nodded his head while Cy leaned forward.

"Alright, we know X has powers over the elements of Wind and Lightning to a startling degree, what seems like a heightened healing factor, the capability to use not just one but two swords at the same time, a myriad of gadgets at his fingertips, strange energy based abilities added onto the elemental ones, the ability to multiply, enhanced strength and speed, and he's also got a keen mind and very advanced martial arts skills." Cy mused aloud and KF whistled at the list while Donna frowned for a moment.

"That is an impressive amount of abilities." Donna noted while Starfire decided to put in her own two cents.

"He also has the ability to do the teleporting and seems to have very little interest in destroying the city." Starfire piped up and Nightwing nodded his head.

"Yeah, he's not psychotic like The Joker or most other villains… though he is selfish, he doesn't really have a need to cause mass destruction or rule the world like most villains." Night said mostly to himself as he leaned back and tapped a finger into his bicep. However, Night then turned when the alarm went off, his eyes narrowing as he quickly brought up the map of Jump-City on screen. "Shit… Titans, we've got Plasmus, Overload, and Cinderblock attacking down town. Move!" Nightwing ordered and the group quickly made their way out of the Ops Center…

--

(Tartarus HQ…)

Dani flew through the air with wide eyes as she and the other girls "Trained" with Naruto. Which at the moment, mostly consisted of him beating the ever-loving crap out of them with "Taijutsu" as he called it. _'Note to self, next time I feel like doing something stupid, remind myself of this lesson in pain.'_ Dani thought to herself as Blackfire was thrown into her, both of them hitting the ground. "Ouch…" Dani mumbled to herself while Blackfire groaned out in pain.

"I thought humans were weaker than Tameranians…" Blackfire mumbled aloud while rubbing her forehead and Dani snorted for a moment.

"I'm not one hundred percent sure he's actually human." Dani grumbled out in a pained voice before pushing Blackfire off of herself. Rolling onto her back, Blackfire heard Duela yelp and tilted her head back in time to see the girl being thrown into the air. Naruto then vanished before appearing above her and slammed a single open palm down into her back, sending her careening into the ground.

"I think she's getting a little too much punishment…" Blackfire noted while Jinx popped up from behind a rock, eyes wide in fright.

"Actually, no, she's not. She did kinda admit to carrying around Smilex and Fear-Toxin… and tried to use it on him." Jinx stated then reminded and Blackfire grimaced, thankful it seemed that neither had worked on the boy as he tied Duela up and then hung her from a nearby tree. Nodding his head as Duela hung, Naruto then turned towards the other three and each quickly rushed off. Smirking, Naruto whistled while making his way after the three girls.

Blackfire took to the air to evade Naruto, while she knew this would only slow him down, it was better than being captured immediately. Looking around for him she groaned upon seeing him appear before her with a grin. "Honestly, your flying? Don't you know that won't work against me?" Naruto questioned before twisting into a kick, Blackfire easily evading and flying higher into the air.

"Evade this!" She shouted while gathering a large Star-bolt into her hands before throwing it down at Naruto. Grinning, the blond haired youth evaded the attack and landed in a crouch on the ground.

"Very good… but now it's time for lesson two, Ninjutsu." Naruto uttered while Dani and Jinx ducked into the surrounding trees. Shaking her head Blackfire went into the trees as well, Naruto suddenly vanishing as he used a shunshin. Appearing in the trees, Naruto contemplated how he was going to weed the girl out before snapping his fingers. **"Kage-Bunshin-no-Jutsu!"** He exclaimed as three plumes of smoke appeared all around him. "Spread out and find them." Naruto ordered and his clones hopped to work, quickly spreading out while Naruto crossed his arms with a smirk.

'_It's only a matter of time.'_ Naruto thought to himself as his clones rushed off amongst the trees in search of the girls. Said girls were dispersed, Dani having gone intangible and invisible was hiding within a tree while watching for Naruto. Taking a gulp of air she put her hands over her mouth to prevent a yelp as one of Naruto's clones landed on the tree she was hiding within. Looking around silently, the clone frowned before launching further into the tree's, Dani giving a silent sigh of relief as it left.

Elsewhere, Blackfire wasn't really hiding, as much as she was resting. She was hanging in a tree, her back to it with one leg on a nearby tree holding her up. Cracking her neck, Blackfire then considered her options against Naruto in this "Ninjutsu" contest of his. Looking down, she saw one of Naruto's clones and contemplated using an attack before thinking better of it. It had been proven, twice now, she was no match for him if she attacked head on after all. Watching the clone she breathed out when it moved on and thus slid down the trees before finding a new place to hide.

Meanwhile, Jinx was making her way through several bushes, her eyes darting to and fro as she did. _'We just had to piss him off didn't we…'_ Jinx couldn't help but think to herself as she continued to make her way through the bushes until suddenly bumping into something. Grimacing, the pinkette looked up and then flipped back as a Naruto-Clone looked at her with a smirk. "Found you Jinx…" Naruto said in a singsong and Jinx quickly threw a hex-bolt at the teen. Smirking as the hex-bolt hit, the clone was consumed by the ground before going up in a plume of smoke, Jinx blinking for a moment before grimacing.

"He used that Clone thing of his…" She mumbled to herself before looking all around for wherever Naruto was…

The said boy suddenly opened his eyes from on top of a tree and smirked as he fell down and then seemed to dig through the ground. Making his way towards where Jinx had been, Naruto knew his clones would've already gone to distract the pinkette for him. And upon heard what sounded like Jinx's Hex-Bolts Naruto smirked while digging until he came to a spot near Jinx. _'Oi, if I'd known this shit was this much fun before I would've gotten me a Gennin team!'_ Naruto couldn't help but think while Jinx finished off the last of his shadow clones…

"**Doton: Shinji Zanshu no Jutsu! (Earth-Release: Headhunter Jutsu!)"** Naruto suddenly exclaimed as he reached his hands up before dragging Jinx down into the ground, leaving only her head free.

"W-what the hell?!" Jinx demanded while struggling to free herself from the dirt. Seconds later, Naruto flipped out of the ground and into a crouch, smirking at Jinx as he then crossed his arms.

"Man, and here I thought taking all four of you would actually be something of a challenge…" Naruto mused to himself before turning and making his way away from an angry Jinx as she glared at his back.

"Hey! Get me out of here! Dammit this isn't funny Tempest!" Jinx exclaimed loudly, still struggling and Naruto snickered to himself while making his way further into the forest, wondering idly if this was how easy Kakashi had had it against him, Sakura, and of course the Teme Sasuke.

"Probably…" Naruto mused with a nod of his head before sighing as he formed a single hand seal and stood still. "Lesson three, Genjutsu…" Naruto stated before a stern look crossed his features and he crossed his arms over his chest. **"Shadow Claw Taijutsu, Style Two: The Art of True Fear…"** Naruto stated as he closed his eyes, an ominous mist forming all around the area and rising up into the air.

Meanwhile, Dani, and Blackfire were all hiding in their own spots when the strange mist suddenly rolled over them. "What the?" Blackfire wondered mostly to herself while looking around, then shivered as a familiar feeling suddenly overtook her body… "I-I remember this…" She mumbled before wrapping her arms over herself and backed up into a tree. "T-the art of T-true fear…" She mumbled to herself while looking all around for Naruto…

Nearby, Dani was nearly hyperventilating, a feeling as if some kind of killer was stalking her present in her mind. _'W-what th-the hell is this?'_ Dani wondered to herself while slowly making her way out of the tree and onto a branch, still unable to see a single thing due to the mists…

"This is one of the styles my mother helped me to create…" Naruto's voice suddenly echoed out and both Dani and Blackfire looked for its source. "It wasn't easy… seeing as I'm not really that good at using normal genjutsu. But Chakra-Shaping and Manipulation is my specialty. So, mom had this funny idea, rather than channel Chakra for a Genjutsu, we figured out how to Channel Killing Intent and Chakra together. Thus, when hit by it, rather than me having to create something for you to experience, your own mind creates the Genjutsu, allowing you to enjoy your very own private hell…" Naruto suddenly explained as Dani shivered, the dark tone of voice he was using causing no small amount of fear in her…

Meanwhile, Blackfire was trying desperately to distance herself from Naruto, the first time she'd been inflicted by this she'd been scared out of her mind. Learning that it was truly her worst nightmares made manifest didn't really make the ability all that appealing… _'I'm not going through it again, I hate this stupid trick already and he's only used it on me once before!'_ Seconds after this thought, Blackfire fell to the ground and shook her head. Looking down, she felt her eyes widen in shock at what she was seeing.

Her armor was gone, her armor was not only gone but dark shadows were suddenly started to rise up all around her. _'Oh no, X'hal no, please not this again!'_ Blackfire thought to herself while quickly standing up and looking all around as the blackness soon completely covered everything else. "No… No I don't want to be alone!" Blackfire mumbled quietly while bringing her arms up to wrap them around herself. Looking for any sign of light or of Naruto, the Tameranian princess was not surprised to find no one and nothing was around her…

'_No… I don't want to be alone again, I hate being alone…'_ Blackfire thought to herself and then backed up, then turned and started to reach out, trying desperately to find anything she could touch.

Meanwhile, Dani was taking deep steady breaths, trying to control her own reaction to the strange ability. However, she then paled greatly as she felt a familiar sensation and looked down. Screaming loudly as her hands looked to be melting away, Dani shook her hands rapidly before falling to the ground. Looking to her legs, Dani started to pant heavily seeing her legs melting into a puddle of green slime as well. What was truly more frightening than anything however, was that it FELT exactly like she remembered, it felt like she was really melting!

"No, please not this! Anything but this!" Dani screamed with tears in her eyes as she curled up into a ball hugging herself tightly. Whimpering as in her mind she was continuing to fade into nothing, she didn't notice as Naruto walked towards her. "M-make it stop…" She muttered pitiably and Naruto rolled his eyes, then again to his eyes, she appeared fine. Shaking his head at the sight of her curled into a ball and nearly hyperventilating, Naruto cancelled the "Genjutsu", Dani's breathing returning to normal before she yelped as Naruto tied her to a nearby tree.

Giving his apprentice a look, Naruto then crossed his arms while the mist slowly faded, a quivering Blackfire looking at him with wide eyes. "I'm surprised you didn't scream." Naruto admitted and Blackfire took several calming breaths before looking down to make sure she still had her armor on.

"In m-my worst f-fears it w-wouldn't have m-mattered if I screamed…" Blackfire admitted and Naruto decided to stow that little tidbit away. Smirking, the blond then reached back and removed his Ninjatou from his back.

"Lesson four, my personal favorite, Kenjutsu!" Naruto stated with a grin and Blackfire took a breath while giving Naruto a look.

"First of all, you mean sword techniques right?" Blackfire questioned and Naruto blinked before nodding his head. "Then how exactly do you expect me to show you any when I don't even have a sword?" She demanded and Naruto nodded his head with a thoughtful look across his face. Getting an idea, Naruto suddenly smirked while looking at the black haired alien princess.

"Alright how about this, knock my sword out of my hand, and you can use it." Naruto offered while taking a stance and Blackfire gave him a look for a moment before nodding her head as she took a stance opposite him. "Alright then, lets go!" Naruto exclaimed before quickly lunging at Blackfire. Growling, the black haired alien princess quickly blocked Naruto's sword with her armor before thrusting her palm forward, into his chest and knocking him back several paces. "Hmm, not bad." Naruto mused to himself as he slid to a halt and then twisted the Ninjatou into a reverse grip. Chuckling lightly in his throat as he took a different stance, Naruto smirked towards Blackfire.

"Alright Princess, let's see what you can really do!" Naruto called out before lunging forward, ducking low and swinging his sword once more. Quickly, Blackfire flipped over the swing and threw a kick towards Naruto's head, only for the blond to use a Kawamari no Jutsu to replace himself with a log. Blinking in surprise at this, Blackfire then cursed while flying away as a hail of Kunai came flying down on her. Growling under her breath, Blackfire flew into the trees to evade the numerous Kunai.

'_So this is what he's like when he's not holding back, though obviously he isn't completely serious about the actual fighting or I would've been trampled by now…'_ Blackfire thought to herself before feeling something and quickly back flipped as Naruto swung at her from behind. _'Thank X'hal I was trained to detect and evade surprise attacks like that…'_ Blackfire thought to herself, making a note to personally visit that Dojo and thank the Sensei there.

"Not bad blackie, you're doing way better than I would've thought." Naruto complimented and Blackfire narrowed her eyes onto the blond haired youth indignantly.

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" She demanded and Naruto gave her a shrug of his shoulders as his reply. Growling low in her throat, Blackfire launched forward, thrusting her palm forward into his chest before slamming her free hand into his wrist, knocking his sword free. Qucikly kicking Naruto she sent him skidding back and couldn't help a smirk as she kicked the sword up and caught it. Swinging the blade a couple times, Blackfire then leaned it into her shoulder, a smirk stretched across her face.

"Now what are you going to do without your sword?" Blackfire asked mockingly and Naruto twirled on the ground before throwing himself up into a flip and landed on the ground, almost completely unscathed. Looking at him in shock as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully, Blackfire then shook her head and lunged forward. Not used to the sword she swung it at him sloppily, Naruto sidestepping her and holding a foot out to trip her up, arms crossed behind his back and a smirk across his lips. Sliding to a halt behind Naruto, Blackfire breathed out before launching herself at the blond.

Swinging through him, she's surprised as he disappears in a plume of smoke and quickly looks around for him. "I'm really starting to hate that clone shit…" Blackfire muttered to herself while looking all around for the blond haired youth. Turning all around see eventually saw him on a tree with a serious expression across his features. Opening his eyes and looking down at Blackfire, Naruto sighed for a moment before chuckling in his throat.

"Right then… looks like I have no other option." Naruto mused to himself before forming several handseals. **"Kusanagi no Tsurugi: Ku no Tachi! (Grass Cutting Sword: Long Sword of the Heavens)"** Naruto exclaimed while throwing his hand to the side, grimacing as a sword ripped out of his flesh and he caught it in his open palm…

"What the hell?!" Blackfire demanded but before anything else Naruto lunged forward and slashed at her. Raising the Ninjatou to block the sword her eyes widened in shock when the blade was sliced cleanly in half by the other sword. "Shit!" Blackfire then cried out while dropping the Ninjatou's hilt and quickly flipping back as Naruto used an over handed swing to bring the Kusanagi down where she had been. Smirking, Naruto twirled Kusanagi in his hand before thrusting it forward, the blade shooting out towards a shocked and awed Blackfire.

Shaking her head and cursing, Blackfire quickly rolled out of the way as the sword impaled several trees behind her. Chuckling in his throat, Naruto then called the blade back, the weapon returning to normal size as Naruto took on a grim expression. Throwing the Kusanagi into the air, Naruto twisted before catching it in a backhand grip and focusing his Chakra. Closing his eyes, Naruto then twisted on one heel, swinging the Kusanagu as he did. Instantly the wind around him went out in a wave, cutting through everything around him.

Gaping for a moment, Blackfire then quickly flew into the air; the wind tearing trees apart while Naruto smirked and twisted his blade in hand. Returning it to a forward grip, Naruto then vanished appeared above Blackfire with a grin. Rearing his arms back, Naruto swung the sword down at her, Blackfre holding her arms up to block. Yelping in pain Blackfire flipped away from Naruto and looked at her armor in shock upon seeing he had cut through it just as easily as he had his own sword. _'What the hell kind of weapon is that thing?!'_ Blackfire internally demanded before watching as Naruto took a deep breath while still falling towards the ground.

Landing in a low crouch, Naruto then twirled in place before swinging the Kusanagi up towards Blackfire, a burst of wind flowing straight towards her. Cursing, the girl flew out of the way as the wind went passed her. Turning her now clearly wide eyes towards the blond haired youth, Blackfire wondered what she could do to take him out now. However, Naruto didn't relent, twirling his Kusanagi in hand Naruto then thrust it up in the air towards Blackfire. Instantly, the blade lengthened once more and Blackfire quickly flew out of the way before getting an idea.

'_That sword, it's got all these special abilities… the wind thing isn't new but cutting through anything and growing impossibly long is. If I get rid of it, he won't have anymore weapons… I hope.'_ Blackfire thought to herself before flying down towards Naruto as he called back Kusanagi's blade and raised a brow towards the girl. Smirking seconds later, Naruto felt as she kicked the Kusanagi out of his hands and then moved his head to the side as she threw a punch at him. Hearing a roar, Naruto then flipped back as she threw a kick at him and landed with his arms cross.

'_Alright little girl, lets see if you can play with the big leagues…'_ Naruto couldn't help but think while Blackfire took hold of the Kusanagi. Laughing outright, Naruto shook his head while Blackfire fixed her eyes onto him dangerously. "What exactly do you find so damn funny?" She demanded with a scowl across her face and Naruto chuckled lightly once more before grinning towards her.

"Well, that's simple…" Naruto stated before rolling his hand, the Kusanagi instantly turning into a Snake that hissed at Blackfire. Yelping, the teen dropped the snake and it slithered over to Naruto.

"What the hell? How did you do that?!" Blackfire demanded and Naruto couldn't help a sly smirk as he held one hand out. Slithering up one of his legs the Snake then slithered to his right arm before its tail wound up into his hand. Smirking, Naruto clenched his fist on the tail and swung his arm, the Snake transforming back into the Kusanagi…

"What good is a sword that can be used against you?" Naruto quipped with a smirk across his features and then twisted Kusanagi in hand until it was held in a reverse grip once more. Lunging forward, Naruto then twisted Kusanagi in his hands into a downwards swing and stopped the blade a millisecond before it would've sliced straight through the Alien princess… "Your dead…" Naruto said teasingly while Blackfire fell down to her ass and looked up at him with wide eyes as he twirled the Kusanagi in hand before leaning it into his shoulder.

"Y-you cut your sword in half…" Blackfire mumbled and Naruto nodded his head for a moment before walking over to the damaged blade. Stabbing Kusanagi into the ground he then placed the broken pieces together and concentrated his Chakra into them. Smirking as the repair seal took effect, Naruto watched on as the blade was soon returned to its original perfect condition. Blackfire stared as Naruto swung his repaired sword for a couple moments, and then sheathed it onto his back before retrieving the Kusanagi. Walking over to Dani he cut the ropes from her, and then did the same with Duela.

Finally walking over to Jinx, Naruto used a Jutsu to get her out and she gave him a very annoyed look in response while he shrugged his shoulders for a moment. "So now what Sensei?" Dani questioned while slumping slightly and Naruto considered what they could do before stretching his arms out and falling back. Wrapping his arms behind his neck he then stared up at the holographic clouds and gave the girls a look.

"What do you need an invitation? C'mon after a hard bit of training its always good to relax a little as well…" Naruto stated and Dani shrugged before joining the blond on the ground and sighed. Looking to the others, Duela then did the same and Blackfire and Jinx sighed before joining them all and staring at the clouds. Sighing in content, Naruto cracked his neck and then looked over to Dani. Reaching out he plucked the Domino mask from her eyes with a frown while Dani turned to him with a raised brow.

"What?" She asked and Naruto frowned towards the simple eye mask.

"You don't need a Domino mask when you have a mask over your lower face. It's kind of redundant and besides, you don't look like a female Robin Clone without it…" Naruto stated and Dani merely rolled her revealed eyes before looking back to the clouds above them.

"Say, what's with that sword you used to beat Blackfire?" Jinx questioned and Naruto rubbed his chin thoughtfully for a moment.

"Why do you ask?" Naruto questioned with a raised brow towards the Pinkette.

"Because, I've never seen a sword like that before and it's kinda interesting." Jinx admitted while looking towards the Kusanagi and Naruto suddenly held it up into the air. Closing his eyes for a moment, Naruto then smirked as he looked up to the blade, remembering everything that he had to do to get his hands on it.

"This sword, is the Legendary Sword, The Kusanagi no Tsurugi itself. It was once wielded by the Legendary Sannin Orochimaru, until I took it as my own…" Naruto explained while the light of the false sun glinted off of the blade and stretched out.

"Whoa! So that's THE Kusanagi?" Jinx asked while looking at the blade in shock and Naruto merely nodded his head. "Wow… to think you have a legendary weapon and never even use it." Jinx noted and Naruto chuckled lightly, the sword suddenly turning into a snake as it wrapped around his arm and vanished into his skin.

"Well, I don't like to have to rely on things like the Kusanagi… to me it's nothing but a shortcut. And I usually prefer fighting under my own power." Naruto admitted while lowering his arm and placing it back under his neck.

"Say, where does it go when it does that?" Dani asked curiously and Naruto shrugged his shoulders.

"No clue. All I know is that once you become the swords wielder, it becomes a part of you… Orochimaru actually had it living inside of him within a snake of all things…" He admitted and Dani slapped her face for a moment before shaking her head as Blackfire looked over to him.

"Now that we're on the topic of your abilities, what was that thing you used against that plant monster last night? From the size of that blast I almost thought it would take out more of the city rather than just that big plant thing." Blackfire questioned then noted curiously and Naruto sighed softly while closing his eyes.

"It was a Senjutsu I came up with called the "Fuuton: Cho Odama Rasenrenga". Basically it's just a much larger version of a new Jutsu I've been working on… that was actually the initial test run for that version of it." Naruto admitted with an amused grin across his face and Dani snapped her head towards him.

"You mean you used an attack you hadn't perfected yet?" Dani demanded with wide eyes and Naruto chuckled for a moment. "Wow, and here I thought we couldn't be anymore alike without it being creepy…" Dani muttered Duela snickering softly as the white flame haired girl looked at the clounds once more.

"Yeah well… I've been trying to modify my Rasengan so it packs more of a punch than it normally would without also having to increase its overall mass… thus, I came up with the Fuuton Rasenrengan…" Naruto offered and Jinx looked over to him, now intrigued by that little tidbit of info.

"So how does it work?" She questioned and Naruto hummed in thought.

"Basically, it's composed of three shells… an outer shell, a middle shell, and an inner shell. The innermost shell is the fastest of the three, having the energy swirling in it at a phenomenal rate, while the outermost shell is slower than it, its at about the normal speed of a Rasengan. The Middle shell is pretty much set between the other two. Now then, the wind blades formed from it being a Fuuton Jutsu spiral around it and head inwards instead of outwards." Naruto explained and Duela picked up on what that meant.

"So you have all the energy from all three shells compacting into the innermost shell, thus condensing it and making it go faster and faster as it moves forward?" Duela questioned and Naruto nodded his head mutely while staring at the clouds.

"Oh I get it, and since all that wind and energy is being compressed, inside of something like that monster it started pulling all the air inside it inwards. Then when all three shells were broken it forced all the compressed energy and wind outwards in an "Explosion" of sorts that took everything around it out!" Dani said in realization and Naruto gave a simple umm-hmm to the girl while closing his eyes.

"So, if the attack is just that, why is it called a "Rasenrengan"?" Jinx asked the blond curiously and Naruto opened one eye and gave her a look.

"Because it is quite literally a "Group Swirling Sphere". It has three spheres inside it, thus it's a group of one sphere. I thought Rasenrengan was the best name for it." Naruto explained with a shrug and Jinx decided he could've thought of worse names before going back to staring at the clouds.

"This is nice…" Dani noted suddenly and Naruto nodded his head.

"My friend Shikamaru was lazy as hell and loved doing this… just staring at the clouds was his favorite pastime…" Naruto admitted and Jinx smirked slightly while looking to the clouds.

"He was that lazy genius you mentioned right?" Jinx questioned and Naruto silently nodded his head. "Yeah, I thought so…" Jinx admitted and then sighed in content while laying back and watching the clouds go by. "He really was a genius, this is so nice I could do it forever." Jinx said mostly to herself while closing her eyes, Naruto and the other girls nodding their heads in agreement…

"Yo Temp! We've kind of got a problem down town!" Gizmo's voice suddenly blared out causing the group to jump, Naruto muttering a "Mendokuse" under his breath before rubbing his forehead.

"Alright what's happening Giz?" Naruto demanded while looking around, a floating screen with Gizmo in it popping up before them.

"How about your girlfriend just getting kidnapped by a freaking chick in a knockoff of Slade's outfit while the other Titans are being trashed by Cinderblock, Overload, Plasmus, AND a ton of Slade Commandos and HIVE Droids!" Gizmo exclaimed and Naruto was silent for a moment, the girls quickly moving away as a snarl formed on his face.

"Giz… how long until that new suit is ready?" Naruto questioned with a twitch and Gizmo frowned in thought.

"Probably a week…" He admitted and Naruto started cracking his knuckles.

"Alright, then its time I started beating on things with my own two hands." Naruto growled out before pushing himself up and pulled up the mask over his lower face as he walked over to the doorway and exited the Holo-Room.

"You going to get your armor?" Jinx asked seeing the blond leave and he shook his head, hands clenching and unclenching at his sides.

"No, it'd only slow me down." He grumbled out angrily while Duela shivered and then made a mock prayer.

"Someone is dead meat." Duela said as Naruto exited the Holo-Room, the other girls merely nodding their heads in agreement with her… "Hey, where'd Dani get off to?" Duela then asked while looking around, Jinx and Blackfire blinking as they only just noticed that the younger girl was gone…

Growling in his throat, Naruto made his way through tartarus HQ before walking into his room. Moving over to his closet he pulled out an orange Spiral mask and slipped it over his face. Pulling out the Akatsuki's rings he added those as well, and then looked at the two versions of the Akatsuki's cloak he had. Reaching out he took Madara's Hooded cloak and pulled it over his shoulders, the hood hiding his hair as he appeared to almost mirror Madara once more. Turning away from his closet he saw himself in a mirror and narrowed his eyes while walking out of the room and then left the HQ completely in a plume of smoke…

--

(Jump-City…)

Nightwing grunted as several Slade-Commando's fired off laser blasts towards them, more HIVE-Droids marching towards them while Plasmus and Overload kept them down with acid and electricity. They had been handling the massive amount of droids and robots fine at first, but then Raven was captured, thus disorientating the team. _'Not to mention the other's still haven't gotten a hang on working with Bart or Donna yet…'_ Night thought to himself while mentally making a note to schedule several training sessions to get the other's up to speed with fighting with them…

"Dammit…" Night grunted out kneeling down next to Cy as he fired at Plasmus from behind an overturned car.

"We can't keep this up man, there's too many!" Cy exclaimed while Kid-Flash lunged into the fray punching his way through numerous Commando's before running back to the others as Cinderblock slammed his hands into the ground.

"Dude! This is so crazy, I mean we haven't even repaired the city from when Harley and Ivy trashed it yet and now we have to deal with all this!" BB exclaimed while Starfire fired her eyebeams at another Slade-Commando and then ducked down with a yelp as a HIVE-Droid sent several missiles flying towards them.

"I believe we may be in need of the assistance friend Ro… Nightwing." Starfire said aloud and Night grunted before turning and throwing an ice-disk into Plasmus, temporarily freezing him until Overload melted the ice with his electricity. Grimacing upon seeing this, Night looked around and saw Donna fending off several of the Robots with Cyborg, but otherwise they were being severely thrashed without Raven to at least knock out Plasmus for them.

"I hate to admit it, but you might be right Star…" Night stated before ducking down as a few more missiles came their way. Kid-Flash then ran out from behind the car once more and started to attack the droids again while Donna and Cyborg covered him. Gritting his teeth, Nightwing then produced several explosive disks in both hands and quickly flipped over the car and ran into the fray. "Titans, GO!" He exclaimed while throwing his disks, several robots going down around him as he pulled out his bo-staff.

Following their leaders lead, the other Titans went into battle as well, Beast-Boy turning into a T-Rex as he stomped on several Robots before slamming into more with his tail. Starfire grabbed one of the HIVE-Droids before throwing it into Ciderblock while Kid-Flash used this to slide next to a water hydrant. Donna quickly threw her lasso down to Kid-Flash and he placed it over the hydrant before giving a thumb's up, Donna yanking on it and ripping the hydrant out of the ground. Cy then made his way forward, blasting his way through several Slade-Commando's before sliding to a halt by the Hydrant and using his hands to aim the water at Overload, instantly shorting him out.

However both Kid-Flash and Cyborg where then grabbed by Plasmus, the muck monster screeching as it dragged them into its body. Roaring out, Cinderblock got up as well before rushing forward and batting Nightwing away before slamming a fist into BB's jaw, knocking him back and forcing him back into his human shape. Growling, Starfire concentrated and unleashed her eyebeams into Cinderblock, sending him flying back before she threw a hail of Starbolts into Plasmus, allowing Cyborg to fire a sonic blast and pull himself and Kid-Flash from it's grip.

Shaking his head and spitting out some Plasmus Goo, Kid-Flash gave a look to Cy. "We never speak of this again…" He stated and Cy nodded his head in agreement with the speedster. Pushing himself away from Cy, Kid-Flash then lunged back into the fray as Cy fired into the Commandos, and then ducked down as a missile passed over him. Narrowing his eyes, Cy then lunged at a HIVE-Droid and lashed out, slamming his Sonic-Cannon into it's chest before firing, thus sending it flying back as he then rolled out of the way of several blasts from Slade-Commandos.

Meanwhile, Kid-Flash was running around the field, dodging and weaving around the many Slade-Commandos. Grabbing a metal pipe from the ground, Kid-Flash started to slam it into the Commandos heads, knocking them off the robots. "This isn't so bad." Kid-Flash mused before two Slade-Commandos looked to one another and lunged at the speedster. Smirking, Kid-Flash ducked under them and then quickly ran around them, causing a small tornado to lift them up into the air. However, as those Commandos distracted Kid-Flash, two more made their move.

Reaching to its side the first threw an explosive disk at the Tornado, causing it to explode and knock Kid-Flash into the air. Moving quickly, the second Commando slammed a fist into Kid-Flash before then flipping into a kick to his chin, knocking him back while the two Commandos he'd held in the air came down on him as well, soon knocking the speedster out. Making their way over to the speedster, one held out his blaster to finish him off until Cy and Donna intervened, Cy firing his cannon and taking out two of them while Donna grabbed the other two before throwing them into a wall.

Nearby, three more Slade-Commando's made their move, two grabbing another's outstretched arms before throwing it. The Commando rammed into a flying Starfire, then while in the air, slammed a fist into her gut as they landed. Rearing back a fist, the Commando then started to repeatedly slam its fists into Starfire while the other's dealt with the remaining Titans. Grimacing as he pulled the unconscious form of Kid-Flash to safety, Cyborg then fired a Sonic-Beam at the Commando while Nightwing got up and gathered Starfire before bringing her behind the side turned car as well. Breathing heavily, Cyborg turned to Nightwing with a frown while Donna continued an aerial assault on the attackers.

"We can't keep this up for much longer…" Cyborg noted as more Commando's approached. "Ugh… where do they keep coming from?!" Cyborg demanded then blinked as several of the Commandos were suddenly cut into pieces, a cloaked figure walking towards them, dressed in an orange spiral mask with a long black cloak with red clouds over the debris… "What the hell?" Cyborg questioned and then watched the figure swing his sword as a blade of wind came off of the sword before cutting several of the Slade-Commandos and HIVE Droids in half.

"Who…" Nightwing wondered while the figure came closer to them, stepping over Beast-Boy's prone form while holding a familiar Ninjatou in hand.

"Is that, X?" Cy questioned only for the person to then grabs a Commando and stab it in the gut, then literally gut it before throwing it into one of the other Commando's silently. "Okay, that's definitely not X, X would've started mouthing off by now." Cy mumbled while the figure continued to march forward, silent as the grave and getting ever closer to them. The figure merely turned his head towards Cyborg and Nightwing before silently walking forward, eyes narrowed dangerously on the robots before him.

"Useless hunks of metal…" Naruto growled out while holding his sword, gripping its hilt tightly. Suddenly stopping, Naruto narrowed his eyes while the robots all aimed at him, some of them backing up. "I have only one question for you…" Naruto stated, Nightwing easily recognizing his voice and blinking in surprise.

"It's… Naruto?" Nightwing questioned in shock while Cyborg nodded his head.

"What the hell is he doing down here? I know he care's about Rae but he's been trying to lay low…" Cy said aloud while Naruto looked all around himself and glared at the many robots angrily.

"My one question is, where is Raven!?" Naruto demanded of the robots and they quickly fired their blasters, or in other cases, missiles at him… "If that's how you want to play… then so be it…" Naruto growled out as he suddenly vanished into thin air as the energy from their attacks hit empty air. Blinking, and feeling an ominous wind flow passed them, Cy and Night both watched on cautiously as Naruto suddenly reappeared in front of Cinderblock… and then plowed a Rasengan into it's stomach, thus sending him flying back threw a building…

"Oh shit." Cy whispered while Plasmus spit some acid at the blond haired youth, the boy vanishing as it did. Naruto then appeared in the air and formed a Kage-Bunshin, looking to it, they both nodded and Naruto threw the clone into Plasmus. Instantly Naruto held up his hand, forming a single seal…

"**Bunshin Daibakuha!"** Naruto called out loudly and the Shadow-Clone exploded within Plasmus sending the massive beasts flying out in all directions while Donna shielded herself by ducking behind a building, Cy and Night ducking down to evade any of Plasmus' leftovers… Coming out from their cover they all saw Naruto land on the ground while turning to the Commandos as they fired on the blond. Lifting his sword, Naruto twirled it in placed, blocking the beams for a moment until his sword shattered, thus causing him to shake his head.

'_Looks like I've been too rough with this one, I'll need a much more durable weapon from now on…'_ Naruto mused to himself before throwing his hand to one side with his eyes narrowed. **"Kusanagi no Tsurugi: Ku no Tachi!"** Naruto exclaimed while once more forming the legendary sword and taking hold of its hilt with a slight grimace of pain. _'Dammit, the stupid thing really needs an easier way of being summoned, that fucking hurts!'_ Naruto can't help but think while the HIVE-Droids suddenly launched several missiles at him.

Frowning, Naruto lunged forward, flipping and dodging around the many missiles before landing on the other side of them. Moving quickly, several Commandos lunged at him, Naruto eye's closed as a flash passed for a second. The Commandos then hit the ground before falling to several pieces and sparking violently at his feet. Kicking a head of one Commando into the air, Naruto then twisted and kicked it at another Commando, taking its head off with it. Obviously sensing Danger, the many robots lunged forward, attacking him with everything they had.

Naruto merely tilted his head to one side for a moment before holding the Kusanagi to his side. As the Robots got closer, Naruto quickly swung the sword, the blade instantly lengthening and slicing straight through dozens of the robots in a single stroke of the blade. Those remaining looked at the blond haired youth as he then swung the sword diagonally and narrowed his eyes on the remaining robots dangerously. Meanwhile Night looked to Cy, both having wide eyes at the show that Naruto was providing for them.

"Note to self, never piss off Raven's boyfriend…" Cyborg muttered and Nightwing nodded his head in agreement with the titanium teen.

"Oh, I fear that my head is doing much of the pounding…" Starfire suddenly mumbled as she got up, Donna flying down and bringing Beast-Boy over to them. Blinking, the orange skinned Alien saw Kid-Flash was also starting to come too, thus stood slightly and looked towards whatever Cy and Nightwing were staring at. "Please friends, who is the frightening figure with the sword that seems to be destroying Slade's robots of badness?" Starfire questioned and Cyborg shivered, Kid-Flash sitting up and then gaping at what he was witnessing…

"Holy shit, who is that dude and how did he do that?" Kid-Flash demanded and Nightwing grunted.

"That would be Raven's boyfriend, and he's apparently very pissed off…" Night offered and Starfire gasped while inwardly Kid-Flash paled, praying that the guy never found out he made a pass at Raven.

"Dick, how in Hera's name is a warrior with THAT much power in your city not on your team or even fighting with the Justice League by now?" Donna demanded and Night frowned for a moment before sighing.

"He's laying low, some other Ninja are after him for leaving his village… and after seeing that I'm guessing that he doesn't want to have to hurt them…" Night explained and Donna frowned before turning back towards Naruto and he quickly formed more hand seals, the Robots staying far away from him this time.

"**Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu!"** Naruto created out as roughly two dozen Shadow-Clones appeared around him, all equipped with a Kusanagi. Holding out a single hand, Naruto motioned towards the Slade-Commandos and the Clones nodded their heads. Instantly they all began to form hand seals as well before sinking into the ground as Naruto watched on silently… Seconds later the Slade-Commandos were dragged into the ground feet first as several Naruto's burst out of the ground…

"**Doton: Shinji Zanshu no Jutsu!"** Naruto stated as the clones then came out of the ground and swung their swords, taking the heads off of the many Slade-Commandos and leaving only the HIVE-Droids for him to deal with. Snapping his fingers, Naruto's clones all made their way back to him before seemingly sinking into his body.

"Whoa, what was all that?" Cy wondered aloud and Nightwing merely shook his head with a wide-eyed look. Hearing a groan, Cy ignored it while BB slowly sat up and rubbed his head with a visible grimace on his face.

"Ugh… dudes what I miss?" BB suddenly questioned while sitting up and then looked to the others before looking to whatever they were staring at. Seeing what appeared to be a dark ominous figure in the distance and numerous decapitated Slade-Commandos causing the green teen to shiver. "Whoa, talk about majorly creepy, who is that guy?" BB questioned of his friends and Cyborg turned, looking more than just a little pair as he answered the green teen.

"That, would be Raven's boyfriend when he's officially pissed off…" Cy answered and BB gaped while turning to Naruto as he raised the Kusanagi into the air and began to spin it above him. Wind collected along the blade as he did, thus causing a mini-hurricane to hover over the blade before Naruto swung the sword, tearing through everything that was left of the attacking forces, leaving him as the sole person standing on the battlefield while the Titans watched on.

"Dude, if I'm ever about to piss him off, slap me." BB suddenly said, Cy nodding his head while Naruto looked around the area for a clue to Raven's whereabouts. Narrowing his eyes, Naruto then turned and saw Ravager herself standing on a rooftop and smirking down at him. Growling, Naruto vanished and appeared in the air before her before landing with a soft plop. Backing up a few paces, Ravager took in the blond haired youth's appearance and couldn't help a slight shudder.

"I must say Mister Uzumaki, I absolutely adore the mask, I'm not so sure about the cloak though." Ravager quips with an amused smirk and Naruto narrowed his eyes onto her dangerously.

"You have the next five seconds to tell me where Raven is or I'm going to cut you in half." Naruto growled out and given his obviously VERY violent temper, Ravager was fairly certain he'd make good on that threat.

"I see someone needs to learn how to control their temper…" Ravager teased and then saw a quick vision of Naruto swinging his Kusanagi at her. Quickly evading the attack, Ravager raised a brow as the sword cut into concrete as if it was cardboard. "That is a very interesting sword… but, I don't have time to study it, and if you want to find your precious bird…" Ravager mused to herself then smirked as she turned and started to run from Naruto before sliding to a stop a ways from him with a smirk.

"Then you'll have to follow me to her…" Ravager then called out and Naruto grunted before lunging after the woman as she made her way towards the warehouse where The Konoha Nin were lying in wait… behind Naruto, a pair of glowing green eyes were briefly opened before vanishing as a transparent shimmer flew behind the pair…

--

TBC…

--


	39. Inner Demons Pt2

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

**Chapter 38**: **Inner Demons Pt. 2**…

--

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

--

(Jump-City…)

Ravager smirked as she jumped from building to building with practiced ease, Naruto following hot on her tail. _'And he's catching up…'_ She noted to herself before flipping onto another building and slid to a halt, Naruto landing in a crouch, cloak billowing out before falling down around his body. _'She has above human level speed, about the same as a normal Shinobi, which is… odd, to say the least.'_ Naruto thought to himself while staring at the strange white haired girl as she smirked towards him.

"You have truly marvelous skills mister Uzumaki." Ravager noted while standing up and Naruto did the same, the single eyehole of his mask pointed towards her. "But let's see just how skilled you really are, shall we." She then quipped and Naruto narrowed his eyes before lunging at Ravager, swinging his sword at the girl.

Seeing a vision of the blond teen cutting her head off, Ravager quickly ducked the attack before flipping back and threw several Shuriken at the blond. Blinking, Naruto used the Kusanagi to block the oncoming shuriken before throwing five of his own. Ravager saw them coming, and effortlessly moved in the air to evade them before landing in a low crouch. Pulling a disk from her side, she threw it straight at Naruto, the blond haired teen jumping over it. The Disk however exploded behind him, knocking him forward before slamming a hand into the ground as he pushed himself to his feet.

"What's the mater Mister-Uzumaki…" Ravager taunted with a mocking smirk, Naruto narrowing his eyes onto the girl. "… running out of steam?" She finished while quickly unsheathing her twin Katana from her back and then took a stance. Scoffing at the accusation, Naruto narrowed his eyes on the girl's stance, noting she didn't actually HAVE much of a stance; this was one he'd use before he made his style…

"You were never trained to actually use two swords, were you?" He questioned of the girl flatly and she tilted her head for a moment before smirking.

"That easy to tell? No, my father only taught me to wield the one, but I so enjoy using two." She replied simply and Naruto scoffed, wondering what she was thinking by taking him on with two swords when she had no idea how she was supposed to wield them correctly… he didn't either mind you but he at least knew how to effectively.

"Yes it's to tell, and it makes you look a little foolish for doing so." He stated and Ravager frowned slightly before shrugging her shoulders. Naruto's mental gears were turning and churning as he looked at this odd girl. _'Regardless of her having no idea how to wield both swords right, she has her weight distributed evenly, most likely to be able to evade, her arms are being held close to herself for the same purpose… she must know she can't block Kusanagi's blade… this should be… interesting.'_ Naruto thought to himself before lunging forward, Ravager ducking back to evade a swing.

Stopping with one foot, the one-eyed girl then thrust both her swords at Naruto, then blond twisting around those and threw a punch at the girls face. Smirking, Ravager dropped one sword and caught the fist before pushing him back. Lifting up a foot she then kicked her sword up and caught it before twisting into another stance. Sliding back, Naruto frowned towards Ravager, the girl was strong, and very intriguing. _'Now that was very impressive… enhanced reflexes and strength added onto her knowledge…'_ Naruto thought to himself before twirling the Kusanagi into a backhanded grip.

Swinging his arm he felt the wind spiral out, Ravager flipping up onto the side of a small water tower before quickly flipping off of it. Landing in a crouch as the water tower fell from the attack taking out its support beams, Ravager gave an amused smirk to the blond haired ex-shinobi. Naruto couldn't help a frown at seeing this, the girl had evaded his attack effortlessly, and what's more, it was almost like she was ready for it to come at her. _'Her agility is above average as well, she's VERY dangerous, and it's almost like she sees my attacks before I use them…'_ Naruto thought to himself before crouching down into another stance.

'_All right, physically, she's no stronger, faster, or more agile than any other Shinobi from my world. However, that does make her much tougher than a normal human for the fact she can keep up with me. However, her reflexes are on par with a Sharingan user, and she seems to enjoy battle to startling extent given how much she's been grinning…'_ Naruto thought to himself while Ravager lunged forward, Naruto evading several quick slashes and thrusts from the girl and her blades.

'_Even more surprising is the way she carries herself, she's moving like a fully trained Ninja. Her musculature points to one as well. Not a Medical Nin like Sakura, Shizune, or Tsunade. Not a Hyuuga, her muscles are far too developed for one of them since they focus more on being limber and fast, not strong like her. Not like Ino either, since Ino focuses mostly on her mental jutsu… no… wait, it's like Tenten! Yes, her body has the exact identical musculature as Tenten, a weapons user whose also got Taijutsu down as well.'_ Naruto thought to himself and mentally thought of a way to counter Tenten, all he could come up with was his wind Jutsu, but even that had proven itself to be less than effective against this girl…

'_But that's what's weird, Tenten had trouble with wind Jutsu because of how it works. Wind-Jutsu usually leave most Weapons users in the dust because of its speed, and its ability to hit from long ranges. This girl however, anticipated one, almost like she knew it was coming… but, lets see how she does against a few more…'_ Naruto mused to himself as he quickly swung his blade, an arc of wind flying towards her. Smirking, Ravager flipped over it and then stepped to the side to evade another before spinning into a flip to dodge two more, landing on all fours in a low crouch, swords still in hand.

'_Yes… wind Jutsu are officially useless against her…'_ Naruto noted and then considered using Lightning Jutsu, but that wouldn't be prudent since he needed both hands to form seals to use most of his lightning Jutsu. Sure, he could always mix a little wind and lightning together, giving the lightning a path so he could throw it like he did with Harley and Ivy, but he somehow guessed she'd dodge that as well… _'Oh well, looks like I'm going to have to do this the hard way.'_ Naruto mused as he then lunged forward and swung Kusanagi at Ravager, the girl merely leaning back before placing her hands on the ground to evade it.

Smirking, the girl then twisted into a spin, thus also swinging her swords up at Naruto. Flipping back to evade the attack, Naruto narrowed his eyes on the girl as she landed on her feet and smirked at him. Growling in his throat at this, Naruto twirled the Kusanagi in his hand before stabbing it forward, the blade lengthening towards Ravager who effortlessly moved her head just far enough to evade it. Blinking in surprise, Naruto frowned deeply before recalling the swords blade while Ravager stood up, still smirking at him as if she was enjoying this.

"What the hell are you?" Naruto questioned while holding Kusanagi to the side, the sword forming into a snake before sinking into his right arm. Looking on in intrigue, Ravager made a note to find out what that sword was from the Konoha-Nin before she then smirked towards Naruto. The blond then removed his cloak before throwing it into the air and pulled out a scroll, forming several seals he then slammed his hand into the cloak and scroll at the same, time, sealing it into it in one motion, rolling the scroll up, Naruto then placed it back into his belt while narrowing his eyes on her.

"I'm a Meta-Human of course…" Ravager replied and Naruto frowned darkly while pulling a pair of Kunai from his belt.

"Oh really? Then what's your superpower?" Naruto questioned and Ravager chuckled in her throat while taking a stance with her two swords.

"Oh that? Its Powers, as in plural, and I'm certain someone of your intelligence can already guess most of them." Ravager replied and Naruto mentally nodded his head while remaining stoic on the outside. "But the one I believe that you're so intrigued with is one of my personal favorites. I have what your little Raven would call Precognitive senses, so I can see into the immediate future and block, dodge, or counter any attack sent at me accordingly." Ravager explained with an amused grin and Naruto grimaced, now THAT was a superpower that he was wishing didn't exist.

While the Sharingan could trick you into thinking it's wielder could see into the immediate future… Rose actually could. That explained some things, one, most attacks would be useless against her, because she'd see them coming and do as she said, evade, block, or counter. It made the fight more interesting, sure, but how do you fight someone who knows what you're going to do before you even do it? Shaking his head, Naruto knew one thing, regardless of the fact she could see the future, she still had to be fast enough to dodge his attacks, if he sped up, he might be able to actually hit her.

Lunging forward with this thought, Naruto twisted and swung his Kunai, Ravager moving back and grimacing as he caught her midriff. _'So I was right, she may be fast, but if someone's faster than her it won't matter how far she can see into the future…'_ Naruto thought while lunging forward once more, swinging the Kunai at Ravager as she evaded them and then blocked them with her swords. Smirking behind his mask, Naruto pushed Chakra into his arms, forcing the white haired girl down to one knee before he lashed out with a kick to her stomach.

Exhaling when he did, Ravager was lifted off the ground before Naruto twisted into another kick to her side, sending her skidding away. Not letting up, Naruto threw his Kunai at the girl and she easily deflected them while flipping back to her feet. Taking a stance, Naruto watched as Ravager lunged at him and blocked her swords before slamming his forehead into her own. Ravager blinked and stumbled back at this, looking more than just a little disorientated before Naruto lashed out with a fist to her gut. Eyes wide, Ravager fell to the ground, dropping her swords before he then twisted into a kick to her head sending her skidding across the ground.

"Impressive skills, but special powers and abilities can only take you so far." Naruto told Ravager while walking over to her, the white haired girl's eye widening as her father's voice overlapped his own for a moment. Reaching down, Naruto grasped Ravager's hair and lifted her up, the girl grabbing his wrists as he glared into her eye. "Now, where is Raven?" He demanded darkly and Ravager smirked slightly while looking at the blond haired teen.

"Look behind you, you'll see a warehouse just outside the city from here… she's being held there." Ravager offered then hissed as Naruto pulled on her silver locks and leaned forward, his single visible eye narrowed angrily.

"If anything has happened to her, I swear I'll make you pay." Naruto uttered sinisterly before throwing Ravager to the side and quickly ran to the edge of the building. Looking into the distance, Naruto narrowed his eyes when he saw the warehouse and then jumped to the next roof over before rushing off. Ravager smirked as he left, then pushed herself back to her feet and picked up her swords.

"Truly amazing…" Ravager noted while sheathing her swords and then smirked slightly while crossing her arms. "And I could almost confuse him for you for a moment, Father…" She then said to herself before backing up into the shadows, leaving no traces of herself behind…

--

(Warehouse…)

Raven sighed while looking dully at nothing in particular, a frown stretched across her lips and her arms chained above her head. _'How many times am I going to be caught by a random psycho for some master scheme?'_ Raven wondered to herself since she'd been caught what felt like a dozen times… lets see, those weird nano-bots from Slade, 1, that time with Atlas, 2, that time with Mad Mod, 3, that time with Brother Blood in Steel-City, 4, that time with Professor-Chang, 5, the incident with Mother-May-Eye, 6… well, it was quite a few times, and while it was often she was captured with some of the others, it was still annoying.

Sighing once more, Raven looked up at her hands and frowned at what she was seeing. A pair of gold rings were placed around each her ring fingers, each one had red markings along the bands and gave off a faint glow. _'Rings of Azar, the only way to cancel out my "Father's" or my own dark powers…'_ Raven noted to herself, wondering who had gone to the trouble of FINDING a pair of these rings considering their rarity in this dimension, as well as the fact they were original created by the same order that had imprisoned her so-called father…

'_Though its odd that they only seem to nullify my more destructive powers… I wonder if I could express my emotions without anything blowing by wearing them?'_ Raven suddenly wondered to herself, thinking of the many benefits that this could bring if it worked. Blinking as a shadow came over her, Raven scowled as Uchiha Sasuke looked down at her. "What do you want?" Raven questioned flatly, Sasuke kneeling down to look the girl in the face.

"I'll give the dobe one thing, at least his tastes in women have improved. Your neither annoying, nor too fucking talkative." Sasuke stated with a smirk towards her and Raven scowled deeper while trying to keep from growling.

"Your lucky my power's aren't working, or you'd learn first hand exactly what the deepest, darkest, most horrible pits of hell are really like." Raven stated and Sasuke raised a brow for a moment before scoffing as he stood up with his arms crossed.

"Am I supposed to be intimidated?" Sasuke questioned and then flinched as Raven's eyes both turned a bright red in color.

"You tell me." She intoned darkly and Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"You have no power right now. I could probably even kill you if I felt like it and you wouldn't be able to stop me." Sasuke reminds before grunting as Kakashi placed his hand onto the teens shoulder while reading his book.

"Sasuke, why don't you go watch for Naruto…" Kakashi ordered and Sasuke brushed the hand from of his shoulder before making his way to the side. Closing her eyes, Raven felt them return to normal while Kakashi made his way to stand beside her, his back to the wall as he leaned into it while reading. "Something I've learned about Sasuke, his sanity is on a hair-trigger lately… and I don't want to take any chances." Kakashi explained the unasked question and Raven snorted while looking at the thick tempered steel chains holding her to the wall.

"What sanity?" She quipped and Kakashi shrugged his shoulders before returning to his book. "So… do I get bathroom breaks?" Raven then asked and Kakashi blinked, trying hard not to laugh at the question while giving the girl a look. "What?" She asked seriously and Kakashi stared at the girl before blinking for a moment.

"It's just… normally prisoners don't ask for bathroom breaks…" Kakashi responded and Raven gave him a look in response.

"What if I really had to use the bathroom?" She responded and Kakashi gaped at the girl before shaking his head.

"You're a strange one." He noted while looking at her with a slight blink of his eyes and Raven rolled her eyes.

"You should meet my father…" She replied with a small smirk crossing her features at a confused look on Kakashi's face. Shaking his head, the silver haired man then turned back to his book, watching the girl from the corner of his eyes. He noticed her look up at her hands, not even bothering with the rings she started messing with her chains, frowning when she noticed their strength. Releasing the chains, she then tried to stand, only to fall to the ground as a chain around her waist held her in a sitting position while her hands where kept in the air and apart from one another…

Across the room, Hinata looked at the violet haired / eyed girl strangely, wondering many things. One, why her skin was grey, two, how her hair was that color, three, why she would dress like that, four, why she wasn't scared and even emotionless, and five, she had to wonder how Naruto could like her. Not to say she thought less of the girl, but she just didn't strike her as the type Naruto would like. True, the revelation about his true past left much about Naruto's personality up for debate, but he surely couldn't be THAT much different… right?

"You know, she's not anything like I thought." Ino suddenly said and Hinata yelped, Raven raising a brow as she looked over to the two.

"W-what do you m-mean Ino-San?" Hinata questioned while poking her fingers together and Ino sighed before crossing her arms.

"I don't know, it's just something seems off. I mean I know Ravager said those rings would keep her from using her powers, but why isn't she doing anything to escape? Or even trying to warn Naruto that we're here?" Ino explained and Hinata was silent for a moment before shaking her head, not knowing what to say. "Besides that, how many captives are THIS casual about it, its like she's been through all this before and is more annoyed than she is scared!" Ino then stated while Hinata poked her fingers together and turned to look at the girl as she looked all around herself, then stared at a strange tube filled with a bright green liquid warily.

"M-maybe she h-has b-been captured a lot… sh-she is a h-hero." Hinata reminded and Ino grunted before she rubbed her temples with one eye closed.

"Hero… I hear that word so often in this world I think of most "Heroes" and even several "Villains" as nothing but a bunch of extremely overpowered Bloodline users…" Ino admitted and Hinata gave the blond haired girl a look.

"Th-that's not v-very n-nice Ino-San. Th-they protect th-there home j-just like w-we do." Hinata reminded and Ino shrugged her shoulders before looking back at Raven as she glared at the chain around her waist for a moment before letting out a sigh and leaned back, almost like she was going to take a nap. "Wh-where is Sa-Sakura-San?" Hinata suddenly asked and Ino frowned slightly before nudging her head to the side, where Sakura was yawning as she leaned back into a wall, obviously very tired from the dark circles that were starting to form under her eyes.

--

(Meanwhile…)

Naruto landed outside the buildings of Jump-City and narrowed his eyes on a warehouse. _'I wonder why she was being so… informative. Something's up.'_ Naruto thought to himself before sighing as he turned his head, eyes looking towards an unseen figure with a dull expression. "C'mon out Dani, I know you're there." He stated flatly and blinked when the girl yelped, as she appeared floating nearby. Blinking as she looked up at the blond haired teen, Dani managed a nervous chuckle while rubbing the back of her neck for a moment.

"Uh… how long have you known I was following you, Sensei?" She questioned and Naruto crossed his arms with a slightly amused smirk across his lips.

"Since we left the HQ." He replied and Dani blinked before sighing, mentally saying she needed more stealth training.

"And I suppose you want me to head back… right?" She asked her Sensei and Naruto frowned in though for a moment before shaking his head. "Huh?" Dani asked intelligently and Naruto chuckled lightly while looking at the girl.

"One, even if I tried to send you back you'd just try and follow me again. And two, unlike Sasuke-teme, I realize that having help isn't a sign of weakness. So, just try to keep up." Naruto explained then said playfully as he turned around before running towards the warehouse, Dani blinking a few times before following after her Sensei. Getting closer to the warehouse Naruto quickly dodged as a couple Slade-Commandos jumped from the roof and started to fire on them.

"Oh great, more robots." Dani mumbled while Naruto grabbed then pulled her to cover while crouching down to avoid a few more shots from the commandos. "So what's the plan Sensei?" Dani asked while looking up to the orange masked teen and Naruto looked at her for a moment before clenching his fists.

"We tear these stupid robots apart of course." Naruto stated and Dani blinked before nodding her head slowly as Naruto threw his right hand to the side, the Kusanagi forming from his hand before he lunged forward and into the fray. Blinking, Dani sighed before holding her hands to the sides and formed a pair of small green orbs. Clenching her fists over them a pair of glowing green "Ethereal Blades", as Gizmo called them, formed into her hands.

Lashing out, Naruto cut the head from a Slade-Commando while then rolling forward and stabbing Kusanagi into another before twisting on his heel and throwing it into another Commando. As he did he saw Dani using her Ethereal Blades to cut through the Robots with obvious ease. Shaking his head, Naruto turned, only to blink as an odd new variation of the Slade-Commandos, having a blue bar down the front of their mask and red eyes as the only difference besides a blue bandoleer with a sheath over their torso, jumped from the roof with swords in hand.

"Great, now they can use swords as well…" Naruto mumbled to himself while Dani blinked and then looked all around them.

"Uh, Sensei… I think you need to train me to wield a sword better if we survive this…" Dani suddenly noted and Naruto blinked before nodding his head in agreement as the Commandos lunged forward.

"Yeah, but no ifs about it, I already know we'll definitely survive." Naruto assured and Dani gave him a look before lunging into the fray with the blond haired teen. Dodging several swings from the sword wielding Commandos Naruto then slashed into them, noting that while they were able to use a sword, they didn't seem much different otherwise. Stowing that away for future reference, Naruto ducked under a swing from another of the "Blade-Commandos" and then flipped as a Slade-Commando fired at him. Turning in the air, Naruto sliced the Blade-Commando's head off before throwing a shuriken with an explosive note at the Slade-Commando.

Making a quick seal, the note exploded taking out about five of the Commandos while more of them suddenly jumped at him. Dani took that moment to throw her swords, thus turning them into her normal Ecto-Blasts, making Naruto raise a brow as she then fired several more beams to take out the commandos above them… _'Impressive, so she's figured out how to convert her energy quickly, that will come in handy if I teach her something like Rasengan or something similar…'_ Naruto mused to himself before tilting his body to the side to evade a blade.

Frowning, Naruto evade several more swings before suddenly thrusting the Kusanagi into it. Ducking and twisting at the same time, Naruto threw the Blade wielding commando head first into another Commando. Watching as Dani quickly formed two more Ethereal-Blades, Naruto made a note to talk to Giz about that video game where he got the idea for the name for the blades. If he could somehow work how that person used his blades into a style, Dani could have her own sword style for her blades. Watching as Dani flipped over a Commando, only for one to slam a fist into her chest, thus knocking her back, he also made a quick mental note to get several Chakra-Weights ready for her.

Dodging another swing from one of the Commandos blades, Naruto turned around and narrowed his eyes at the sheer numbers. _'And to think I used to use Kage-Bunshin like this…'_ Naruto thought to himself while glaring at the proverbial Cannon Fodder as it came their way. "Dani Duck!" Naruto suddenly exclaimed and the girl did as ordered when Naruto suddenly swung Kusanagi, the blade lengthening and cutting dozens of the Commandos in half before he slid to the side slightly once he was finished with the attack.

Seeing that was over, Naruto threw his hand to the side, allowing Kusanagi to reform into his arm before flipping back to Dani. "Hang on." He ordered as he grabbed her around the waist and then jumped into the air. Forming a quick, single-handed seal a Kage-Bunshin appeared and nodded its head while allowing itself to fall to the ground. The Clone then formed several seals before suddenly glowing brightly, once it hit the ground it exploded while Naruto flipped in the air and landed as the blast slowly subside, leaving a massive crater in its wake.

"Wow, now that's what I call going out with a Bang…" Dani said with a blink and Naruto rolled his eyes then grunted as several more Commandos came out of the shadows around them.

"When do they end?" Naruto demanded while rubbing his temples and Dani shrugged her shoulders before flying out of his grip while going intangible.

"Don't know, but head on and get to Raven, I'll deal with them for you Sensei." Dani offered and Naruto looked at her silently as she formed a pair of Ethereal-Blades into her hands once more.

"You sure you can handle them Dani?" Naruto questioned with a raised eyebrow and the girl grinned under her mask.

"Of course, besides, you have someone else to worry about." Dani reminded and Naruto silently nodded his head as Dani flew forward, slicing the first few Commandos in her way before twisting and cutting another's head off. Behind her, Naruto watched on silently for a moment before making his way to the warehouse…

--

(The Warehouse…)

'_I wonder if they know how MUCH of my power is actually sealed with these rings…?'_ Raven suddenly wondered to herself after attempting, and surprisingly succeeding, in sending a telepathic message to her friends. Checking her healing powers, Raven wasn't surprised to find those were fine as well, considering they had been taught to her by the Temple-Monks, it wasn't all that surprising.

'_Although, now my "Soul-Self" and "Telekinesis" however, those are more directly tied with my dear old "dad" and I have more problems controlling them than I do my Telepathy or Healing. Although, given their function, I might keep these rings, if for nothing else then to at least seal off some of my more destructive powers on dates where I'd LIKE to feel…'_ Raven thought to herself with a slight scowl before yawning as she wondered how long it would take for her friends to get to her. Though she was certain that the explosion outside meant a severely pissed Naruto, or at least mildly annoyed, she was starting to get cramps from having her arms up in the air for so long…

Looking to Kakashi, AKA the worst teacher in all of history as far as she was concerned, Raven idly wondered if he actually thought he could win against a pissed off Naruto. Mulling over the idea of Naruto being THAT angry about her being kidnapped briefly made her wonder if he was just a wee bit possessive, which in turn made her remember her "Demonic" attack on Jinx and even Sakura for the same exact reason… she was hyper possessive of the boy.

"Do you honestly think you can hold me here for much longer with Naruto at your front door?" Raven asked Hatake casually and Kakashi sighed before turning to the girl and giving her a look.

"You don't know Naruto very well do you. If it means the safety of his "Most Precious Person" he'd willingly cut his own heart out." Kakashi explained, certain that Naruto wouldn't endanger Raven further…

"No. YOU don't know him that well. When I'm in trouble, one or both of two things will happen. A, he'll come save me, B, whatever got me into trouble will end up dead." Raven stated flatly and Kakashi blinked before shivering, he HAD seen what Naruto had done to save her from those plants after all.

"And just how well do you think you know him? I've known him since the day he was born." Kakashi stated and Raven gave the silver haired man a fierce glare, her eyes bleeding slightly red until she calmed herself.

"Regardless, what honestly makes you think he'd ever go back to your village?" Raven questioned with a raised eyebrow and Kakashi let out a breath while snapping his book shut and turning his head to her.

"It's his home, his mother lived and died there, and his father did to. His father died protecting the village, why wouldn't he want to do the same? After so many sacrifices, how can he turn his back on his home?" Kakashi questioned of the grey skinned girl and Raven scowled deeply.

"Home? You think that place is his home? After being tormented all his life by its villagers? After somebody in your oh so precious little village hired the same assassin that killed his mother, the only person who loved him? After having every memory he had of her sealed away to control him? You honestly think that place is still his home?" Raven demanded and Kakashi scowled beneath his mask while Sasuke blinked while stowing this information away. Nearby, Ino and Hinata frowned, and Neji looked to see Sakura had a vacant expression.

"So he's told you about himself… odd, he's usually not so open with strange girls." Kakashi noted with a slight frown under his mask, it was obvious Naruto was fond of the girl, but this was starting to worry him.

"Unlike you Ninja, we try not to keep secrets from one another, although we each have secrets we respect one another's privacy." Raven replied and Kakashi scoffed while crossing his arms over his chest.

"Yeah, I can tell… but I suppose he didn't tell you his biggest secret." Kakashi mused and Raven frowned at the silver haired man. "Well… how about I tell you a little story then." Kakashi mused before clearing his throat for a moment. "Once upon a time, there lived a Kitsune with nine tails. And he was so powerful that whenever he shook those tails, landslides and tsunamis would result. It's name was whispered in infamy and fear among all, Kyuubi no Kitsune…" Kakashi started and Raven frowned, listening despite herself as she was very fond of fairytale stories and the like…

"Then, the beast came to a little village known as Konohagakure no Sato, the hidden leaf village. The suffering people gathered the great Shinobi Clans to fight this menace. Until finally, risking his life, one ninja was able to imprison its very soul." Kakashi continued and Raven blinked in surprise, though had a pit forming in his gut as she continued to listen.

"The Yondaime looked to the beast as he rode on the back of the great Gamabunta of the toad summon. Calling out, "For Konoha, for the future! I will sacrifice my life!" The Yondaime sealed the great fox into the belly of a newborn babe whose umbilical had just been cut." Kakashi continued while Raven's eyes widened in shock before it started to make sense…

"With an ancient Jutsu, The Yondaime called forth the power of the Shinigami himself. Unable to ask for anyone else to sacrifice his or her child, the Yondaime used his own newborn son to seal the beast. Allowing the Shinigami to take his soul, the Kyuubi's power was sealed into his son and the battle finally came to an end." Kakashi further explained to the violet haired girl as something Naruto said rang in her mind… _"What my father did, he was actually loved for it…"_ Widening her eyes Raven grit her teeth as Kakashi continued his story, now seemingly lost in memories.

"Having defeated the demon, the brave Shinobi died… that Shinobi, was the Yondaime Hokage, the fourth Fire-Shadow, champion of Konohagakure no Sato…" Kakashi finished while the Ninja around them listened in shock, Sasuke and Sakura looking at the man strangely since that wasn't really information he should be revealing to the enemy.

"I suppose you think I'll be afraid of Naruto now, or even angry that he never told me?" Raven asked dully and Kakashi blinked as the girl frowned towards the silver haired man. "What you fail to realize however is that none of that matters to me, Demon, Human, Angel, or God, I don't really care. It's not what he is that love, it's WHO he is." Raven stated simply and Kakashi blinked for a few moments while looking at the girl.

"Well, that wasn't really my intent, I was only trying to show you that there are things that you don't understand about Naruto." Kakashi mused mostly to himself only to duck as a Kunai nearly hit him in the face, Naruto crashing through a window and quickly flashing over to Kakashi visibly shaking in rage.

"Oh give it a rest already **Kakashi-no-Baka!**" Naruto growled before grabbing Kakashi by his throat and then slammed his back into the wall behind him. Grabbing the blond haired teen's wrist with his eyes wide as a single blood red eye glared out of the eyehole of his orange spiral mask.

"Let him go!" Neji suddenly shouted at Naruto and the blond turned to look at him with a glare.

"**What for? So he can try and hurt Kara-Chan to get me to go back with you?"** Naruto questioned and Neji frowned while taking a stance, Sasuke smirking as he unsheathed his Chokatou.

"Finally!" Sasuke said with a smirk as he lunged at Naruto, swinging his Chokatou at the blond youth. Growling, Naruto threw Kakashi to the side and blocked the Chokatou with the plates on his gloves.

"**Teme, I'm seriously NOT in the mood to deal with you right now!"** Naruto growled out before kicking Sasuke in the gut, sending him flying back while Neji came at him from behind. Twisting out of the way of a Jyuuken strike, Naruto then elbowed Neji in the face while Sakura ran at him and jumped into the air. Rearing her hand back, the pinkette then slammed her fist into the ground; Naruto jumping back to evade placed his hands onto a chunk of rock as the floor was shattered from Sakura's inhuman strength.

'_Oi, how do I always wind up in situations like this?'_ Naruto wondered to himself before grabbing Neji's wrist as he tried to hit him with a Jyuuken strike and quickly threw him into Sakura. Ducking down as Kakashi came at him, swinging a Kunai, Naruto narrowed his eyes while twirling around and knocking the silver haired man to the ground. Flipping back to his feet, Naruto ducked to the side to evade a thrust from Sasuke's Chokatou before kneeing him in the gut and then back flipped into a kick to the Uchiha's chin.

Landing in a crouch, Naruto looked around as the Nin got back to their feet and mentally cursed. Raven was too close to use any of his more destructive techniques, not only that but the building could collapse if he wasn't careful… _'Shit, someone else planned all this… The Ravager no doubt, and thus took all my Jutsu and Skills into consideration for how things would go down.'_ Naruto realized before flipping up, one hand on Kakashi's shoulder as he evaded a swing from both Kakashi and Sasuke, Twirling on one arm Naruto then slammed their heads into one another's before landing and rolling out of the way as Sakura brought her leg down in a drop kick.

Nearby, Ino and Hinata watched the fighting silently, Hinata chewing on her lip with obvious worry. _'P-please b-be safe N-Naruto-Kun…'_ Hinata thought while Ino watched the fight as Naruto evaded several more attacks, also seeming to lead the others away from Raven as he did.

"Clever, he doesn't want Raven hurt so he's trying to get them a distance from her…" Ino noted, still wishing someone would be that considerate for her safety, especially given that he had fought his way through an entire city filled with mutant plants for the girl…

"N-Naruto-Kun has always b-been unpredictable Ino-San." Hinata reminded and Ino nodded her head with a slight smile before turning back to the battle. Naruto raising his arms to block two blows, grabbing the fist of Sakura and Kakashi at the same time with his single visible eye glowing an eerie red…

"Oh that's not good…" Ino whispered as Naruto jerked his head to look at Kakashi before jumping up with both him and Sakura. Roaring out, Naruto then threw Sakura at Sasuke before then throwing Kakashi to the ground. Rearing back a fist as he fell to the ground, Naruto then slammed it into Kakashi's sternum, digging the man into the ground slightly. Raising his hands a millisecond later and knocking Neji's fist out of the way of hitting him as well, Naruto then turned and rammed his shoulder into the teen, knocking him back.

Narrowing his eyes Naruto then vanished as Sasuke swung his Chokatou at him, the blond now standing on the ceiling above them, arms crossed. Growling, Sasuke narrowed his eyes on the blond as he made a simple c'mon gesture with one hand. Gritting his teeth, Sasuke grinned while forming several familiar hand seals before taking a deep breath. Breathing out, Sasuke sent a fireball flying towards the blond haired teen, only for him to vanish once more. Appearing behind a surprised Sasuke while forming the Kusanagi from his hand and swinging the blade at the Uchiha.

Cursing, Sasuke rolled out of the way while Naruto then ducked as Kakashi threw a Kunai at his head. Narrowing his eyes, Naruto then swung his arm and sword, Wind forming off of his body and pushing the Nin away from him briefly. Once he was allowed that moment of reprieve from the all out assault, Naruto quickly formed several Kage-Bunshin, each with a Kusanagi of its own and motioned for them to deal with the other Nin while he walked towards Sasuke. Smirking at this, Sasuke stood up and squared off against Naruto, circling one another like hawks.

"Madara said it would come to this Dobe… we are destined to face one another in battle." Sasuke reminded and Naruto was silent while merely glaring at Sasuke silently. "But he was wrong about one thing, I'm not going to fight you because of any revenge." Sasuke then said and Naruto raised a brow before leaning Kusanagi into his right shoulder with a thin frown.

"**Oh really? I find that hard to believe Teme."** Naruto noted and Sasuke scoffed before taking a stance with his blade, Naruto casually standing opposite him.

"It shouldn't be, I'm not fighting for revenge. I'm fighting you out of HATE, pure and simple. I hate you, I hate that your stronger than me, I hate that you killed Madara, but most of all, I absolutely HATE that you can somehow find happiness and acceptance when all I've ever found is more reasons to hate!" Sasuke roared out while lunging forward, swinging his Chokatou at Naruto who merely raised a hand and caught the blade with one hand. Sasuke then growled as Naruto started to laugh, clearly amused by the Uchiha's words.

"**So that's it… all this time, you've just been jealous of me. To think Teme…"** Naruto mused to himself with a quiet chuckle, Sasuke snarling as he tried to press down with his Chokatou. **"I truly pity you Uchiha Sasuke. You can no more find happiness than you can beat me. Your trapped in the past, your body is all that exists in the present, and that is why you cannot find happiness. If you truly wish to be happy, then forget the past and move forward with your life already."** Naruto stated darkly and Sasuke roared, Naruto throwing his sword to the side before turning with a kick to the young Uchiha's back, knocking him forward.

"**Besides, its not like there's anything left for you to hate. Your brother is dead, as is Danzo and Madara, you've only got your foolish hatred left to live for and nothing to direct it at is slowly driving you insane."** Naruto noted with a shake of his head while Sasuke growled angrily towards the blond haired teen. **"Not only that but your precious Mangekyou Sharingan is all but useless to you unless you wish to go blind. So stop this stupid violence and move on already Teme."** Naruto then told the Uchiha flatly while Sasuke merely snarled once more and formed a few quick hand seals.

"I'll show you Dobe! **Chidori Nagashi!"** Sasuke exclaimed while lunging at Naruto swinging his Chokatou as it was imbued with the energy of his lightning. Dodging the wild attack with ease, Naruto merely moved to one side and then tripped Sasuke, smirking as the teen slammed a fist into the ground before getting back to his feet and lunging at him once more. Taking a quick step back to evade being sliced open by Sasuke's Chokatou, Naruto then swung the Kusanagi up, Sasuke rolling to the side to evade it, his eyes twitching.

"**Face it Teme, you're not powerful enough to stop me, even with all your hate, your still too weak."** Naruto said with a shake of his head, Sasuke's eyes widening in fury before breathing through his gritted teeth.

"I'll show you… I won't be humiliated by a Dobe like you any longer!" Sasuke exclaimed before opening his eyes, revealing his Sharingan at last as he then formed several hand seals. Breathing in he then unleashed a fireball straight for Naruto, the blond blinking then turning to see it would hit the others.

"**So you still don't think beyond killing what you hate, I see… well then maybe I should just carve out those eyes of yours so you won't see what you hate anymore."** Naruto noted the mused darkly with a frown before swinging Kusanagi up and throwing it into the air before grabbing and swinging it down. The swing caused the air to create a vacuum; the vacuum quickly extinguishing the fireball Sasuke had created. However the black haired teen then appeared in front of Naruto and grinned as his eyes took on a red atom shape within the black of his eyes.

"**Amaterasu!"** He exclaimed and Naruto's eyes widened before he dodged out of the way of the black flames, and then took a quick breath in relief while Sasuke's scowl deepened. Concentrating he caused the flames to turn and lash out at Naruto, the youth cursing as he quickly got out of the way as it shot into the ground, Naruto landing in a low crouch and frowning at Sasuke.

'_Has he already forgotten that if he uses his Sharingan too extensively he'll go blind? Or maybe… maybe he just doesn't care anymore.'_ Naruto wondered then mused to himself while Sasuke then lunged at him once more, swinging his Chokatou in a wide arc. Ducking under the attack, Naruto twirled Kusanagi for a moment before lashing out, sending its blade flying up at Sasuke. Narrowing his eyes, Sasuke formed a field of black fire before his body.

However, it slowly cut through the flames and Sasuke's eyes widened, blood slowly trailing down like tears from his left eye, before he flipped away from the blade. Swinging Kusanagi to the side, Naruto mentally smirked, thanking Kami he'd managed to get his hands on the legendary blade. Gritting his teeth, Sasuke looked around for something to give him an advantage against Naruto before looking up. Grinning even as he cried bloody tears, Sasuke was surrounded by what felt like an unholy purple chakra that slowly started to form into something around him.

"**What… what is this abominable energy?"** The blond wondered until a skeletal half muscled monster of some kind appeared around the young Uchiha and roared lowly. The black flames of Amaterasu then wrapped around Susanoo and Naruto made a note to figure out why the Mangekyou had attacks that all seemed to be named after gods while preparing for anything from this new development.

"Behold, the third power of the Mangekyou Sharingan, Dobe! The power only available with both of my eyes! **Susanoo!"** Sasuke exclaimed as the skeletal creature reached up and slammed its hand into the roof. Looking up in shock, Naruto then looked around and flashed over to Raven before wrapping his arms around Raven while digging the Kusanagi into the ground. Kakashi however looked at Sasuke with wide eyes as the roof suddenly came down on top of them.

"Are you mad?! You're going to crush us all!" He shouted while Sasuke merely watched Naruto as he placed himself over Raven. Neji cursed before flipping up and bouncing up along debris, Naruto's clones doing the same. Sakura used her strength and broke any rubble that might have came down on her while Kakashi flipped from rock to rock like most of the others. Hinata and Ino were the only two who were far enough away from Sasuke that the roof didn't cave in on them, Ino's eyes wide in shock.

"W-what the hell… Hinata, do you feel that?" The blond asked and Hinata nodded a cold chilling feeling starting to feel the room, like something was sapping all warmth from them.

"I-It's c-coming from Uchiha-San…" Hinata reported and Ino blinked, and then noticed the girl had her Byakugan active. "H-His C-Chakra isn't n-normal, its t-to th-thick, and it seems l-like it s-saps heat f-from the air." Hinata reported while Ino looked at Sasuke, her eyes showing her unease with that tidbit of information as Sasuke watched the rubble fall on top of Naruto.

"Finally, he's finally dead." Sasuke whispered as the roof slowly stopped falling and the other Nin managed to calm down. However, Sasuke then frowned as the Kage-Bunshin around them were still fine, each having managed to evade damage. "But… but is the Dobe were dead, they wouldn't be here." Sasuke said to himself before watching as rubble exploded up and Naruto pushed himself up, Raven having her eyes closed before looking around and breathing a sigh of relief.

"Too close…" Raven whispered and Naruto nodded his head before turning to look at Sasuke with a glare. Meanwhile, nearby, Sakura looked at Sasuke with no small amount of fear as he started to seethe visibly in his rage, the monster around him slowly forming a sword in its hand.

'_Th-this c-can't be Sasuke-Kun, h-he's not like this, it w-was all Madara…'_ Sakura said to herself with wide eyes while Ayane nearly pulled her hair out inside of her mind before deciding to give her other self a wake up call. _**"Dammit you blind ass stupid excuse for a fangirl! Would you finally just WAKE UP and get a fucking clue! That IS what your oh so precious Uchiha really is!"**_ Ayane screamed in her mind while Sakura shook her head slowly, trying desperately to deny it. Behind her however, one of Naruto's clones landed and then landed a hit to the back of her neck.

The girl slowly swayed for a moment before suddenly falling forward and hitting the ground. Thus leaving her unconscious while the clone flipped back and slid into the shadows to wait for its next chance to strike an opponent. The other two clones wasted no time in attacking Kakashi and Neji, not allowing them even a small moment to catch their breaths while Naruto and Sasuke stared one another down.

'_This is getting more and more dangerous for Kara-Chan; Sasuke's starting to sink back into the Darkness, well, FURTHER into the Darkness. I have to put a stop to him while I still can.'_ Naruto thought to himself before flipping Kusanagi into a reverse grip, the blade shortening down accordingly. **"Raven, no matter what happens, don't try and interfere."** Naruto whispered and Raven gave him a look in response.

"I'm kind of chained to the wall… not like I could even if I wanted to." She reminded yet Naruto remained silent for a moment before turning to look at Sasuke.

"**You've certainly learned nothing Sasuke, especially if you're still relying on the power of your cursed Mangekyou-Sharingan to get you through fights."** Naruto noted while Sasuke scoffed, growling mentally as Naruto's mask made it impossible to look into BOTH of his eyes… _'The dobe must've realized that and is using it to his advantage to stop me from using Genjutsu.'_ Sasuke noted while gripping the Chokatou in his hand tightly.

"What's that supposed to mean, you're the one who's got a Demon's power coursing through his veins. The Mangekyou-Sharingan is no more cursed than your own cursed powers dobe." Sasuke retorted and Naruto tilted his head for a moment before sighing as he made five quick hand seals behind his back so Sasuke wouldn't see them.

"**I had really hoped I'd never have to use THIS particular Jutsu. But given that I can no longer get close to you, it seems that I have no other choice."** Naruto mused while concentrating his Chakra and opened his eyes. **"Fuuton: Fuujin no Jutsu! (Wind Release: God of Wind Technique!)"** Naruto exclaimed as wind flowed all around his body before visibly forming into blades along his body, the longest of the blades arching off his forearms and shins, forming into claws over his hands and feet as well as wisps off his back and shoulders.

"W-what is this?" Sasuke demanded while Naruto chuckled in his throat as the wind spiraled around his body.

"**Did you honestly believe ALL my wind techniques were going to be seal-less blade techniques, Teme? Well this one is special in that it's a wind Jutsu that augments Taijutsu. It's like the Raikage's lightning armor in that effect, only it basically just coats my entire body in wind Chakra, allowing me to guide wind and thus hit opponents without having to touch them. Thus giving me a way around your damn Amaterasu shied or Susanoo."** Naruto explained simply a hand on his hip while Sasuke grit his teeth while glaring furiously at the blond.

"Where do you come up with all these stupid Jutsu of yours?!" Sasuke demanded and Naruto tilted his head to one side before chuckling in his throat.

"**What do you think I was doing the year I stayed in the HIVE Teme? Went to class and studied like a good little student? Besides, my control of Wind is BASED off of this Jutsu, this Jutsu is basically a refined, perfected version of my normal wind Control."** Naruto stated with a smirk and Sasuke roared while having Sasunoo form a sword out of Amaterasu's flames and quickly lash out at the blond. Quickly Naruto moved out of the way with his speed being augmented by the wind Chakra as it literally put an extra spring in his step. Seeing this Sasuke's eyes bolted open as he tried to follow Naruto and sent some Amaterasu flames towards him.

Flipping back to avoid the flames Naruto spun in the air, a blade of wind instantly arching from his foot and flying towards Sasuke. Widening his eyes, Sasuke flipped back to avoid the attack and then rolled to the side as Naruto flipped in the air and lashed out with a hand, wind forming from his air-claws and arching towards him. Gritting his teeth Sasuke had Susanoo lash out with his sword at the blond once more, only to gape as he jumped into the air, high enough that he then spun for a moment before kicking towards Sasuke, unleashing a miniature tornado from his leg that swirled towards the young Uchiha.

Ducking out of the way once more, Sasuke had Susanoo swing its sword at Naruto once more while he was in the air. Chuckling, the blond held his hands to the side, Naruto twisting in the air for a moment to evade Susanoo and then made four quick hand seals. Soon finishing, Naruto held his hands together as Sasuke glared at him furiously. **"Raiton: Flash-Bomb Jutsu!"** Naruto called out as a bright flash of light came from his body and temporarily blinded Sasuke, causing him to stumble back and out of Susanoo's protective area.

Grinning as the young Uchiha got into position, Naruto made it to the ground quickly before lunging at Sasuke as Susanoo dissipated. Sasuke slowly opened his eyes as he did, only for Naruto to slam a fist into his face, the wind around his arm spiraling out and propelling him away from the blond. Moving quickly, Naruto slid under Sasuke before twisting onto his back and then kicking Sasuke into the air. Pushing himself up and jumping after Sasuke, Naruto then slammed his fist into the Uchiha's stomach before quickly spinning into a kick that sent Sasuke flying into the ground.

Panting, Sasuke looked down at himself and saw how wherever Naruto had hit him, cuts and lacerations were appearing. _'Th-that stupid Jutsu… it's allowing him to cut me without using his sword…'_ Sasuke realized while gritting his teeth in outrage the blond youth looking towards him as he got back up. _'I'll show him, I'll make him pay!'_ Sasuke's thought before he formed the seals for a Fireball Justu then breathed it out towards Naruto. The blond in question chuckled in his throat before twisting and swinging Kusanagi, creating a vacuum that dissipated the fireball almost instantly. Growling, Sasuke then lunged at Naruto swinging his Chokatou wildly at the blond as he moved with unreal speed and grace while evading the attack all together.

Soon tired of this, Naruto dug a foot into the ground and raised his left arm up, stopping Sasuke's Chokatou with the metal plate on the back of his glove. Pressing down, Sasuke tried to slip off the plate so he could take the blond's hand off only for him to force his hand up, knocking Sasuke off balance long enough for Naruto to slam a fist into the Uchiha's stomach, sending him flying back from the combination of physical strength and wind-chakra slamming into his body. Slamming into a wall, Sasuke fell to one knee before looking up as Naruto shook his head, amusement clearly wafting off of his body.

"How are you doing this?!" Sasuke demanded angrily and Naruto simply shrugged his shoulders for a moment. "Damn you Dobe, I won't allow you to do this!" Sasuke stated while slowly standing up and Naruto froze before narrowing his eyes on the young Uchiha dangerously.

"**Honestly Teme, would you just shut the fuck up about your Kami-Damned hate already?!"** Naruto demanded while pulling all the wind-Chakra from around his body and lunged forward, focusing it all into his right arm. **"Because I really don't care anymore and right now, all I want you to do is leave me the hell alone!"** Naruto exclaimed while slamming his fist into Sasuke, a tornado forming from his arm before slamming into the Uchiha before pushing him back into and then through a wall into the desert outside…

Relaxing his stance once the attack was finished, Naruto then turned to where his clones were still dealing with Kakashi and briefly swooned to one side as he came out of his Fuujin no Jutsu. _'Damn thing still eats up Chakra like nobodies business… I really need to figure out a way to fix that.'_ Naruto thought to himself, since though the technique was useful, it left even his reserves fairly drained after a prolonged period. Shaking his head of these thoughts, Naruto ran towards Kakashi before forming four clones at his side and watching as they slide forward and under the man.

"**U!"** One called out while kicking up. **"Zu!"** The next exclaimed while doing the same. **"Ma!"** The third exclaimed while the final one came up with a grin under his mask. **"Ki!"** The clone finished as they all hit Kakashi and sent him up into the air. Naruto then lunged forward and jumped up off one of the clone's backs, flipping in the air before flipping and kicking Kakashi in the chest, sending him flying down into the ground. **"Naruto Rendan!"** Naruto himself finished as he came down on top of Kakashi, causing the man to groan before he flipped off of him and swayed for a moment before the clones went over to him.

The clones then concentrated and returned their chakra to him, vanishing in mere shimmers of energy while Naruto turned towards where Neji was facing off against his final clone and ran towards him. Seeing the blond coming at him, Neji prepared to attack only for Naruto to vanish in a plume of smoke before appearing behind the Hyuuga. Twisting into a kick, Naruto slammed his foot into the side of Neji's head, sending him skidding away before he rolled to a stop before where Hinata and Ino were both watching on with wide eyes.

'_So this is what a __**REAL**__ Kage-Level Shinobi is capable of, incredible!'_ Ino thought to herself while gaping in astonishment, while Hinata managed a slight smile, feeling proud of Naruto's obvious growth despite him not being with Konoha. However that smile faded as Sasuke made his way back into the warehouse, panting and visibly bleeding while forming a silent Amaterasu that headed towards Naruto from behind.

"N-Naruto-Kun behind you!" Hinata called out and Naruto turned and then lunged out of the way of the attack his clone being hit and thus dispelled by it while Naruto rolled into a crouch. Growling, Sasuke gave a glare to Hinata before turning back to Naruto as he slowly rose back up to his feet.

"Why won't you just die already?!" Sasuke demanded as he lunged at Naruto while swinging his Chokatou, the blond frowning before lunging at him as well and swinging Kusanagi. Seeing this Sasuke widened his eyes before quickly swinging his Chokatou to block, only for Kusanagi to slice through it easily.

Sasuke's eyes widened upon seeing this and he then gaped as Naruto then slammed a fist into his gut. Leaning back Naruto then punched Sasuke in the gut once more, lifting him off the ground from the force of his attack. Backing away from Naruto with wide eyes, Sasuke wrapped his arms around his waist before falling to his knees, obviously in pain. Preparing to use another Mangekyou technique, Sasuke wasn't given the chance as Naruto quickly grabbed him by the throat and lifted him into the air, keeping his eyes away from Sasuke's line of sight.

Throwing Sasuke forward, Naruto then threw a familiar three-pointed Kunai at the youth, which the Uchiha rolled out of the way of while coming into a crouch on the ground. Looking up from his position on the ground, Kakashi saw the Kunai and his eyes widened greatly for a moment while Naruto suddenly vanished. **"Hiraishin no Jutsu!"** He exclaimed loudly while appearing behind Sasuke, Naruto came down in a drop kick to Sasuke's skull, the other teen's eyes widening in shock as his head was slammed into the ground and Naruto landed in a low crouch.

Cracking his neck as he got up, Naruto fell to one knee while panting, grunting in discomfort at the amount of Chakra he'd just used to take out the Konoha-Flunkies. _'Alright, maybe not flunkies, but they are annoying as hell at least…_' Naruto thought to himself while pushing himself back to his feet. Cracking his knuckles he made his way over to Sasuke with a scowl. Looking down at Sasuke, Naruto reached down before lifting the Uchiha up and glared at him without looking at his eyes.

"**Impressive… you all actually managed to wear me out. Impressive at the very least, I haven't had a fight tire me out this bad in quite a while… that stupid plant invasion not withstanding…"** Naruto muttered to himself before throwing Sasuke to the side, as he looked around the room, noting that only Ino and Hinata were still standing and they had been the only ones not fighting. Noticing Kakashi pushing himself to his knees, Naruto shook his head as the man barely managed to look at him from his position on the ground.

"**And to think, you were the ones who thought you could take Kara-Chan to force me to go back with you… well, at least you know better than to try that now."** Naruto noted with a shake of his head before turning his head as the doors suddenly burst open, the Titans finally arriving…

"Everybody freeze!" Nightwing ordered while Naruto gave him a look before walking over to Raven.

"Whoa… I don't think he needed any help here Rich…" Kid-Flash noted while looking at the sheer level of destruction around the room and shivered violently, mentally promising to never make a pass at Raven again. Sighing, the former boy wonder pinched the bridge of his nose while pulling several explosive disks from his belt.

"Alright, then everyone else, Freeze." Nightwing amended while Naruto crouched next to Raven and took a look at her chains. Using the Kusanagi, Naruto then snapped the chains before allowing the sword to become a part of him once more.

'_Took them long enough to get here…'_ Naruto thought to himself while helping Raven up to her feet and she rolled her eyes with slight frown.

'_It's not like anyone could lead them here you know.'_ She reminded and Naruto had to give her that while Ino and Hinata came out of the shadows.

"Yo he said freeze, and in case y'all don't know, that means don't move!" Cyborg called out while Sasuke pushed himself to his feet, eyes filled with hate as they glared towards Naruto furiously.

"Alright, now you're all coming with us, either peacefully or we'll be forced to…" Nightwing started to say while Sasuke made three quick handseals with his eyes widened and glaring at Naruto furiously.

"DOBE! I wont be beaten by you this time, nor ever again!" He exclaimed as lightning arched over his fist, the sounds of birds chirping in the air, before he launched himself forward.

"Sasuke no!" Kakashi cried out as Sasuke moved faster than any of the Titans could react, reaching the other side of the room mere seconds later. Seeing Sasuke, Naruto immediately saw that he wasn't aiming for him… _'Wait, if he's not trying to hit me then who…'_ Naruto wondered for only a moment before his eyes widened and he quickly pushed Raven out of the way of the attack, taking the Chidori through the chest as it burst through him and slammed into the tank behind him.

Instantly a strange green slime burst out of the tank and all over the three, Naruto then formed a quick Rasengan before slamming it into Sasuke's stomach, sending him flying back before Naruto fell to his knees and holding his wounded shoulder. "Naruto!" Raven exclaimed worriedly while the blond spat up some blood into his mask that had somehow worked its way into his mouth.

"N-Naruto-Kun!" Hinata said with wide eyes while Ino had to hold her back and then glared at Sasuke, wondering what in the nine hells she'd ever seen in the psycho.

"Dude!" BB exclaimed while Starfire gasped then formed her Starbolts and Cy aimed his Sonic-Cannon at the other conscious Nin.

"Great Sasuke, get us into even more trouble why don't you…" Kakashi growled out angrily to himself while looking for some way out of this new predicament. Given that they were in a small space, that wasn't looking very good at the moment, not only that but Naruto's clones had been surprisingly tough and had worn all but two of them out. And those two wouldn't be all that effective against the combined abilities of the Teen-Titans…

"What do we do Rob?" Cy asked and Nightwing narrowed his eyes, the unmoving Sasuke posing no threat for the moment.

"Take them in of course. And if they resist in any way, I'm FULLY authorizing you all the right to restrain them painfully." Night responded darkly while the Titans made their way over to the weakened Ninja, Starfire hurrying over to Raven and Naruto as he hacked up blood while holding the open wound in his shoulder.

"We have to get him back to the Tower to try and heal his wounds, now!" Raven said urgently, worry clear in her voice, and Nightwing nodded his head while looking at them from the corner of his eye.

"Starfire, you go with Raven and see if you can help him, we'll deal with these guys." Nightwing ordered and Starfire reluctantly nodded while helping Naruto up, Raven quickly pulling the rings from her fingers. Stuffing them into the shadow-space of her cloak she then wrapped her cloak around herself, Naruto, and Starfire before quickly pulling them to Titans-Tower. Meanwhile, Kakashi sighed while surveying the area, seeing no way that he could possibly escape without leaving one or more of the others behind, he raised his hands in surrender.

"Not putting up a fight?" Nightwing questioned while slapping a pair of cuffs over his wrists and Kakashi shrugged his shoulders.

"No point…" He responded while a half-conscious Sasuke rolled onto his side, and then tried to push himself to his feet. Growling, Donna stomped over to the dark haired youth before placing her boot onto his back and then pushing him to the ground and digging her heel into his back, causing him to grunt in pain.

"Down boy." Donna said mockingly, though with no trace of humor in her tone however as Sasuke tried to glare at the girl. Kid-Flash checked around the room, making sure there was no traps or hidden surprises waiting for them before giving an OK to Nightwing who nodded his head and then motioned for the others to follow him. Meanwhile, Neji was gathered up by Cyborg along with Sakura, both being slung over his shoulders before he glared at the single eyed Kakashi.

"You better pray Naruto's gonna be alright, man." Cy suddenly growled out darkly, the unsaid threat registering to Kakashi. _'To think Naruto… you've even got friends like these here…'_ Kakashi thought to himself before motioning for Ino and Hinata to follow them. Donna, then wrapped her Lasso around Sasuke and literally dragged the Uchiha behind her with BB at her side, unusually quiet. Walking out of the warehouse, Kakashi blinked when he noticed several silver spheres on the ground.

"Did you leave those there?" He asked Nightwing who looked down, only for knockout gas to suddenly spray out of them.

"Shit!" Night called out while covering his mouth, only to be hit from behind as the others didn't react in time. A commando was left standing behind each the Titans, while the Nin fell unconscious due to the gas and their own exhaustion. Jumping to the ground behind the Commandos was none other than Ravager, a gasmask worn over her face. "Secure the Ninja." She ordered of the Commandos before crossing her arms as she shook her head while looking down at Sasuke.

"Idiot… I need him alive. You best hope you haven't ruined any chance I had of my plans working…" She grumbled while kicking the unconscious youth. Sighing, she then snapped her fingers, several more of her Commandos dropping down before collecting the Konoha-Ninja. _'They've all but proved themselves useless to my needs, especially the Uchiha brat, but I could still probably find some small use for them…'_ Ravager mused to herself while walking away, her Commandos following her with the Nin over their shoulders…

As they made their way from the warehouse, Ravager made a quick mental note to find out what that green shit Sasuke, Naruto, and Raven got covered in was. And she also made a note to get a smoke when she got back to base… it had been a VERY stressful day and she felt she deserved one for putting up with so much failure… though if she'd been more careful, she might've noticed a pair of glowing green eyes as Dani watched her leave, then looked down at the Titans for a moment before sighing… she really hated tough choices.

--

(Titans-Tower…)

Raven landed in Titans-Tower, more importantly, the infirmary, and quickly set about working around the room. "F-friend Raven, w-what should I do to help you?" Starfire asked worriedly while holding up Naruto, the blond slipping in and out of consciousness due to the heavy amount of blood loss he'd suffered.

"Lay Naruto down and get his shirt off to start with Starfire, I need to see the extent of the damage that idiot did to him before I can do anything." Raven said quickly while trying mostly to calm her raging emotions, most of which were for once in complete agreement with Wrath in wanting to Gut Sasuke alive. However at the moment, that wasn't productive as she'd need to concentrate if she wanted to be able to heal her friend and not do more harm than good.

Hearing what Raven needed, Starfire went to work on removing Naruto's spiral mask, then his headband, then his bandoleer, and finally his shit. However upon seeing the fist-sized hole in the side of his chest, just barely missing his heart, part of which she could actually see in the hole, the girl turned visibly green. "F-Friend-Raven… I have done the removing of his shirt for you…" Starfire offered meekly and Raven quickly turned to see what the damage was and turned green as well for a moment.

'_Please let me be able to help with this…'_ Raven thought to herself before taking a breath and placing her hands over the wound. Concentrating on her healing powers, Raven's hands were covered in a blue glow over his wound. Grunting in his sleep, Naruto groaned for a moment while the wound started to steam slightly, red energy pooling within the wound before spiraling around its edges as it helped seal it up. Noticing this, Raven frowned for only a moment before quickly realizing what it was based on Kakashi's little "Story"…

'_Kyuubi, it doesn't want to die and if you do you take it with you, so it's going to keep you alive as long as it needs too.'_ Raven noted to herself, easily knowing what that felt like. _'I think we're almost too much alike Naruto… but like I told that idiot pervert, I'm not going to leave you over something like that.'_ Raven thought to herself while concentrating her powers and working on the wound…

--

(??)

"**What a most interesting development."** A familiar four-eyed demon mused while Kyuubi frowned towards its compatriot.

"**Interesting? How can you say that when my host is dieing?"** Kyuubi demanded with a low growl and the other being chuckled lightly for a moment. **"And what do you find so funny Trigon?"** Kyuubi demanded once more and the four-eyed being chuckled once more before grinning at the Kitsune.

"**Haven't you noticed something… odd inside your host?"** Trigon questioned of the Kitsune and it raised a brow before narrowing his eyes, a grin spreading across his muzzle as he noticed what Trigon did.

"**Ahh, now I see what you mean… yes, this could indeed be most interesting, especially if this were to affect your darling daughter as well."** Kyuubi mused to itself with a grin spread over his lips and Trigon nodded his head in agreement.

"**I know it will. And once it takes hold of them both, it will be most interesting to see what their "Inner-Demons" will do to their so-called friends…"** Trigon noted aloud and Kyuubi nodded his head with a light chuckle before narrowing his eyes for a moment.

"**What of our plan? We are soon to escape our prisons, surely we shouldn't wait!"** Kyuubi reasoned and Trigon was silent for only a moment before chuckling in his throat as he pulled his power from a glowing figure within a subterranean cave.

"**True, but I'd rather like to enjoy this show. And my plan can only fully take hold on my daughter's birthday. We still have plenty of time before that will come to pass."** Trigon reminded and Kyuubi grumbled under his breath for a moment before closing his eyes and vanishing. Remaining for a brief moment, Trigon chuckled in his throat before vanishing as well to watch the show…

--

TBC…

--


	40. Inner Demons Pt3

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

**Chapter 39**: **Inner Demons Pt. 3**…

--

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

--

(??)

Ravager sighed while rubbing her temples through her mask for a moment. All things considered, today had been one massive disaster after another. Her being beaten, while anticipated, had been more thoroughly than she had liked. _'Never expected him to figure out how to get around my future-sense…'_ She admitted to herself before opening a drawer and pulling out a packet of cigarettes, tapping it a couple times she then pulled one out before lighting it with a match and breathing in the smoke before exhaling a breath of smoke.

'_Ahh… I don't care what father says, I really needed that.'_ Ravager mused as she felt several muscles loosen while leaning back in her chair. On the screen before her, like on many occasions, were scenes of Naruto in battle. However this time they were showcasing hers and the Konoha-Nin's failure in capturing the blond. _'Admittedly, not one of my better ideas. I had at least thought blindsiding him so soon after taking down Harley and Ivy would've worked to my advantage.'_ Ravager mused to herself before hearing a ruckus from nearby and placed a hand over her face.

'_Somebody please shoot me…'_ She thought to herself while Sasuke suddenly through open the door to the infirmary, breathing heavily while using the wall to brace himself from falling. While he knew the youth was fully capable of killing her if given the chance, especially with his speed, death truly didn't frighten Ravager in the least.

"Dammit Ravager! I finally had him! Why the hell did you extract us?!" Sasuke demanded while ignoring the fact he'd also been soundly beaten, it was only thanks to Ino and Hinats's healing Jutsu's and Wintergreen's admittedly advanced medicinal skills he was even standing after all… let alone moving after that beating he took.

Ravager scowled, if it weren't for the fact that, in her eyes, Naruto was worth putting up with this Sharingan-wielding idiot, she'd have already killed Sasuke herself. He wasn't smart, not from what she'd seen of him now, or heard he'd done in the past. He wasn't especially cunning; he only seemed to have rare bursts of intelligence actually. He wasn't all that strong; she could gut him in his sleep if she had half a mind too after all. And he most certainly wasn't as handsome as that pink haired moron of a Medic Nin seemed to think.

Blowing out some smoke Ravager swiveled around in her chair and stood up. Idly, she saw Kakashi wander out of the infirmary as well, holding his ribs, which Naruto had broken. Marching over to Sasuke, Ravager grabbed the Uchiha by the throat and lifted him up off his feet with one arm and a scowl across her face. The teen grasped at her wrist with wide eyes while she merely tightened her grip until the only sounds to escape his mouth were labored gasps as he futilely clawed at her arm so he could try to breath properly again.

"Because fool...ever since he arrived, Uzumaki's turned into a major factor in my agenda. He's no good to me if he's dead. I need him, preferably _**ALIVE**__,_ for my plans to work!" Ravager said with a snarl, bringing her face right up to his and glaring hard into his onyx black eyes. Feeling repulsed by the Uchiha's nearness to her person, she then tossed him to the side with all her strength and sent him across the room. She found the thud when Sasuke struck the opposite wall to be immeasurably satisfying.

"Ouch…" Kakashi mumbled and Ravager looked at him, having actually forgotten he was present for a moment. Meanwhile, Sasuke gasped and greedily took in air as he slowly pushed his body up, then turned around to face Ravager and saw she had went back to watching recordings of Naruto in that Dokuro-mask outfit fighting with the Teen Titans. Inwardly, he wondered what was so fascinating to her, the dobe wasn't worth all the attention she seemed to have focused on him after all, but antagonizing her was clearly not in his best interests…

"So is it that you need him for your plans to get revenge with how hard he can push the ones you hate?" Sasuke questioned and Ravager felt her head start to pound because of the Uchiha's stupidity. She honestly only cared about fulfilling her father's plans to find the "Perfect Apprentice". Terra and Robin had been flops, the former having actually killed him, but Naruto was scarily like her father, he'd be the perfect one to take over for him in his stead.

"I can understand that. I suppose that as an avenger, I can try tolerating him until he has no further use to you." Sasuke said while Ravager tuned back into reality and made a mental note not to drift off into her thoughts too greatly from now on.

"Shut up." Ravager said venomously while resisting the urge to throw something at the whelp. She wasn't stupid, if angered to a point she knew he could kill her, but she found it hard to put up with him. Sasuke himself merely watched her for a moment while noticing her rub her temples with an obvious headache, then turned and made his way back to the infirmary to rest.

Powerful, ruthless, cunning...this Ravager was truly worthy of being an Uchiha's woman. There was just the problem that she seemed to prefer that dobe rather than him to deal with. However, she had made it VERY clear if she used his Sharingan to try to make her his woman, she'd castrate him with a rusted-kunai. Not to mention she seemed all but immune to Genjutsu, having apparently trained in mental arts to shield her from such "silly illusions" as she'd called them.

_'You'll TRY tolerating him until he's useless to me? Funny, I was just thinking the same thing about you, you egomaniacal fool. And should you attempt to kill Naruto again… well, ever since I learned you existed and decided to use you Konoha fools, I've looked forward to showing you that pawns re expendable, Uchiha.' _Ravager thought to herself while reaching up to pull her cig from her lips and exhale a breath of smoke. She then pulled up the recording of when Naruto had just plane chewed up and spat out the Konoha group while he'd been dressed in that "Akatsuki Garb" of his the first time.

Watching as without Sasuke they were clearly more than just a little outclassed, Ravager could see why the boy was so arrogant. Regardless of his stupidity and obvious insanity, Sasuke was still powerful, but as she watched Naruto beat the Konoha nin without Sasuke, then watched the fight WITH him as they still lost, it showed just how much stronger the blond really was. She shook her head in amusement, Naruto was right, these Konoha Shinobi (and she used the word 'Shinobi' loosely) WERE flunkies. Her father's assembly line robot commandos were less expendable than these fools and she allowed dozens of them be torn apart during this last fiasco.

Sighing and shaking her head, Ravager then looked over to where Kakashi was only for the man to say something. "You do know smoking can kill you… right?" Kakashi asked the white haired girl and Ravager gave him a look before taking a puff of smoke and exhaling, basically telling him to go fuck himself while also flipping the man off. What she did to unwind was none of his, Sasuke's, or even her father's business as far as she was concerned. Holding up his hands placating, Kakashi then made his way back to the infirmary and blew out smoke once more.

Digging her now nearly burnt away cig into her ashtray, Ravager then rubbed her temples with her index fingers and frowned in thought. _'If you fools are of any indication of what everyone else is like in your home, I can see why he'd leave it. Betraying his former home? Ha! Uzumaki probably just got sick of babysitting so many worthless buffoons that boasted of they're so-called superiority thanks to their so-called abilities as warriors.'_ She thought to herself bitterly, making a mental note to go out and get severely hammered tonight while she was unwinding.

She hardly knew about Naruto's past other than the scraps she had got hold of it that he'd shared with his teammates on Tartarus and Raven from all the time she'd been observing him and even she could tell that much about Naruto. He wasn't going to be used but people who didn't even appreciate everything he did for them. So he left that place, it was as plain and simple, cut and dry as that. Sighing to herself she pulled up a screen much smaller than the others that showed when the Konoha Flunkies were wondering if they could use her and smirked slightly to herself.

Ha! It was insulting for them to think they weren't being watched at all times since they had gotten here and yet could get away with trying to reverse roles with her! She was the one using them, not the other way around. It was one of her first lessons from her father: If you offer to side with anyone, keep as close an eye on your "allies" as you do with your enemies. Or as the old saying goes, keep your "Friends" close, but your enemies closer.

Shaking her head and putting that screen away, Ravager returned to observing her other files. She looked over the recordings of Naruto again, a smirk making its way onto her face. Of all the words to describe Uzumaki, she found "complex" suited him best. He was neither good nor evil, willing to go against the law and those that upheld it, yet at the same time, he was selfless and noble. He was truly a shade of gray in every sense of the word. Naruto Uzumaki...he continued to peak her interests relentlessly...shame he already had a girlfriend...

Wait just one second! Where the HELL did that come from!? Blinking, Ravager grimaced while rubbing her temples and shook her head. _'I REALLY need to get out more…'_ She noted to herself and made that mental note to get hammered into a plan for tonight so she wouldn't go stark raving mad. Ravager quickly switched the screens to watch solely the Titans. It was best not to dwell on what had just gone through her head and get ready for her night on the town. Turning her computers off, Ravager took one last look at them before they shut down, then made her way to her room with a smirk.

Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto…yes, complex suited him very very well.

--

(Titans-Tower…)

Starfire sighed while sitting in midair, waiting for the other Titans to return while Raven tended to Naruto's wounds. _'I hope he will be alright…'_ She thought to herself before stretching out her limbs and leaned back in midair, floating around the Titans' Ops Center absently. "I wonder if Friend Raven requires my further assistance?" Starfire wondered before shaking her head and sighing once more. Unlike Raven and Cyborg, she had no idea how to use any healing abilities or medicines. Rolling over and floating on her stomach, Starfire folded her arms under her head and looked at the door.

"I wish I had something to keep me busy… but I do not feel like doing any of the cooking, Friend-Raven is preoccupied with the healing, and I do not know where the others are… though, I must wonder what is taking them so long?" Starfire said then wondered to herself while looking to a clock nearby. Given the usual length of missions Starfire wouldn't be surprised if the others were out longer, but given that the Ninja had been all but incapacitated when they left she felt that they should have returned by now.

Sighing, Starfire closed her eyes but the sight of the hole in Naruto's chest seemed to flash before her vision. While a warrior by nature, Starfire had never seen someone who could take a hit like that. This Sasuke had literally punched through Naruto and he'd still been able to fight back. It was impressive but she truly hoped he would be all right, she would've preferred if he hadn't gotten hurt, but she supposed the sight of Raven being in danger overrode anything else in his mind.

'_I believe you are very lucky Friend-Raven, to have a consort who is so loyal and caring…'_ Starfire mused with a wry smile, happy the normally aloof girl was finding some small semblance of happiness. While unknown to most, Starfire was actually older than Raven, and thus thought of her more as her little sister than anything. She supposed that might be why she was so… clingy, to Raven. Her own experiences with her sister probably, instinctively, wanted her to be nicer to Raven than was probably necessary because she saw the girl as somewhat of a sister as well as a friend.

A sudden ringing broke Starfire from her pondering, thus causing the alien to sit up and look around. "Hello?" She questioned and then frowned as the ringing came once more. Snapping her fingers as she remembered they had a "Door-Bell" Starfire flew down to the entrance hall of the tower. Coming out of the elevator, Starfire gasped seeing the other Titans all unconscious on the floor. Quickly flying over to them she checked for pulses and was happy to find they were all alive. Looking around for a moment, Starfire then looked to her friends and decided that they shouldn't be lying around on the floor, thus beginning the arduous task of carrying each of them to their rooms.

Nearby, Dani watched as Starfire took the Titans through the tower while giving a mental sigh. It had been a choice between bringing the Titans back here, and trying to follow Ravager to her base. Unfortunately she'd gone with making sure the Titans were safe, and she had to admit she wanted to make sure Naruto was as well. _'I swear Sensei, You're starting to rub off on me…'_ Dani thought to herself and wondered what that said about how similar they are to one another.

Shaking that thought out of her head and then seeing that Starfire was preoccupied with taking her friends to their rooms, the young Ghost-Girl flew up and through the ceiling, heading up the tower while checking rooms. Soon finding the infirmary, Dani saw a tired Raven trying to heal Naruto. The girl was opening and closing her eyes at random, while, all things considered, Naruto's wounds were almost completely healed. Frowning at that, Dani flew over to Raven and stayed invisible. If the older girl hadn't been so wiped from what Dani could tell, she probably would have been found out.

Watching as Raven suddenly slumped forward from exhaustion, Dani moved and caught her, keeping her from falling on a sleeping Naruto. Shaking her head, Dani then flew inside of Raven and Over-Shadowed her, the violet haired sorceress eyes glowing the same neon green as Dani's. Standing up, Dani grimaced as she noticed how stressed out Raven's body was. _'Does she never just relax herself? She's got enough tension in her neck and shoulders to suggest it.'_ Dani wondered then mused while twisting around for a moment and taking a breath to relax.

One thing Dani knew was that Overshadowing only took control of the body. The mind was more or less put to sleep, thus, Dani was only in control of Raven's body while her subconscious and conscious minds were both still asleep. She had to admit this made things easier for her, especially since it basically meant she didn't have to worry about causing Raven's powers to wig out. Rubbing her, er Raven's, shoulders for a moment Dani then turned invisible and walked over to the door before sticking her head out. Not seeing Starfire outside the young Ghostling Girl made her way through the Tower.

Checking various rooms to see if they were Ravens, Dani wondered why it was so annoying to find. Suddenly noticing a door with the word "Raven" printed on it, Dani felt her eyes drop and a flat expression fall across her face. "Well that isn't obvious at all…" She mumbled in Raven's voice, and then blinked, almost thinking Raven had said it since Sarcasm was her thing. Making her way through the door, Dani then pulled off Raven's cloak and folded it before placing it down on her nightstand. Turning and looking around, Dani stopped at a mirror and blinked.

"I didn't know Raven had curves like these…" Dani noted while moving her, er Raven's, hips from side to side. Blushing as she realized what she was doing, Dani turned away from the mirror and crossed her arms. "No ogling your senseis Girlfriend, no matter how nice a body she has." Dani scolded herself before groaning at the way it came out, making a note to hit herself later, Dani removed Raven's belt, gloves, and boots before putting them away and stretched out her, er Raven's, arms. Lying down in Raven's bed she pulled up the covers and got comfortable before closing Raven's eyes.

Sighing, Dani got out of Raven and watched as Raven fell fast asleep before nodding to herself. Looking back at Raven for a moment, then at her cloak and took a thoughtful expression before snapping her fingers. "So that's it. The cloak hides her figure…" She mumbled to herself and then made sure she didn't disturb Raven's sleep. Seeing the grey-Skinned teen roll over and dig deeper into the covers, Dani gave a sigh of relief before placing the cloak back where she found it. Flying out of the room she then made her way back to Naruto to check on him. Seeing the now only slight wound where Sasuke had hit him made Dani breath a sigh of relief.

"Good, don't want you dying on me Sensei." Dani said before floating out of the tower, now assured her Sensei was in good hands she flew back towards Tartarus HQ to fill in the other's to what happened… something told her those Konoha Nin were going to be dead soon as well…

--

(??)

Ravager happily walked into her HQ, dressed in some civilian attire of a black leather jacket, white tank top, blue jeans, and black high-top sneakers. Giggling almost drunkenly, the girl walked passed a shocked Kakashi as he stared at her. "Ravager?" He questioned and she turned on one heel, surprisingly graceful given how intoxicated she was from the smell alone.

"Yes, who else." She stated in a surprisingly serious tone and then turned back around and stretched her arms into the air while walking to her room, Sasuke paying particular attention as she passed.

"Have you been drinking or something?" Kakashi asked while covering his nose, the stench of alcohol clear to him and Ravager turned to give him a look.

"Yes. What of it?" She asked before turning back, not waiting for an answer, and walking into her room, closing the door behind her as she did.

"She's amazingly in control of herself if she's drunk." Sasuke said while walking out of his room and pulling off his soaked shirt. He'd unfortunately been unable to change clothes after his fight last night. Regardless of how tough he liked to act, he didn't like sleeping in the green soaked clothes; he also wondered what he'd managed to bathe himself in during his latest moment of insanity. Turning to the side he then saw Sakura and thus tossed his shirt at her face.

"Hey!" Sakura complained and the Uchiha smirked slightly as she pulled the shirt off of herself and groaned when she felt the partially dried green stuff get on her.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Ravager suddenly called while poking her head out of her room. Looking to her with a raised brow, Sasuke gaped seeing that she was quite clearly topless, though used the door to conceal herself. "Whatever that green shit is could be toxic or worse. So it'd be better that you not throw it on people if they might mutate into monsters because of it… speaking of which I need to run an analysis on it anyways so don't throw it away either." Ravager then mused before moving back into her room, Sasuke looking to Kakashi with wide eyes.

"I love this universe." Kakashi said with a nod of his head and Sasuke scowled while mentally telling the man to back off. Turning away, Sasuke took his shirt back from Sakura while she twitched and then shivered. "You okay?" Kakashi questioned and Sakura looked at her arms for a moment before nodding her head. Shrugging, Kakashi reached into his weapons case and retrieved his newest book before happily reading it to himself.

"_**Great, now your precious Sasuke got us covered in something Toxic!"**_ Ayane complained and Sakura pinched the bridge of her nose. _'When will you just shut up already? He's not evil, he's not insane, he's just… really really stressed is all.'_ Sakura insisted and Ayane growled and wished she could slap her… then gaped as Sakura's left arm suddenly did so. Both were silent for a moment before looking at their arm, Ayane grinning as she made a fist, the left hand doing as she did. Widening her eyes, Sakura looked around to make sure no one had seen that before making a break for the bathroom.

Entering and looking at her reflection, she wasn't surprised to see that a vision of what "Ayane" looked like appeared over her reflection. Unlike when they were younger and she'd only looked like her with the Kanji for "Inner Sakura" on her brow, her inner self seemed to reflect portions of her, as in Ayane's own, personality.

Ayane was rather different to Sakura, having Fuchsia hair and dark forest green eyes, possibly reflecting her darker more violent nature, though she was pale since she never got out that much before, she was also more physically fit, being a reflection of her growing strength of will… and the last thing that made Sakura hate her with a passion, she seemed to have a larger chest then her, which Ayane said just reflected her being more confident in herself and her looks than Sakura herself… bitch.

"What the hell was that just now?!" Sakura demanded and Ayane shrugged before lifting her left arm, Sakura's left arm following it.

"_**I don't know but I like it!"**_ Ayane replied with a grin and flexed her arm, causing Sakura to do the same.

"Stop that!" Sakura ordered and Ayane stuck her tongue out at her. "Dammit! Why won't you just go away already, haven't you pestered me enough?" Sakura demanded and Ayane crossed her arms and gave her a look, Sakura's left arm moving to rest in the same fashion as if she'd crossed her arms.

"_**Why? Maybe because I don't WANT to leave."**_ Ayane told the pinkette and Sakura nearly screamed before leaning towards the mirror.

"Then why can't I MAKE you go away?!" She demanded and Ayane grinned towards her evilly.

"_**You honestly think you can make me do anything?"**_ Ayane questioned before snickering and placing her hand onto the mirror, forcing Sakura's arm to do the same. _**"Now THAT is rich Pinky. My will is too strong for you to stick me into some little hole, so you'd better get used to me or get ready to spend the rest of our life in a little hole pinky, cause I'm not going anywhere!"**_ Ayane told the Pinkette before fading from the mirror, an amused snicker following her even as she left. Looking at her hands worriedly, Sakura then exited the bathroom and looked around, figuring that Ino and Hinata were still asleep she wondered what Sasuke was doing and sighed upon seeing him standing next to Ravager's door…

'_What's she got that I don't?'_ Sakura inwardly demanded and Ayane snickered before piping in what she felt was the answer. _**"You mean besides Money, Power, an army at her beck and call, the capability to use swords, a body any super model would kill for, and Sasuke's attention? Well… she has a much better rack than you."**_ Ayane offered with a laugh at her expense and Sakura growled indignantly before crossing her arms and stomping off…

--

(Titans Tower…)

Raven opened her eyes and stretched out her limbs as she sat up in bed. "What the hell… where am I?" She suddenly wondered while rolling out of the bed and then rolled her arm in its socket. "Jeez, I feel like I just went one on one with Wrath." She noted and then looked at her reflection in a mirror. "Lets see, purple hair and eyes, check, grey skin, check, female, check…" She listed while looking at herself then stopped and noticed her that her hair was a little longer, probably meaning she needed a trim, and that her finger and toe nails were longer, looked more like claws, and seemed to be black.

"Who the hell painted my nails? Has Happy been getting extra frisky again or what?" Raven wondered with a frown before stopping when she saw a blue cloak laying on the nightstand and her eyes widened. "Oh shit… I'm… free?" She asked then picked up the cloak and grinned as it started to turn green in her hands. "YES! Ha ha ha! Freedom baby! It tastes so sweet!" She then exclaimed before looking at her clothes and frowned before holding out a hand. Concentrating, Raven formed a ball of black energy before three items fell into her hand and she smirked.

"Seeing as I'm in charge now, I think a little armor would be much better to being completely defenseless and weak. Also better figure out a way to get this body into shape, I swear, I know controlling Rage is important but she could at LEAST work out a little!" She muttered while pulling on a pair of leather fingerless gloves that were attached to segmented leather armor that reached over her forearms, then pulled on similar armor on around her waist before nodding her head.

Reaching over she then pulled on her belt and cloak before pulling on her boots, grinning, as they turned green as they came into contact with her body. Hopping up, the confident girl then made her way out of the room and out to Ops. Passing by a shocked BB who gaped upon recognizing the girl, she walked into Ops and turned to the kitchen. Bobbing her head while humming a tune, the girl then looked over to the side as a very groggy Cyborg entered the room.

"Time for breakfast, hey Cy, could you make some waffles?" Raven asked with a cocky smirk across her lips and the Titanium Teen blinked before turning and gaped when he saw the familiar green cloak.

"Oh shit, this can't be good." Cy said remembering THIS particular version of Raven from a trip into her mind.

"Hey Cy, yo, earth to Cy." Raven called out while looking at the metal man and he shook his head.

"Uh, yeah, what'd you need again?" Cy questioned and Raven grinned once more.

"I'm in the mood for waffles!" She replied and Cy blinked before grinning and making his way to the kitchen.

"You got it, Rae!" He said while Raven bobbed her head while humming a tune again. _'So somehow Raven's bravery and confidence is loose… I wonder what that means… I should probably scan that green shit for anything…'_ Cy thought to himself, but decided that breakfast should come before he did that while getting the waffle iron out. Meanwhile, BB just stared from his seat at Raven as she bobbed her head; Nightwing then entered the room while nursing a pounding head and stopped when he saw a green cloaked Raven humming…

"She seems awfully happy…" He noted and Raven grinned.

"Yep! I'm free and all is right with the world! Hoo-ah!" Raven said while pumping a fist and Nightwing stared at the girl before turning to Cy.

"Uh, Cyborg, we need to talk." Night said while walking over to the metal teen, then turned to look at Raven as she continued humming to herself. Turning back to the metal teen as he worked on making waffles, Night gave him a look. "What the hell is going on with Raven?" Night asked quietly and Cy leaned towards him while keeping his robotic eye on the waffle mix.

"This is one of her personalities me and BB told you guys about. THAT is all her bravery, confidence, and fighting spirit rolled into one being." Cyborg replied and Night felt his eyes widen before frowning as he took a moment to look at the girl. He noticed her elongated fingernails first, then the strange leather armor she was wearing and turned back to Cyborg.

"I thought they were supposed to be identical to Raven. But this one has armor and long claws." Night said and Cyborg nodded his head casually while also pouring the waffle mix into the iron.

"I know, and that's not normal, I think that green shit from last night did something to her… it might've unbalanced her mind enough to give her other emotions temporary control of her body. Or, possibly permanent control, I need to do a scan on some of that stuff to figure out what's going on with her." Cyborg explained and Nightwing nodded while Cy flipped the first waffle onto a plate and started his work on the next one.

"Good morning friends! Is it not a most joyous day!" Starfire commented as she entered the room with her arms outstretched and "Brave" quickly turned to her with a wide grin on her face. Meanwhile BB continued to stare at the green cloaked Raven, still too shocked to say anything about it.

"Got that right Star!" Brave said while throwing an arm up and Starfire stopped, then looked at the Green Raven with a blink.

"Friend Raven… are you feeling alright?" She asked and Brave grinned while giving her a look.

"Of course I'm alright, the sky is blue, the sun is shining, and I feel like kicking some bad guy butt!" Brave said, causing Starfire to stare at her with wide eyes while Nightwing turned back to Cy with a blank expression.

"We've got to fix this and fast." Night stated and Cy had to agree with him on that while he finished with Raven's plate.

"Here you go Rae, dig in." Cy offered while sliding some waffles over to Brave, the green cloaked Raven catching it and digging in with gusto. Flying over to Cyborg and Nightwing, Starfire continued to look at Raven for a moment before turning back to the two boys.

"Friends, many things about Friend Raven still confound and confuse me, but I believe that this is definitely not normal." Starfire stated and Nightwing looked to Cyborg, both nodding their heads in agreement with the girl's analysis.

"Man, what a night, and we lost those Ninja creeps to boot…" Kid-Flash mumbled as he walked into Ops with Donna, the Amazon nodding her head.

"I just hope Raven's boyfriend is alright, he was pretty badly injured after all." Donna noted and Brave suddenly finished her waffles and slammed her plate into the counter with wide eyes. _'SHIT! Naruto! You stupid bitch! How do you forget about your man so easily?!'_ Brave demanded of herself before blinking as the alarm went off, then quickly made her way over to a computer. _'Alright, I'll kick one… maybe two bad guys asses… then come back to make sure Naruto's fine, three bad guys tops.'_ Raven's Confidence said to herself before grinning as the information came up on the computer.

"Mumbo Jumbo! Ha, this will take all of five seconds." Raven said to herself before snapping her fingers and vanishing in a burst of black energy. Looking to one another, the Titans waited all of a second before rushing out of Ops to make their way to the scene, hopefully before Brave went overboard…

--

(Jump-City…)

Brave appeared in front of the bank Mumbo was robbing and pulled her hood up with a grin. Walking into the bank she walked inside and then watched as Mumbo-Jumbo made money float into his hat… _'Hasn't he done this trick before?'_ Brave noted while mentally thinking that Mumbo needed to get some new material. _'Oh wow! Good one!'_ A bubbly version of her voice said with a laugh and Brave blinked for a moment while looking around, wondering why she was hearing her sister's voice.

"Weird…" She mumbled before shrugging her shoulders as she confidently marched into the bank, smirking despite herself. "Hey blue boy!" Brave shouted at the villain and the blue magician turned to her and grinned.

"Ah so it's the little birdie girl, where are the other Titans? Or did you come to see a real magician at work?" Mumbo questioned with a grin and Brave cocked her hip to one side and gave the blue man a look.

"First of all, I don't need the other's to take you down. Second, if you don't give up in the next three seconds, I'll be forced to resort to more… violent measures." Brave replied with a smirk and Mumbo raised a brow before grinning.

"So the little Raven is flying Solo today! Well you're too late to stop me! Mumbo-Jumbo!" The blue magician called out while waving his magic wand towards Brave, a boxing glove popping out of the ground and heading for her. Grinning, Brave jumped into the air and placed a hand onto the glove before flipping off of it in an amazing display of acrobatic ability before landing in a crouch.

"Ha! This'll be even easier than I thought…" Brave said to herself while standing back up and brushing off her arms. Seeing this, Mumbo looked at the girl in shock, wondering when she got so… athletic, then took the time to notice her change in colored cloak and claws and thus blinked.

"There's something different about you…" He noted and Raven grinned before crouching back and lunging forward kicking, Mumbo in the nose and knocking him away. The mad-magician threw his hands into the air when the kick connected, sending his wand flying as he skidded along the ground comically before slamming into a wall face first. Catching his wand with one hand Brave gave him a very amused look before snapping it like a toothpick. Gaping as he returned to the form of a normal man, Mumbo looked at Raven in shock while all his spells were instantly cancelled.

"B-but… you I mean how did… where did… what?" Mumbo mumbled to himself in shock and Brave cocked her hip to the side with a smirk across her lips.

"Wow, looks like all your missing is why and when." She said mockingly before cracking her knuckles as she made her way over to the villain.

"H-hey now! You've already snapped my wand no need to get violent anymore!" Mumbo insisted and Brave merely grinned while grabbing his shirt and lifted him off the ground with one arm. Gulping audibly, Mumbo looked at the green-cloaked girl with a small amount of fear before both she and her cloak were lifted her up by Cyborg.

"Sorry to do this Rae but you seriously need to chill." Cy stated before wrapping his arms around Brave to hold her down. However, he then briefly saw both her eyes and her cloak turn blood red only for Brave to shake her head and look panicked.

"Let go of me!" Brave shouted loudly while struggling in Cyborg's grip. "Dammit! You have three seconds to let me go!" Brave growled out before twitching as she huffed. "One… Two… Three!" Brave exclaimed before elbowing Cyborg in the side, causing him to grimace while backing up slowly, then looked at her with wide eyes.

"When the hell did you get so strong?" Cyborg demanded and Brave grit her teeth while continuing to struggle in his grasp. "C'mon now I said chill already, we're not going to hurt you, we only want to…" Cyborg tried to say before Brave slammed the back of her head into his nose causing him to lurch back, her sheer strength surprising him as she pried his arms away from her body.

"No you don't understand! You shouldn't touch me! She'll get mad if you touch me!" Brave started saying before bringing her legs up and then kicked into Cyborg's stomach, knocking him away with the same surprising strength before flipping in the air and landing in a crouch.

"Cyborg!" Night said in shock while he and Starfire moved to help their friend up, Brave looking around worriedly.

"Friend Cyborg, are you undamaged?" Starfire asked worriedly while Cy grunted and placed a hand over his stomach.

"Now why does she have to hate on me like that…" He muttered to himself with a frown while Brave slowly backed away.

"Cyborg… I… I'm sorry I was just… you shouldn't have…" Brave started to say before quickly bolting, leaving the Titans in the bank with Mumbo while she ran away.

"Beast-Boy, wait here for the police to take Mumbo in to jail. Donna, Bart you two should follow and keep an eye on Raven. Cy do you think you…" Night ordered before turning to Cy while Donna and Kid-Flash went after the girl, Cy giving Nightwing a look as his response.

"Find Rae, I'm heading back to the tower to check on that green shit that got on her. If I find out anything I'll be sure to call you." Cyborg stated and Nightwing nodded his head before looking to Star.

"C'mon, lets go find Raven before she hurts someone." Night stated and both teens nodded before following him as they exited the Bank and went after Raven.

"Dude, why am I always left watching the bad guy?" BB wondered and Cy rolled his eyes before patting the teen on his shoulder.

"Take it this way BB, Rob trusts you with making sure Mumbo and the other villains don't get away again." Cy offered the younger teen and BB blinked before grinning up at the titanium teen.

"Dude, do you really think so?" He asked and Cy nodded his head before patting BB on the shoulder. While no one said it, BB was dependable, he didn't have the raw strength of him or Star, the sheer power of Raven, or even the brilliance and tactical genius of Robin, but BB never let his friends down.

"I know so BB." Cy offered before frowning as he made his way out of the bank and walking over to the T-Car and got in. _'Don't worry Rae, whatever's going on, we've all got your back.'_ Cy thought to himself while he put the peddle to the metal and went WELL over the speed limit…

--

(??)

Naruto groaned lightly, then grimaced when he felt something hit his face. A dripping sound then caught the Blond Nin's attention before he looked all around and felt his eyes widen. He was now laying in the corridors of his mindscape, only something weird had happened, reddish black tendrils were covering all the walls, and even the bars to Kyuubi's cage. **"Hello Gaki… I'd like you to meet a new… tenant of yours. He just moved in recently, but he's just dieing to meet you."** Kyuubi said with a chuckle, Naruto looking at him strangely only to yelp as a tendril of the red stuff suddenly shot from the walls and wrapped around his legs.

Looking down towards it, Naruto cried out upon seeing a beast of some kind with a pumpkin grin and white bones shaped like a skull for a mask, its flesh reptilian in nature and black as onyx with tufts of reddish fur scattered over its visible body, its long almost rabbit like ears reaching off the back of its head while its dangerous orange eyes with + shaped pupils loomed in the darkness of its mask. Gritting his teeth, Naruto twisted around and started clawing at the ground, trying desperately to pull himself away from the monster behind him.

Giving out a low, screeching roar, the beast reached out with a pair of massive claws that easily wrapped around Naruto's entire lower legs. Crying out, Naruto grabbed the edge of the entrance to the Kyuubi's cell. Looking at it he saw it grin darkly as he started to loose his grip, the beast behind him narrowing its eyes while four furry tails came out of the darkness and wrapped around his arms and neck, pulling him into the darkness with a scream while the Kyuubi started to laugh while pumping its Chakra towards the beast in the shadows with an evil grin…

In the real world, Naruto eyes suddenly opened, however they were no longer blue. Now they were a dark orange color with a horizontal slit like a toad being pierced by a thin vertical slit, red markings at the sides of his eyes. Growling low in his throat, the blond opened his mouth to reveal fanged teeth while claws grew from his fingers and a screeching roar tore its way from his throat as the rest of his body suddenly began to change as well…

--

(With the Titans…)

Brave ran down an alley before sliding to a halt when she felt that she'd finally ditched the others. "Shit… shit… shit! What's going on I just felt Rage! I don't do Rage, so was she getting out or what?" Brave wondered to herself before grimacing and leaning into a nearby wall, a hand on her head. Hearing someone behind her, Brave looked at Kid-Flash and Donna with a slight frown. "G-Get away… I'm not safe…" Brave mumbled before groaning once more as she felt a migraine start to come on.

"Now look Raven, I know we don't know you that well, but you can't just expect us to leave you when something's wrong." Kid-Flash stated with Donna nodding at his side and Brave made a mental note to get Raven to be nicer to him and Donna in the future. Shaking her head however, as she realized these two probably wouldn't listen to reason, Brave decided to take a more direct approach to the matter… and given she was the best fighter and second strongest Emotion in Raven, it was clear to her what that was.

"Fine then if that's the way you bozos want it, HII-YA!" Brave said before jumping into a flying kick to Kid-Flashes face. Ducking down into a roll as Donna tried to grab her, Brave then twisted into a sweeping kick to knock her to her back. Hearing something, probably bola, heading her way, Brave then flipped over the weapon and turned to see Star and Night had caught up.

"Friend Raven, please stop this senseless fighting, we only wish to help!" Starfire insisted and Brave groaned as her cloak and eyes flashed red once more.

"N-no… you guys can't be around me… I'm not safe right now." Brave said mostly to herself before flipping back and making a break for it.

"Starfire, get her!" Night ordered and Starfire reluctantly flew towards Brave. Seeing the Tameranian girl, Brave mentally groaned before turning and running clear up a wall, flipped off of it and dropped her knee into Starfire's back… "Remind me to have her teach me that move…" Night said to Donna as she got up and the Amazon nodded her head with wide eyes. Meanwhile Kid-Flash got back up and then rushed towards Brave, seeing him coming, Brave couldn't help it as she held her cape to the side.

"Toro, toro!" She called and Kid-Flash slid to a halt and placed his hands on his hips while giving her a look.

"You didn't honestly think that'd work did you?" KF questioned and Brave looked thoughtful for a moment before moving her cape to show her fist and then socked him in the jaw.

"No, not really." She admitted while clapping off her fists and KF held his now throbbing jaw while Night looked to Donna.

"I had my turn." Donna commented while holding her hands up and Night grimaced, before then rushing passed KF and jumped into a flying kick. Seeing this, a grin spread over Brave's face as she evaded the attack and then lashed out with a quick punch. Dodging to the side, Nightwing grabbed her arm and tossed her to the side.

"Finally a real fight!" Brave commented while pushing herself up and flipping into a double kick, Night blocking them before kneeing her in the gut and wincing. _'I'll just apologize to Raven when she's back to normal… and I'm also going to see about having this emotion let out more, she's pretty tough…'_ Night thought to himself while evading several punches from Brave and then grabbed her arm and spun her around before leaning her into the wall. Nearby, Starfire help Kid-Flash back to his feet as they watched the fight between Raven and their leader finally end.

"Listen Raven, we're your friends, we're here to help so stop fighting already so we can help you!" Nightwing insisted and Brave groaned as she flashed red once more, her body posture dropping as if she was becoming exhausted.

"D-Dammit… I know… and that's why I'm trying to get away!" Brave shouted before using her legs to push back, then flip over Nightwing and kick him in the back, shoving him into the wall. Bracing himself against it before he would've hit, Night then turned as Brave swayed and placed a hand on her head. "Ugh… something's really wrong with me… I should…" She started to say before feeling her eyes roll up into her head as she fell to her knees.

"Raven!" Night called out to the girl, only for her to shoot up and her cloak to change colors. "Wha…" He started to question before the girl turned, making him blink, she still looked like Brave had, having the armor though minus the pink cloak, however now she was actually smiling…

"Hi guys!" She offered with a grin and then seemed fascinated by the light leather armor she was wearing. "Oh wow, Brave's armor! Cool she never lets me wear it or play with her stuff!" She said happily to herself and then frowned as she looked at her hands for a moment. "Hmm… too plain." She said mostly to herself before snapping her fingers, a pair of jeweled broaches attaching themselves to the backs of her hands like on her old gloves. "Much better!" She said happily while flexing her fingers, the smile not once leaving her lips.

"Friend-Raven… is that you?" Starfire asked the newcomer and the violet eyed girl gave her a look.

"Of course it is who else do you know that looks like this?" She quipped and Starfire blinked for a moment while Nightwing raised a brow.

"But why are you wearing pink?" He questioned with a gaping jaw and Raven took a mock thoughtful look for a moment.

"Cause it's my favorite color." She offered and the other titans looked at her strangely. "What, do I have something on my face or something?" Raven asked while looking at them with a confused stare and Kid-Flash shook his head.

"Um… are you okay now Raven, you're acting kind of funny… but then again at least you're not attacking us anymore." Kid-Flash questioned then mumbled to himself and the girl grinned, as she couldn't resist making a joke.

"Yeah well you look kind of funny in yellow tights so I guess we're even." She said before laughing to herself and walked off while holding her ribs as she continued to laugh to herself. Gaping for a moment, Kid-Flash looked to Nightwing and Starfire, both of whom looked just as, if not more, confused than he was.

"I don't know and I don't want to know." Nightwing mumbled mostly to himself before running after the now pink-cloaked girl. Racing out of the alley, they spotted Raven now happily smelling flowers and sighing in content. "The last one was bravery… this one must be… joy." Nightwing suddenly realized and Kid-Flash inwardly named the new-Raven Joy.

"Oh my… so this is the most pleasant and positive aspects of Friend-Raven?" Starfire questioned and the other's mutely nodded their heads while watching Jow now happily skip away without a care in the world. "Please… if Friend-Raven has so much positive energy, why does she not ever show it?" Starfire wondered and Nightwing gave her a look making her make an Oh with her mouth as she remembered Raven's powers.

"C'mon, we better catch up with Happy-Raven before she accidentally blows something up." Night stated, instantly getting agreements from the others as they ran after Joy. Turning a corner they saw Joy looking into a pet store with her hands clasped together.

"Aw, the puppies are soo cute!" Joy said to herself and Starfire blinked for a moment before looking to Nightwing.

"Friend-Robin, may we please keep the positive Raven. She is most agreeable yes?" Starfire asked her friend and Nightwing gave her an incredulous look while Beast-Boy flew down towards Joy.

"Happy! Oh man wow, you got out to?" Beast-Boy questioned while changing back to normal and the overly cheerful girl turned to him and grinned.

"Huh, oh hey BB, long time no see." She offered and Beast-Boy nodded his head before frowning.

"Say, what happened to miss Commando Green? I thought she was the one who got loose?" BB questioned and Joy laughed to herself at the slight joke about her "sister" emotion Brave.

"Really? Don't know where she went BB. I just suddenly found myself here, kind of nice really, and the puppies are just so cute!" Joy said while turning back to look at the puppies and BB nodded his head before walking over to Night and the others.

"Hey-guys, what happened?" Beast-Boy questioned and Nightwing sighed while rubbing his temples… it looked like it was going to be one of those days.

"Well, we caught up with Brave but she kept insisting she wasn't safe or something before she was replaced by Joy over there." Nightwing explained and BB nodded his head for a moment.

"Joy huh, me and Cy always just called her "Happy" not Joy." BB noted and Joy placed an arm over his shoulders with a smirk.

"Well Joy is an actual name so I like it better." She noted and BB yelped while looking at her in surprise.

"Dude! Where'd you come from?" He demanded and Joy smirked.

"Blame my parents." She offered and BB blinked before laughing to himself.

"Dude, good one!" He told the pink-cloaked girl with a smile and Starfire looked to Nightwing once more.

"Even Friend-Beast-Boy gets along with the Positive Raven, may we please keep her for a little while longer Friend-Nightwing, I wish to see if she'd like to visit the mall of Shopping now that she is without restraint." Starfire pleaded and Joy blinked before a grin spread over her face.

"The mall? Sounds cool!" She said and Starfire looked to Nightwing pleadingly while BB frowned.

"Hey! Whoa, slow down now Star. I know Raven can be grumpy, mean, sarcastic, and moody. But she's still are friend, and we have to get her back to normal." BB stated and Starfire looked sheepish for a moment while rubbing the back of her neck.

"Yes, I know, but it is just that she is normally unable to be partaking in any of the fun, yet this one seems like she enjoys it quite well. I was only wondering if perhaps we could keep her around for a little while longer so that we may allow her to express herself as the Brave one did… it may even help friend Raven in some way." Starfire explained and BB gave her a look, Nightwing mirroring it and she grinned sheepishly. "And I must admit… thoughts of being able to spend the 'girl time' with friend Raven were most pleasant…" She offered nervously and Kid-Flash cleared his throat.

"Not that this discussion isn't really fascinating guys… but you might want to know… she's gone." Kid-Flash commented then said while the others looked around for Joy and then groaned.

"Great, now where did she go?" Donna wondered and Nightwing thought for a moment before smirking.

"The mall. She said it'd be cool right? And this Raven is all about having fun." Night reminded and Starfire grinned before flying off towards the mall, the others following after the Alien Princess as she left…

--

(Ravager's HQ…)

Sakura was not having a good day; first of all, her left eye had turned the same dark-forest green as Ayane's, she'd lost control of her right foot for a while, though Ayane had stopped tripping her a while ago. However, the mere fact this was happening was more than just a little troubling to her. At the moment the girl was sitting back, leaning into a wall away from everyone else as she tried to figure out what was going on. Looking into a miniature mirror she had with her she then saw a streak of fuchsia hair falling down at the side of her head…

"Oh c'mon! What is going on here?!" She demanded while her form in the mirror then turned into a very amused Ayane's.

"Like I said, I don't know but I like it!" Sakura spoke aloud with Ayane's voice and both her and Ayane stared at one another for a moment. "Wait, I can talk through you now? Shannaro! Finally! I will be heard!" She said with a grin and Sakura nearly wept as she leaned her head back into the wall behind her.

"Why Kami-Sama, why me? I've never done anything bad enough to deserve this have I?" Sakura wondered of the heavens and Ayane decided to give her two-cents once more, clearly enjoying her newfound freedom.

"Maybe it's because you cheated on Naruto for Sauske…" She offered casually with an amused smirk and Sakura growled in her throat.

"Shut up!" She shouted at Ayane, then heard the other girl snicker in her mind and palmed her face.

Elsewhere, Ravager was sitting in her usual seat, dressed in her normal "Uniform" and frowning towards her screen. She was currently analyzing the green ooze that had been on Sasuke's clothes and frowned to herself. Looking over the strange substance she frowned as she realized just what it was. _'A mutagen… but what kind…'_ She wondered to herself before doing a search for anything on the strange substance she could find.

"Nothing…" She mumbled and frowned to herself. That meant one of two things, either the stuff was VERY illegal, or someone didn't want anyone knowing they had made it. Hitting a few keys, Ravager gave an order to several of her Commandos to search the warehouse from earlier and try to find some clue to what was going on. As she did that she also continued looking over the green mutagen, wondering what kind of affect it was going to have on those exposed to it…

'_I could probably check on Sasuke, something should have happened by now… but Sakura was also exposed to it, by him of course…_ Ravager noted and then shook her head, checking those two wouldn't be prudent given that the Ninja liked to be secretive. Raven however was much easier to spy on, plus it gave her the added bonus of not having to talk to the Shinobi since they really annoyed her…

Elsewhere Sasuke threw up into the toilet of the bathroom and groaned as his finger and toenails lengthened. "What's going on with me?" Sasuke wondered while pushing himself to his feet and walked over to the sink. Looking at his face he shook his head while seeing a familiar blue mark on the bridge of his nose shaped like a three-pointed star… and his Sharingan Eyes were active, only the sclera around them had turned black.

"This can't be… my curse-seal, but it was sealed away with Orochimaru." He whispered before looking back to his newfound claws and a grin slowly spread across his lips. "Or maybe… this is just something else…" He whispered while clenching a fist with a grin…

--

(Jump-City…)

Nightwing and the others ran into the mall looking for Joy, only for BB to blink when he saw Raven, now wearing orange, and blowing her nose on her cloak. Picking her ear afterwards, the girl looked around lazily before making her way towards the food-court. "Dude… she changed color again…" BB said, stating the obvious, and Night palmed his face before sighing heavily.

"Lets just go get her." The teen grumbled while making his way over to the food court, where the orange-cloaked Raven was now eating a hamburger. "For some reason, this one is acting like her normal self…" Night noted then watched as she wiped her mouth off on her sleeve and let out a belch. "Mostly…" He then added as an afterthought while BB snickered to himself. Sighing, Starfire then flew over to the new Raven and picked her up, causing her to twitch.

"Put, me, down." She ordered in a familiar low monotone.

"Friend Raven?" Starfire then asked while throwing the girl up and caught her by her biceps. "Is that really you?" She asked and the orange-cloaked girl merely quirked up an eyebrow with a frown.

"No, I'm an evil doppelganger here to discredit Raven as a hero…" She replied sarcastically and Starfire blinked, the orange-cloaked girl sighing. "Yes, I'm Raven." She then stated and Starfire squealed happily before hugging the orange cloaked girl tightly, making her grimace.

"Oh my friend I am so mirthful to see you undamaged!" Starfire exclaimed before releasing the hug, still holding the now obviously annoyed girl up. "We have been finding many of your other personalities so much today, we were beginning to worry that you were lost to us forever!" Starfire said and "Raven" twitched, and then held up a finger and Starfire looked up. Smirking, "Raven" then hacked up a loogey and spit it in the air, the said loogey hitting Starfire in the face. Yelping and releasing the girl, Raven fell down and stopped herself above the ground before placing her feet onto the floor.

Yawning, she then walked off, Nightwing moving to stand in front of her and block her path. "Care to move out of the way buddy? I'd really rather not be here right now…" She asked then stated with a frown and Nightwing frowned, she sounded like Raven, but she didn't ACT like Raven… well, not completely like Raven at least.

"Your not Raven." He stated and the girl sighed before rolling her eyes.

"Actually, I technically am. A part of her at least." She said with a shrug and then belched once more before scratching her shoulder. Frowning at the orange-cloaked girl, Starfire hovered beside of Nightwing with a frown.

"What you did was most rude." She stated while pointing a finger at the girl and the orange-Cloaked girl shook her head.

"Not my problem…" She stated and walked to the side, then sighed seeing BB in front of her. "Out of the way Grass-Stain." She ordered and BB shook his head, looking around for some way to get him out of the way, she then placed her finger into her mouth, getting it wet and then grabbed Kid-Flash by his collar before sticking it into his ear. The boy made a face and shivered as she did, BB snorting before placing his hands over his mouth. Snickering for a moment as Kid-Flashes look, BB then burst into laughter and Raven walked passed him while the others gaped at the girl.

"Dude, good one!" BB called out and Kid-Flash twitched before shuddering.

"Talk about miss rude with attitude." He commented and Raven turned with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Hey, who you calling rude, chicken head." She demanded and then turned on her heel, not waiting for an answer, and made her way to the door.

"Excuse me Rich, but why hasn't she been using her powers?" Donna suddenly asked and Nightwing frowned while noticing the exact same thing. "I mean, she'll fly, she'll teleport, but only in moderation, it's almost like she just wants to walk around Jump-City." Donna then said while Starfire took a thoughtful look before an idea popped into her head.

"Perhaps Friend-Raven's emotions are unable to use her powers… she does have to cut them off from herself for much of the time." Starfire reminded and BB slowly got up with a grin, obviously amused.

"Dude, who knows, and more importantly, who cares. Just so long as that Really Nasty Red-Raven doesn't get out the other's shouldn't be so hard to deal with." BB insisted and Nightwing frowned while giving the youth a look.

"You shouldn't have said that…" He told the younger boy before making his way out of the mall to follow the orange-Raven, while also hoping she hadn't gone too far…

--

(Tartarus HQ…)

Jinx paced the floor of Tartarus HQ, a worried look across her face while the others did their usual things. Most of them were in other parts of the building, Jinx being the only one who was even in Ops at the moment. Frowning, Jinx wondered for what felt like the millionth time where Tempest and Dani were. Out of a door, Dani suddenly walked with a yawn before yelping as Jinx pounced on her. "Dani, thank god, do you have any idea how worried I was about you?" Jinx demanded and Dani managed a sheepish grin while Jinx looked around then narrowed her eyes. "Where's Temp?!" Jinx then demanded and Dani sighed while wishing she'd gotten more sleep.

"He's at Titans Tower… he got pretty banged up by those Ninja that are chasing him…" Dani replied with a light groan and then rubbed her temples. "Now can you get off me, I've got bruises in places I shouldn't HAVE bruises thanks to all those Robots from last night…" Dani grumbled while Jinx growled and then grabbed Dani's shirt by her the collar.

"Why didn't you tell us that sooner!?" She demanded of the young teen and Dani gave the older girl a look.

"What part of bruises in places I shouldn't have bruises don't you comprehend? Plus, I was tired and needed a good nights sleep…" Dani admitted before yawning into one of her hands and Jinx twitched.

"Dammit Dani! This is serious!" Jinx shouted while standing up and picked up the girl with her, then put her on a stool and walked over to an intercom. Slamming her hand into it with a deep frown on her face, Jinx took a few calming breaths before speaking. "Alright listen up! All right Tartarus listen up, I want everyone to form in at Ops. We've got a batch of Shinobi we need to hunt down." Jinx stated with a deep frown across her face and then took her hand from the intercom as she leaned into the wall, waiting for the others…

--

(??)

Trigon laughed to himself as he looked down upon the happenings of the world. The ancient Demon then turned his eyes as Kyuubi's own eyes opened up nearby soon after his chuckle. **"So Kyuubi, how does it feel to watch as your host's own inner demons devour him?"** Trigon questioned and Kyuubi chuckled to himself before looking to where Trigon had been watching Raven.

"**Not half as amusing as watching your Daughter be taken apart piece by piece by her own."** Kyuubi replied while watching as Rage, a red cloaked Raven, absorbed the orange-cloaked Raven inside of their shared mindscape, while a grey-cloaked one took control of Raven's body…

"**Yes. My daughter's mental state does make her own transformation most amusing to watch."** Trigon agreed while looking on in obvious amusement at the happenings of the mortal world. **"Such foolish creatures, they have no idea what it is they are soon to face. My daughter's demonic heritage, and the Uzumaki boys own suppressed Inner Demons."** Trigon noted and Kyuubi grinned while nodding his head in agreement with Trigon.

"**And even if they do realize what is happening, it will already be too late."** Kyuubi noted and Trigon nodded his head, watching on with great amusement, as he knew that no one besides he and Kyuubi truly knew what was happening to the two…

--

TBC…

--


	41. Inner Demons Pt4

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

**Chapter 40**: **Inner Demons Pt. 4**…

--

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

--

(??)

Naruto groaned, then opened one eye and grunted when he saw he was still in the sewer like realm of his mindscape, Kyuubi's massive form grinning down at him. **"You look so pathetic right now, Ningen."** Kyuubi noted and Naruto glared at the creature before looking to his arms. Each of his limbs were being held aloft by reddish black tendrils of Darkness, as was the rest of his torso, pulling on them, the blond grunted and then relaxed when he noted their strength.

"What the hell is this?" Naruto grumbled out and the Kyuubi chuckled darkly, his Chakra spreading out in waves all over the mindscape.

"**The things you deny as part of yourself, made manifest by your current… condition."** Kyuubi replied and Naruto looked up at the beast as it grinned down at him.

"Condition?" Naruto questioned and Kyuubi nodded its head with a chuckle.

"**That green ooze that covered you, it destabilized your very DNA… unfortunately causing your mind to start to unravel as well. It would have driven you into a berserker Rage, however, in my own infinite generosity Ningen, I've started to use my power to keep you from fully being destabilized into nothingness."** Kyuubi explained and Naruto frowned, and then wondered how its Chakra was accomplishing a task like that. **"Holding your body and mind together? That is actually not so easy… it's taking a toll on both of us."** Kyuubi stated and Naruto blinked before looking at the beast with wide eyes.

"You… can read my thoughts now?" Naruto questioned and the Kyuubi chuckled.

"**I'm holding all that you are together… of course I can. I'd be more surprised if I couldn't Gaki."** Kyuubi replied and then looked around as the ooze shifted slightly and Naruto groaned.

"Well… if you know so much about this… tell me how to get out of it already." Naruto growled out and Kyuubi scoffed.

"**If it were that easy I would've done something myself. While it is greatly amusing seeing you eaten alive, I am not so confident that either of us would survive the destabilization… all either of us can do is keep your mind and body stable long enough for someone out there to fix this little problem! And as for that darkness currently coating you, all I know is your human analogies like, don't allow your Inner-Demons to control you."** Kyuubi then stated while a slimy clawed hand reached out of the shadows and pushed down on Naruto's head.

"_**We will not be so easily destroyed Great-One, we are the Darkness he has hidden for so long. We will not be imprisoned any longer."**_ A hissing distorted voice commented while a familiar pair of orange eyes loomed behind Naruto.

"What's with the "we" and since when can you talk?" Naruto demanded while his Demon pushed down on his head and then leaned towards his ear.

"_**We speak because this is our mind, here we are not limited by simple earthly limitations. Do you see only one of us? There are more… This One and Other One are two… we are We not I. Though This One is the pieces and traits of Other One that Other One rejects."**_ The Demon responded while moving from Naruto's head and Kyuubi sighed.

"**Gaki it's referring to you and it as one person when it speaks. And given that it IS a part of you that's a fairly accurate description."** Kyuubi offered and Naruto grunted, then looked up to glare at Kyuubi.

"I kind of figured that when he explained it…" Naruto growled out and the Inner-Demon pushed his head down once more.

"_**We think that Other One should not insult the Great One. He is all that is keeping us whole, we owe him much for that."**_ The Inner-Demon commented and Kyuubi couldn't help a smug grin.

"**At least SOMEONE around here knows how to respect his betters."** Kyuubi noted and Naruto twitched while trying to yank his arm free.

"Piss off Fox!" Naruto shouted and the Inner-Demon laughed before releasing his head as it backed off into the Darkness behind him.

"_**We shall leave Other One and Great One to deal with one another… This One must seek a way to take control of this body for ourselves."**_ The Inner-Demon stated while Kyuubi watched as it left and then frowned.

"What the hell did it mean by that?" Naruto demanded and Kyuubi rolled his eyes for a moment.

"**Think Gaki, that was the living embodiment of everything you deny about yourself. All the anger, hate, and pain you've ever denied given form. It's half of who you are; it can't control this body because you each share the same will so it's trying to find a way around it. Though it is a futile effort."** Kyuubi replied then muttered under his breath and Naruto blinked before grimacing.

"Shit… since when is my mind so fucked up?" Naruto wondered to himself and the ancient demon rolled his eyes.

"**Do you think this place being a sewer is NORMAL? You hold in many things about yourself; usually your more aggressive traits and they build within you. This creature for instance, is a manifestation of all your anger and pain, things you haven't allowed yourself to work through or accept about yourself. Your mind has always been a wreck because of it, thus, reflects how you "Hold In" those emotions by appearing as a sewer."** Kyuubi explained to the blond and Naruto blinked before giving the creature a look.

"What?" He asked and Kyuubi grumbled in his throat.

"**Plainly put for an idiot like you Ningen. That creature is made up of your darker, nastier, more sinister traits. Traits you don't accept about yourself. While this is true, it is still a part of you, thus, your will's are conjoined and neither of you can control your body outside of this place."** Kyuubi explained once more, wishing that the Ningen knew more about how the mind worked.

"Alright, if I'm not controlling my body, and it's not controlling my body, who is? You?" Naruto asked the beast and the Kyuubi snorted.

"**No. Your body is currently running on what you would call "Auto-Pilot". So basically, your instincts are driving it at the moment, so, if it gets hungry, it will search for food, if it feels threatened, it will attack. Got it."** The ancient demon explained and Naruto rolled his eyes before nodding his head.

"Okay, that explains a few things I guess… though I wish you knew how to get me down from here…" Naruto grumbled while hanging in the air and the Kyuubi snorted while grinning towards the Human.

"**That's easy, trick the Demon into letting you down, how, I don't care, just stop bothering me while I'm trying to keep you in one piece… though, I must wonder how dear Sasuke is fairing with his own transformation… without something like me to stave off his destabilization I imagine it may empower him but it will also wear his body and mind down until he dies from it."** Kyuubi mused to himself with an evil chuckle and Naruto blinked.

"Wait, what do you mean by that?" Naruto questioned and the Kyuubi rolled his eyes once more.

"**I told you, that green Ooze destabilized your DNA, well, whoever else was covered with it will be in the same boat as you. And without a Healing Factor like you, or an antidote, they'll slowly fall to madness, then shortly after that, death."** Kyuubi replied and Naruto's eyes widened in shock.

"Damn… what a seriously nasty way to go…" Naruto mumbled before his eyes snapped open. "Kara-Chan! Shit she was covered in that crap as well! I've gotta save her!" Naruto said mostly to himself while renewing his struggles with the Darkness covering him.

"**Relax Ningen, your precious little Hanyou will be fine. Her own healing factor should keep her safe like I do for you."** Kyuubi replied and Naruto breathed out a sigh of relief, visibly relaxing at that news.

"Oh thank Kami-sama she'll be safe…" He mumbled, either not noticing what Kyuubi called Raven, or not caring about it. _**'Well… that depends on what your definition of "Safe" is Gaki…'**_ Kyuubi thought with a mental laugh while closing its eyes as it got back to work while Naruto contemplated a way to have his Inner-Demon let him down…

--

(Titans-Tower…)

Cyborg pushed open the doors to the Tower and sighed while walking inside. "Man, its just one thing after the other with this town…" He said to himself while rubbing his face and then walked to the elevator. Hitting the call button, Cyborg walked into it and then hit the button for the floor of the Infirmary. Leaning into the side of the elevator, Cy made a mental list of the many things the green stuff could be, none of it was good and he was leaning towards mutagen if not some kind of evil virus.

"Then again, I don't think that many chemicals affect the mind like what's going on with Rae…" Cy said to himself while the Elevator stopped on his floor and the doors opened. Cy was silent as he looked out into the hall and then held up a hand as it turned into his Sonic-Cannon. The outside was completely dark, but it looked like a monster had ripped its way through the entire hall, claw marks and large dents in the walls, sparking wires hanging from the ceiling, mini-turrets he'd set up had been clearly ripped apart or bitten in half…

"Oh man, this is really starten to look a lot like an ol monster movie BB would watch." Cy said to himself and then blinked for a moment as he realized he would either be the military muscle sent in to deal with the problem and was mauled, or the scientist who died a very clichéd, quick death… "I'm hoping I'm neither." Cy said to himself as he walked out of the elevator, his metal feet crunching the plastic that had been ripped out of some of the walls.

"Okay, I have two plausible explanations for this… either Raven's "Fear" personality got loose and Wikcked Scary is back… or, Naruto's transformed into an evil vicious monster that wants to destroy me, and everything else in its path." Cy said to himself as he moved down the halls of the Tower, turning on his shoulder light to look into the infirmary as he reached it. It by far was worse than the outside with the beds torn apart and some of Naruto's clothes scattered around the room.

"Shit, well… looks like Nar's a monster… not much difference when compared to him being pissed though." Cy mused before making his way into the room and saw Naruto's orange spiral mask, green ooze still clinging too it. "Gotcha." He mumbled while walking over to the mask and used a few utensils to get a sample of the green ooze. Placing what he managed to scrape off into a small beaker, which he stuffed into a drawer on his chest, Cy then stood back up with a frown.

"Alright… now I just need to figure out a way to analyze this." Cy said to himself before turning and making his way out of the room, only to stop and freeze as he saw something's tail pass the door. Turning off his light, Cy then switched his cybernetic eye to night vision while moving out of the room. Looking down the hall he saw a large creature sniff around for a moment before slamming its fists into the door to the elevator. "Aw Shit…" He mumbled and one of the long ears on the creatures head quirked in his direction.

Mentally cursing, Cy turned tail and ran down the hall while the creature turned and narrowed its yellow eyes dangerously. Crouching down, the beast let out a screeching roar before lunging down the hall after Cy. Turning down the hall, Cy heard the call and quickly tried to think of an idea to buy him some time. "The basement… If I can get him in an elevator, I can drop it to the basement, that should buy me just enough time to get out of the tower!" Cy said to himself before yelping as a bolt of lightning came from behind him.

Turning his head, the Titanium teen saw the massive creature from before, lightning arching over its form. "Aw hell! It just had to be able to do something like that, didn't it!" Cy complained while ducking down another corner as the beast howled before giving chase. Turning down another corridor, Cy ducked into a room and quickly slammed the door shut behind him. Breathing a sigh of relief he then yelped and rolled forward as the beasts large claws started to rip through the doors.

"Shit!" Cy exclaimed and looked around, then grabbed the floor and ripped himself a hole before jumping to the floor below. Back in the room, the massive creature ripped the door out and then made its way into the room. Looking around for its prey, the creature then narrowed its eyes on the floor and sniffed at the hole. Hissing as a click echoed from its throat at the same time, the creature hopped down the hole, following after Cy…

--

(Jump-City…)

The rest of the Titans were not having much better luck when it came to finding Raven. It was almost as if she'd vanished until they finally saw the girl, now in grey, sitting on a bench in the park with an almost sullen look. "Raven!" Night called as they made their way over to her and all of them slid to a halt in front of her. Like a few of the other's, this one had added a cosmetic change to her outfit in the form of an extra broach on the front of her cloak, both of them holding her cloak to her leotard tightly. However her hair was also longer, now reaching shoulder length, and her eyes had thin slits…

"Uh, Timid is that you?" BB suddenly asked and the girl looked to him before nodding her head. Looking among the Titans for a moment, she then stopped on Starfire… and it begun…

"I'm sorry I spit in your face…" She said to the alien princess, her voice soft and quiet much like a certain Hyuuga Girl, and Starfire blinked.

"Oh, you are forgiven Friend-Raven." She said and Raven turned to Kid-Flash.

"I'm sorry I attacked you…" She said and KF rubbed the back of his neck.

"No prob." He offered while BB sighed and reached to the side to look at a newspaper with a shake of his head.

"I'm sorry I gave you a Wet Willy." She then added and KF looked to Night and the others and they shrugged.

"Eh, like I said it's no problem, you weren't yourself." He insisted while BB crumpled up and threw the newspaper away. Turning, the grey cloaked Raven then focused on Nightwing and he looked at her strangely.

"I'm sorry for the time I broke you coffee mug." She said meekly and Night looked to Star who shrugged, obviously confused.

"Uh… when was this?" He asked and "Timid" thought for a moment.

"When we moved into the tower…" She admitted and Night's eyebrow's shot up towards his hair line. "And Starfire, I'm sorry I called you annoying and loud. And I'm also sorry for always yelling at you, and for the…" Timid said, then went into a VERY long list of apologies, apologizing for even things she'd done YEARS ago… Nearby, BB sighed while happily watching the clouds and tuned Timid out, already having gone through this once in Raven's mindscape.

"… and I'm sorry for talking so much, and I'm sorry for always being so grumpy, and…" Timid tried to finish only for Donna to place a hand over her mouth.

"For the thousandth time Raven…" Night started to say and all four Titans then chorused as one, BB smirking as he watched on. "We forgive you!" They exclaimed as one and Timid blinked before poking her index fingers together shyly.

"Alright, now that that's over." BB then commented and got a glare from the others, mostly for not telling about this. "Do you know what's going on with you Timid? You've been switching personalities all day!" BB questioned of the girl and she took a thoughtful look before sighing.

"I don't know… I was just trying to keep out of the way of the others like usual when I suddenly wound up out here…" Timid admitted softly and BB sighed before looking to Night for orders.

"Alright, will you follow us without running off Timid?" Night asked and the grey-cloaked Raven meekly nodded her head. "Alright, then lets head back to the tower now before something else happens." Night commented and Timid slowly got up before following them as they made their way towards the Tower.

"Say, how come you were sitting alone in the park?" Donna asked while looking at Timid and she looked down while poking her index fingers together.

"I didn't want to get in anyone's way…" She replied, timidly as always and a frown crossed Nightwing's features.

"Your never in the way Raven, your our friend remember." Nightwing told the girl and she just continued to poke her fingers together while looking at the ground silently. Looking back at Timid for only a moment longer, Night then looked at Beast-Boy with a frown. "Beast-Boy, are their anymore emotions we should watch out for?" The older teen questioned and BB shrugged his shoulders disinterestedly.

"None that I know of dude, I only met Happy, Timid, and Brave when I was in Rae's mind." BB replied and Night groaned lightly, wondering what was going to happen next. No sooner did he wonder that than Timid stopped and looked around. Noticing she'd stopped the others turned to her and she sighed.

"Sorry…" She mumbled as her cloak flashed red before she fell to the ground.

"Friend-Raven!" Starfire exclaimed while flying over to the girl and sat her up. Groaning the girl sat up on her own power soon after, her cloak turning yellow as she did, though her boots turned black.

"Oh my, that was quite an interesting experience." She noted, her voice and tone different sounding almost bookish. Blinking open her violet eyes the girl then held a hand out to form a pair of glasses, which she then placed on the bridge of her nose. "Well now, all things considered this is looking like a very bad situation to be in." She noted while seeing the Titans around her and thus stood up before brushing herself off and checking her state of being for a moment.

"Obviously, Brave, Happy, Timid, and Sloth have been out and were dressing up our body in their favorite things…" The yellow-Raven noted while noticing the sleeves of her leotard had been removed and shook her head at the grease and filth on her cloak. "Positively dreadful, I swear, none of them know how to keep anything tidy." She mumbled before waving her hand, black energy flowing over her cloak for a moment before it was revealed to be in pristine condition once more. Nodding her head she then made her clothes just as pristine and smiled to herself.

"Ah, now that is much better." She said to herself with a nod of her head while the other Titans merely stared at her for a moment.

"Uh… Raven?" BB asked and the yellow-cloaked girl sighed.

"Of course. But I believe I should remind you that I'm an alternate emotion. Most of my sisters just call me "Intellect"." Intellect offered with a casual tone and Nightwing blinked before sighing in relief.

"Finally, now can YOU tell us what's happening to er… yourself?" Night asked the girl and she crossed her arms and thought about it for a moment.

"What's happening to me… hmm… well, all even I know is that Rage was on the loose, Raven decided to try and seal her up again while we were still sleeping, and we haven't seen hide nor hair of her ever since." Intellect replied before frowning as she looked towards the Tower. "Now then, given the nature of this development and its correspondence with our unfortunate encounter with those Shinobi fellows, I believe that the green substance that covered us may have had some form of adverse effect on us." Intellect then mused aloud while walking towards the Tower, BB scratching his head as he and the others followed her.

"Dudette, please speak English, your making my brain hurt!" Beast-Boy told the girl and Intellect sighed before turning around and giving him a look for a moment, as if to tell him he was an idiot.

"Plainly put Beast-Boy. Our condition only started when that Green Ooze covered us, and it cannot be merely a coincidence since this has never happened to us before. Thereby, the green ooze has something to do with our continued ailment." Intellect explained and Nightwing blinked for a moment.

"Not bad, I always knew Raven was smarter than she let on." Night noted with a smirk and Intellect nodded her head before crossing her arms with a proud smile.

"Yes. I had a feeling you would have easily deduced my intelligence was used for more than just witty remarks and sarcasm." Intellect mused aloud while still smiling to herself and Starfire flew over to hover beside of her.

"Excuse me Intellect, but if you are the smartness of Raven, why are you a personality… is not intelligence not an emotion?" Starfire questioned and Intellect smile while nodding her head.

"Correct Starfire. I was wondering when someone might notice that. And to answer your question, no, I am not Raven's knowledge. Rather, I am her curious and inquisitive nature, her more polite and cleanly attitude, and her love of reading and learning, thus while I know everything Raven does, as all we emotions do, I also seek more knowledge to better our-self as a person." Intellect explained and Starfire made and oh with her mouth while floating beside of the girl.

"So you mean to say that you're actually her curiosity?" Kid-Flash questioned while walking beside of the girl and Intellect rolled her eyes.

"In a way, yes, but in more ways than one, no. I prefer to be thought of as her pursuit of knowledge." Intellect responded and Kid-Flash slowly nodded his head while Nightwing looking to Intellect as she stopped at a window to a bookstore.

"Uh, hello, we need to get to the tower." He reminded and Intellect grinned sheepishly while moving away from the store window.

"Yes… I know we do and I am sorry about that, its just I saw a rather interesting book I've been meaning to read and…" She started to say before shaking her head as her cloak flashed red like the others. "Oh dear… what was that?" She wondered while looking at herself and then placed a hand to her head with a visible grimace. "S-something is very wrong here…" She mumbled quietly to herself while BB was at her side soon after and wondering what was happening to her.

"Dude, what is going on in your head? I mean, Brave started wigging out and attacking us earlier for some reason, and then Timid disappeared when her cloak started to change colors." BB wondered aloud and Intellect was silent for a moment before her eyes snapped wide open as realization struck her.

"Oh no, no, no, no, no!" She said to herself and then turned around to face them, eyes wide in fright. "You must get away from me! I'm no longer safe to be around, staying close to me will only make things worse, please, do not attempt to find me or I fear you will all come to great harm!" Intellect said quickly before swinging her cloak in on herself and vanishing, her soul-self carrying her away as Nightwing shook his head. Frowning deeply a second later he then looked to the others as they looked on with obvious confusion.

"Dude… what just happened?" BB questioned and Nightwing sighed while looking to the others.

"Obviously she realized what was going on, panicked, thought we were in danger, and left to protect us." Nightwing responded and BB frowned for a moment before shaking his head.

"Dude, that is so like her. Always trying to protect us, just like when she tried to get me and Cy to leave her when she fought that red monster in her mind…" He noted with a soft smile to himself and Night nodded his head.

"Yeah, but she seems to have forgotten, we're a team, and we won't let her face this alone." Night stated and then turned and ran in the direction that Raven's Soul-Self had went, soon followed by the rest of the Titans…

--

(Tartarus HQ…)

Jinx stood within Tartarus Ops, Dani yawning as she sat on the back of the sofa while the others all looked at her expectantly. "Alright cludge-head we're here! So tell us what the hell is going on already!" Gizmo shouted at the girl and Jinx nodded her head before crossing her arms with a frown across her face.

"Last night Tempest went out to save his girlfriend, Raven, when she was abducted by "The Ravager", the same person who caused Blackfire to go berserk." Jinx started and Blackfire growled while one eye twitched. "Anyways, it seems Ravager has those Ninja hunting Temp on her payroll as they were the ones actively holding Raven hostage. During battle it seems that Temp got a near fatal injury from the Nin, though was thankfully stabilized by Raven." Jinx further explained and Mammoth cracked his knuckles with a frown.

Mammoth was known to be protective of his friends, of course given the treatment he and his sister Shimmer had faced in Australia it wasn't too hard to figure out why that was. However, Gizmo had no such compulsion thus slapped his face and grimaced while shaking his head. The Tiny Terror wishing for, not the first time, that he wasn't teamed up with these "Cludge-Heads"…

"Great… and now I suppose you want us to hunt down the Ninja with extreme prejudice while their still recovering?" Gizmo guessed and the smirk on Jinx's face was all the confirmation he needed. "Oh man, this is seriously not in my job description. Hunting Ninja isn't our thing, that's Cheshire's thing." Gizmo reminds and Jinx frowned at the miniature villain.

"Are you telling me you won't be able to find Ravager, and by proxy the Nin?" Jinx questioned and Blackfire blinked before cracking her knuckles with a wide grin… payback was going to be a bitch when she got her hands on that one eyed wench! Snorting at the accusation, Gizmo cracked his knuckles before calling up the main screen for Ops and used his controller to work it. Blinking for a moment, the others watched as Gizmo hit a few things and several windows flashed over the screen.

"I can find miss Slade easy, especially if she's got those Ninja with her. Like Tempest, the Ninja use a specific energy source, so, if I scan the city to locate that energy source I should be able to find her hideout…" Gizmo explained and Dani blinked before looking down to the Tiny-Terror.

"Should?" She questioned and Gizmo nodded his head with a frown.

"Yeah, knowing Miss-Slade she's going to have a very well hidden hideout… more than likely underground so I won't be able to pinpoint her exact location… however she'll need some kind of vents to draw in air to her base, so some of their "Chakra" will have probably leaked out for me to locate…" The Tiny-Terror explained while grinning as a map came up and two positions were marked.

"One of those is Titans Tower, so it's got to be X right." Duela noted and Gizmo nodded his head with a smirk.

"Meaning that the other signature is more than likely those other Nin." Blackfire reasoned and yet again, Gizmo nodded his head, still smirking.

"Alright then Tartarus, that's our location. I want all of you to search it thoroughly for an entrance. Once one of you finds it, call the others so we can take those Nin down. Remember not to engage them alone, they are armed and VERY dangerous." Jinx orders the others, getting nods from the rest of her team, a smirk crossed over Jinx's face. "Alright then, Tartarus, Move out!" She ordered and the group hopped off of the sofa and out of their HQ before heading into the city…

--

(Jump-City…)

Nightwing was REALLY having a really Bad Day, in fact, he was starting to believe the Joker when he talked about it only taking a Really Bad Day to drive a man to lunacy. _'Bad thought, don't go there…'_ Night told himself as he and the others raced across the city, still looking for Raven when they heard a scream. Blinking, Night slid to a stop and saw the aforementioned girl, holding onto a streetlight with wide eyes while a slug passed by under her…

"Fear…" All the Titans said in a dull monotone while the girl looked over at them and screamed before jetting off down the street.

"Dude, are we really THAT scary?" BB had to ask and Night gave him a look.

"No… no we're not, she's just all of Raven's Fear incarnate." Nightwing replied before looking over to Kid-Flash. "Stop her." He ordered and Kid-Flash gave a mock salute to his leader before jetting down the street. Soon coming up in front of Raven he grabbed her arms as she looked at him with wide eyes and screamed once more.

"Chill! We're only trying to help you Raven!" Kid-Flash tried to say and Raven then pulled a ghost trick as she ran strait through his body. "Okay… that was soo weird!" Kid-Flash said with a shiver while the other Titans ran passed him. "Hey, wait for me!" Kid-Flash called before running after them, then passed them and grabbed Raven's ankles to knock her over, Night and the other's dog piling her to stop her soon after.

"Let me go! She's going to eat me if I don't get out of here! I can't let it happen, I have to get away, the others can't fight her off so I have to run!" Fear exclaimed while clawing at the ground with wide eyes and Starfire wrapped her arms around her neck.

"Please Friend-Raven we only wish to help you! Please tell us the problem so that we might assist you in finding a solution!" Starfire pleaded with the violet haired girl and Raven gave her a wide-eyed look.

"No! You can't stop her, she'll eat me alive, and then hurt you all, and I don't want that! Got to run, can't let her find me!" Fear started to say again while still clawing to get away from them while BB blinked.

"So wait, she's afraid for our safety?" BB questioned and Donna shrugged her shoulders from next to him.

"As interesting as all of this is… maybe we should get up…" Night grunted out from near the bottom of the pile, a completely covered Kid-Flash mumbling his agreement from below the others. Soon managing to untangle themselves from one another as Starfire held the struggling Fear in her grasp, Nightwing sighed and looked to Fear with a frown. "Alright Fear, what the hell, is going on around here?" Night demanded and the girl looked around nervously, her eyes darting too and fro.

"R-Rage, she g-got loose! Then, w-when I, I mean she, I mean Raven tried to stop her, sh-she was p-pulled into Rage! N-now Rage is p-pulling the rest of us into h-her one b-by one! Raven and B-Bravery were first s-sense they were strongest b-besides her, now only m-me and Love and Lust are l-left! W-We're l-losing the struggle within!" Fear explained quickly, still looking around with wide eyes.

"Wait, dude, so there are two more emotions besides you?" BB asked and Fear shook her head.

"L-Love and L-Lust are one emotion. She also embodies our l-loyalty and k-kindness." She explained and BB blushed, still stuck on Lust being next, while Starfire wondered what a Kind version of Raven would even be like.

"Alright, that's more information than we've had all day. Add in Intellect's idea it has something to do with that green stuff and we really need to get Raven back to the tower." Night noted only for Fear to open her mouth in a silent scream before slumping in Starfire's arms.

"Friend-Raven, are you alright?" Starfire questioned and an evil grin spread over Raven's lips as four red eyes opened and her cloak turned blood red while looking at the alien princess.

"**Oh she's just fine… after all… she's mine now!"** Rage said with a wide fanged grin and Starfire quickly released her with a yelp, Raven's cloak turning purple as she stopped herself from hitting the ground, her four eyes vanishing as well…

"R-Raven?" Starfire questioned and the purple-Cloaked Raven groaned as her hair started to grow longer, ending at her waist, and her ears took a very noticeable point.

"Why are her ears so pointy now?" Donna asked Nightwing, the leader of the team shrugging even as Raven suddenly shot up and jumped at Starfire.

"Starfire are you alright, she didn't hurt you did she?" Raven asked worriedly while fussily checking Starfire's head for wounds and the red head slowly shook her head.

"No Friend-Raven… I am undamaged." Starfire allowed and the girl breathed an audible sigh of relief before closing her eyes and smiling warmly.

"Good, I don't know what I'd do if she'd hurt you." Raven then said before Nightwing cleared his throat and she turned to the others. "Oh, are you all alright as well? Rage didn't hurt any of you did she?" Raven asked the others and Nightwing shook his head, Raven smiling warmly once more. "Thank goodness." She said and Night blushed slightly, the kind, compassionate version of Raven a little too motherly for his liking.

"Dude, are you supposed to be Lust or what?" BB asked and the purple-cloaked Raven smiled cheekily for a moment before whispering something to BB. Blushing the green changeling then passed out on the spot and Night looked at with wide eyes.

"Friend-Beast-Boy!" Star called worriedly while flying down to look at BB as he lay unconscious in her arms. Blinking for a moment, Night then looked back to Love… er, Lust with wide eyes.

"What did you just say to him?" Night asked and the girl whistled innocently for a moment before looking down at her boots.

"I need new boots…" She said to mostly herself before reaching down to take off her hold boots and snapped her fingers. Instantly, black energy wrapped around her legs before forming into a pair of thigh high black leather boots with horizontal slits near the tops of them… "Much better!" She said to herself with a smile and Kid-Flash leaned over to Nightwing.

"This is definitely Lust." He supplied and Night gave him a look.

"Fear said she was also Loyalty and Love." Night reminded and Kid-Flash shrugged his shoulders while "Lust" stuck her old boots into her cloak, where they then vanished into the shadows.

"Alright, now if you'll excuse me, I'm heading to the tower to make certain Naruto is healed. And then… well…" Lust stated while a silly smile spread over her lips at a thought before giggling as she walked off…

"Oh yeah, that's Lust alright." Kid-Flash stated and Nightwing sighed to himself, wondering how this Personality could be so loving one moment, then so… well… he'd rather not say, the next.

"Lets just follow her, at least she's actually heading for the Tower…" Night reminded and the others had to give him that as they walked after the happily humming to herself Raven while Donna was now carrying the unconscious Beast-Boy over one of her shoulders. Following the purple-cloaked Raven, they had to wonder what crazy situation they were going to find themselves in next…

--

(Ravager's HQ…)

Ayane smirked as she looked at a mirror, only a streak of Pink hair remained among her now predominantly fuchsia colored locks. "Ahh… now this is so much fucking better." She said while looking to one of her Dark-Forest-Green eyes and frowned at the sole remaining Emerald Green eye she still had.

"Dammit! This is not good! I look like a freak!" Sakura said while gritting their teeth and Ayane scoffed, and then tested which parts of their body she controlled and smirked as she could use the left arm, and both legs at this point…

"Says the girl whose starting to disappear." Ayane reminded and Sakura growled low in their throat while narrowing her still emerald eye.

"Not if I can…" Sakura started to say only for Ayane to cover their mouth, Sakura trying to pry her hand from their mouth. Struggling with herself the girl fell to her side and Ayane eventually managed to stand before ramming her right shoulder into a wall. She heard Sakura scream in pain in her mind and bit her lip to keep from doing so as well before then blinking as Sakura started to rant… in their mind…

'_**Oh Sakura… looks like you can't talk anymore.'**_ Ayane noted with an evil smirk on her face and a confused Sakura blinked her remaining eye while Ayane removed her hand from her mouth with a smirk. _'What the hell are you…?'_ Sakura started to question before noticing she couldn't project her voice anymore and started to scream at Ayane indignantly. Snickering to herself, Ayane then yawned while making her way back to her corner and sat down, then used her left arm to hold her right down and placed her head on both and closed her eyes.

Elsewhere in the base, Sasuke was coughing up bile as his skin turned grey and claws formed on his fingers. Looking at his hands he then groaned and fell to his side, bringing his knees up to his chest as he felt his eyes widen. _'W-what's wrong with me?'_ He wondered before reaching a hand up to the sink and pulled his body up to look at his face, eyes widening at what he was seeing…

His Sharingan was still active, but his right eye was now a familiar yellow gold with a thin slit for a pupil and purple tribal markings had formed around his eyes before coming down to a point at the sides of his nose. "What?" He questioned of no one before wrapping his arms around his waist and falling to his side once more, eyes wide. "W-What's happening to me…" He managed to get out as his body briefly sparked and his eyes rolled into the back of his head.

Seconds later his hand reached back up and he pulled his body back up, a sinister chuckle echoing from his throat. "Oh it feels so good to be free…" He mused strangely before looking at himself in the mirror as his black hair took a blue sheen and grew longer and spikier than ever. "I finally have it…" He said to himself while grinning, long and sharp canines now revealed. "The Sharingan is finally mine." The voice of another said through Sasuke with another sinister laugh…

--

(Titans-Tower…)

Cyborg breathed out several breaths while hiding in a room, his Sonic-Cannon at the ready. He'd been running, fighting, and outright trying to escape from the psychopathic monster Naruto had turned into for well over an hour now. Gulping for a moment, the oldest member of the Titans turned his head to look out of the room. The lights had been totaled by the creature, ripped out of the walls was actually a better description seeing as from what he could tell, it had almost perfect night vision but disliked bright lights.

'_Maybe if I get outside it won't follow me…'_ Cy mused before looking to a window and grimaced as he saw that clouds had covered the sun outside. _'Never mind… oi this is so not good. If that thing gets out at night, who knows who it could hurt.'_ Cy thought to himself before stiffening as he heard a heavy thud and placed his back to the wall behind him. Moving one hand to open a camera on his finger, Cy watched around the corner as the massive beast approached. Looking around the small room with his normal bionic eye, Cy hoped he didn't seem out of place.

He had actually picked this particular room for a reason and it wasn't for any kind of camouflage either. It was because the elevator was directly across from him, the doors shoved into the wall revealing the elevator shaft. If he could wait for the beast to get close to him, he could also just rush the thing and hopefully shove it into the shaft. While not wanting to hurt him, he did want to survive, and besides, given everything that he'd survived already, he was fairly certain a drop like that wouldn't do much damage to a eight-foot tall monster.

'_I really should've called Rob and had him bring in a Tank for this…'_ Cy thought to himself as he continued to watch the creature approach, its eyes looking for him as he took a gulp of air. The creature suddenly sniffed the air, looking for his scent, and Cy was glad he had very little to track do to his unique nature. Rumbling in its throat, the creature started to turn and Cy looked around. Seeing a rock, he slowly got down and picked it up, then tossed it down the hall.

Instantly the creatures long almost rabbit like ears quirked back and it turned around to look down the hall. Rumbling in its throat it lowered itself onto all fours before making its way down the hall, narrowing its eyes as it approached. Waiting, quietly, calmly, Cy briefly wondered why this kind of thing only ever happened to him, before then preparing to make his move as the creature approached. Once the beast was in position Cy quickly moved, slamming his Cannon into the beast as a punch while firing it, causing it to roar out in pain as it was thrown into the back of the elevator shaft from the sheer force of the blow.

Screeching as it fell down the shaft, the beast clawed at the walls around him, sparks flying as pieces of what looked like bone chipped off of its fingers. Blinking and slowly making his way to the elevator shaft, Cy peered into it to make sure the beast was gone before pumping a fist. "BOOYAH! And that's why you don't mess with me in my house!" Cy stated with a wide grin before cursing and ducking back as a bolt of lightning was shot from the bottom of the shaft.

Backpedaling, Cy then gaped as he heard a strange thumping echoing from the shaft. "No way man, no way…" He mumbled before slowly crawling towards the shaft and looked down into its depths. His fears were unfortunately confirmed as the beast was somehow jumping up the shaft, catching the sides of it, before leaping up and repeating this, climbing the shaft faster than humanly possible. "Aw man, why me?" Cy wondered while looking to the sky and then quickly got up and made his way down the hall and away from the shaft.

Seconds later the beast jumped back into the hall, its fingertips glowing as a fine mist condensed over them and then vanished. Narrowing its now clearly livid eyes, the beast let out a screeching roar before lunging down the hall on all fours. As it came to another hall, the beast's eyes briefly widened as Cy slammed his Sonic-Cannon into its face and fired at the same time once more. Crying out in pain, the beast backed up while Cy formed a second cannon from his other arm and lunged at it with a roar.

Slamming his cannons into the beast and firing at the same time, Cy watched as it was sent back with each blow. However, then it grabbed one of his arms as he tried to punch it and narrowed its eyes. "Oh this is bad…" Cy muttered before crying out as the beast lifted him up and then slammed him into the ground, knocking the wind from him. Roaring it then swung Cy into the walls at their sides once, twice, three times before slamming it into the roof and then the floor once more before releasing his arm.

Sniffing Cy, the beast narrowed its eyes on him before placed a hand onto his neck to hold him down. Leaning forward it narrowed its eyes and a long tongue came out of its mouth. Reaching up, Cy grabbed its tongue and gave it a glare. "You are so not licking me with this big ass tongue!" Cy shouted before shoving his free cannon into the beats mouth and firing, sending it flying back and into a wall. Panting heavily, Cyborg pushed himself up and looked on as the beast slowly got back up.

"Oh you got to be shitting me…" He muttered while the beast narrowed its eyes on him and roared. Crouching back, it then lunged forward and Cy slammed his fist into its face knocking it back once more. Panting heavily as the creature stumbled back, Cy pushed himself up fully and then watched the creature shake its head and glare at him angrily. "Wow… I can say one thing… you can really take a beating…" Cy noted and the beast roared while crouching down and lunged at him, swinging its claws at him as he backed up. Swinging its arms once more its claws sliced through Cy's chest, the teen's eyes widening in shock.

"SHIT!" He exclaimed before ducking as the beast threw a punch towards him. Rolling behind him, Cy would've gotten up at it not grabbed one of his legs; arm still lodged in the wall as it glared at him. "Eat this!" He then shouted as a slot opened on his foot, a rocket flying out and slamming into the beasts face. The beast released Cy as the rocket hit, then covered its face while Cy crawled away before breaking out into a run as the beast roared loudly.

Ripping its arm out of the wall, the beast then crouched low and lunged after Cy as he made his escape. Said teen turned down a corner and then slid to a halt at the end of the next hall. Hitting a switch on the earpiece on his left side, a targeting lens folded out of his body and over his bionic eye. Instantly, slots on his shoulders opened to reveal several missiles. Waiting for a moment until the beast suddenly appeared in his sights, Cy fired the missiles then winced as he heard it cry out in pain.

"Sorry about that Nar… but I don't wanna be on the menu." Cy mumbled while grimacing as he placed a hand onto his chest plate. Looking up after he had, Cy paled greatly upon seeing the Beast looking down at him with furious eyes. "Aw shit…" He mumbled before the beast grabbed him and then lunged towards the end of the hall, and then used his body to ram through a wall…

--

(With the Titans…)

The Titans were fast approaching Titans Tower, however they stopped at the docks when they saw something burst out of the Tower in the distance. "Friend Nightwing, what is happening?" Starfire questioned and Night narrowed his eyes and pushed on the sides of his mask. Lenses in his mask then zoomed in to give him a view of a monster standing on top of Cyborg before turning to stare at him. Shaking his head he then watched as the beast growled low in its throat and threw Cy along the water before crouching back and launching after him.

The Beast caught up with Cy and began to rapidly slash at Cy with its sharp claws then kick it into the docks. "Cyborg!" Starfire exclaimed while flying over to him, only for Donna to grab her as The Beast slammed into Cy and sent him skidding along the concrete back into a heap. Seeing this, Starfire broke free of Donna's hold and flew to her friend while the Amazon looked at the cloud where the beast lay in wait warily. Narrowing his eyes, Night looked to the dust kicked up by The Beasts attack as well and watched as it slowly sifted away to reveal a truly horrifying figure to them all.

"By the gods…" Donna whispered while a pair of bright orange eyes looked around, the + shaped pupil dilating into thin slits.

What the Titans were seeing was a five-foot tall beast, while it was on all fours, more around Eight-foot on its hind legs, with reddish black fur and spikes of hair on its head, and stripes of obsidian reptilian flesh also covering its body with red marks beside of its eyes, five long tails arching off of its tail bone and swaying behind it, with sharp claws on all of its fingers and toes, its ears were on the top of its head and curved back like long rabbit ears, its mouth was formed into a pumpkin like grin of triangular shapes, while bone had formed over its face into a skull mask with fangs for teeth, along its back and over its spine in plates, over its waist like a ribcage, and also covered its forearms and hands in the shape of a much larger beasts claws…

"D-Dude… what IS that thing?!" Beast-Boy demanded while backing away, Kid-Flash not sure what to make of it either shook his head.

"Naruto…" Love whispered to herself with wide eyes and The Beast snapped its orange eyes onto her. Rumbling low in its throat, The Beast then reared its head back and roared loudly, the ground beneath it shuddering from the vibrations. Frowning in The Beast's direction, Night pulled his staff from his belt and twirled it into a stance while glaring at The Beast.

"I don't know what that is, but it's obviously not friendly. Titans, Go!" Nightwing ordered while lunging at The Beast and Love's eyes snapped open.

"WAIT!" She called only for them to ignore her, Nightwing throwing several explosive disks at The Beast. The disks impacted but only seemed to irritate it as it then slammed its hands into the ground. Instantly the ground shuddered with impact as lightning formed out of it in a dome that spread and sent Nightwing flying back. Donna then came flying at the beast and swung both arms, socking it in the side of its head, and sending it flying into a building.

The Beast merely roared out in fury at the attack while throwing rubble from its body while jumping out of it. Beast-Boy then turned into a Rhino while running towards The Beast and slammed into it horn first. BB was thus surprised as The Beast merely narrowed its eyes and grabbed his horn before digging its feet into the concrete. Roaring out and showing its monstrous strength The Beast lifted Beast-Boy up by his horn before twisting on one heel and sending him flying into Donna. BB's body slammed into Dona, both falling while Kid-Flash ran towards The Beast.

Running around it, he started to rain down hyper fast punches from all sides to disorientate it. Growling, The Beast stomped on the ground, cracking and upturning the concrete and easily tripping Kid-Flash. Lashing out he then took hold of Kid-Flash's ankle and lifted the speedster up to its eye level. "Oh shit." Kid-Flash mumbled before The Beast roared and slammed him into the Concrete, knocking the breath out of him before it then spun and sent him sailing directly into Nightwing, knocking the former boy-wonder back down.

Allowing a low rumble to echo from its throat, The Beast then focused its eyes on Love before crouching down. Jumping it then landed right in front of the violet-haired girl, her eyes wide as she looked up at its VERY imposing figure. "N-Naruto, is that you?" Love questioned and The Beast tilted its head before leaning towards her and sniffing her for some reason. "It is you, isn't it." Love mumbled and reached towards it, only for Starfire to slam into The Beast from the side.

"You will not hurt my Friends anymore!" Starfire exclaimed while slamming her fists into The Beast's face and Love ran towards the enraged Alien-Princess.

"Wait Starfire he's not…!" Love tried to say only for The Beast to grab the young Tammeranians forearms in one hand. Instantly lightning arched from its form and into Starfire, the Alien-Princess gritting her teeth as even her invulnerability had limits. "… He's not trying to hurt me." Love finished quietly while The Beast threw Starfire to the side, the girl shaking and twitching as she hit the ground.

"Starfire!" Night called out while rushing to her side as BB turned into a Raptor and lunged at The Beast with Donna at his side. The two slammed into the Beast only for it to hold them back with unbelievable strength while Nightwing slid down and took hold of Starfire. "Starfire! Starfire!" He said while shaking the girl and she shivered for a moment before opening her eyes.

"Friend-Nightwing… I wish not to do that ever again…" She mumbled and Nightwing breathed a sigh of relief while Love ran over to Cyborg. Holding her hands over the Titanium Teen's head, Love took a breath before using her healing powers on him as a blue glow enveloped her hands. Soon after, Cy groaned and then slowly started to sit up while placing a hand to his forehead.

"Anyone get the license plate number of the Semi that hit me?" Cy wondered aloud and Kid-Flash rushed over to the metal teen.

"That wasn't no Semi dude, whatever it is it's a lot tougher!" Kid-Flash stated and Cy opened his eyes only to shake his head as he saw Donna and BB trying to fight The Beast, only for it to roar and throw them away like rag-dolls.

"Are you people fucking insane! You're fighting…" Cy started to say and Kid-Flash nodded his head.

"Yeah, one seriously tough creature, but don't worry, I'm sure we'll figure out some way to stop it." Kid-Flash said and Cy gaped at the red haired teen incredulously.

"That's not what I…" Cy started to say only for Kid-Flash to rush at The Beast as Nightwing went to attack it once more. "Dammit! Why won't anyone listen to me?!" Cy demanded and Love sighed before shaking her head.

"People rarely listen when they see something that frightens them, they'd rather make sure it doesn't hurt them before thinking about what it might be." Love noted and Cy groaned while slowly getting up to his feet, Love standing up with him.

"Which emotion are you?" Cy asked and Love gave a loving smile to him.

"Love and Lust." She replied and Cy gave her a look before shaking his head.

"Figures you'd be here when this happens to your boy." He noted and Love grimaced before they watched as The Beast roared and used Night as a club to send Kid-Flash flying away, then threw Night into Starfire and roared loudly while crouching down, ears along the back of its head and mouth pulled into a snarl.

"He's angry and scared, he's being attacked and only knows to protect himself from harm." Love noticed and Cy nodded his head, mentally noting that The Beast acted almost solely on instinct, not intellect. "We need to stop the others, then we can worry about stopping The Beast." Love then stated and Cy nodded his head in agreement with the purple cloaked Raven.

"I'll Handle BB and Donna, you take Star, Kid-Flash and Night." Cy stated and Love nodded before running over to stop Star from attacking the beast with a field.

"Friend-Raven? What are you doing?" Starfire questioned of the girl and Love gave her a look.

"When we first met Starfire, you were alone and confused, attacking anything that attacked you, so is this beast. It doesn't know what's going on, only that you're attacking it." Love told the Tammeranian princess before forming spheres around Nightwing and Kid-Flash. "Now could you please explain that to them for me? I need to see about… him." Love questioned and Starfire slowly nodded her head as Love released the fields and walked over to The Beast as it narrowed its eyes.

"Don't be afraid I'm not going to hurt you…" Love said to it and it tilted its head to one side, obviously confused. Getting closer to The Beast, Love then placed her hands on its face and breathed a sigh of relief when it didn't attack. "I don't want to hurt you, I only want to help." Love told it and then closed her eyes and placed her forehead to his for a moment… "Hello Naruto…" She whispered quietly only for her eyes to snap open as she fell to her knees and her cloak briefly flashed red, and then a familiar blue cloak suddenly took its place.

"Raven?" Nightwing questioned while walking towards the Girl, the others staying back and away from The Beast. The said girl silently looked to the ground as he came closer, and The Beast moved to the side, away from him and Raven while it still kept him in its sights. The Beast then climbed onto a building at the sides and narrowed its eyes… it could feel that something was wrong. Raven herself shook for a moment, and then Nightwing placed a hand on her shoulder and she turned to look at him, tears slowly flowing from her amethyst eyes.

"I'm sorry Nightwing… My mind is a battleground, whipped and ripped asunder, torn from the very fabric of reality. But there's no escape from it anymore… I can't restrain her…" She whispered mostly to herself and Nightwing raised a brow towards the estranged girl.

"What do you mean?" Night questioned while the other Titans and The Beast merely looked on as Raven bowed her head. However, she then held a hand towards Nightwing and pushed him away with a burst of black energy. The energy then turned and circled around the violet haired girl, a sad smile crossing her features as a massive black Raven formed behind her, four glowing red eyes looking down at her sinisterly and its form twisted into a darker more foreboding visage.

"I mean… my fate has come…" Raven said as the wings of the Raven wrapped and spiraled around her. "Goodbye… my friends…" Raven whispered as her twisted Soul-Self pulled her into itself before she was pulled into the air. Seconds later, Raven's feet hit the ground, eyes glowing black and head tilted to one side, listless, eyes lifeless… and then an explosion of power was forced from her body, nearly pushing all the watching Titans into the distance.

"RAVEN!" Nightwing exclaimed as the girl hovered in the air, eyes glowing black rather than white while pure power seemed to spiral around her body.

"DUDE!" BB called out while Starfire, Donna, and Cy held him and Kid-Flash from flying away. The Beast merely looked on from his spot, head tilting to the side as the black energy spiraled upwards into the sky. Dark-Clouds began to form overhead as the black energy touched it, lightning flashing and thunder cracking as Raven's body began to float higher into the air, a chuckle echoing from her throat.

Soon, the chuckle turned into sinister laughter while fire spiraled around her as well, completely concealing the girl as it spiraled up into the sky. The fire around her hit the sky and spiraled outwards, setting the very sky itself ablaze with the Titans bearing witness, eyes wide in shock and fear. The Beast looked up to the sky with interest, wondering what was happening while the others could only stare in shock and wonder, as Raven was seemingly lost to them all…

--

(Ravager HQ…)

Kakashi's head suddenly snapped up as a pit formed in his gut, massive KI flowing from seemingly everywhere. "What the hell?" He wondered while slowly getting to his feet. Nearby, Ino shivered visibly with wide eyes, and Hinata looked like she wanted to crawl in on herself.

"K-K-Kakashi S-S-Sensei?" Ino questioned with a stutter and Kakashi silently ran to the exit and up the stairs. Noticing this, Ravager frowned before following after the man, Neji and the others following her while Sakura lagged behind. However, if one were to look at her, they would notice her hair was totally fuchsia now, her eyes both dark green, and a smirk was across her lips. The only portion of Sakura left was her physique and skin tone as Ayane walked around for her.

Coming to the exit, Kakashi through the door open and gasped as he saw the sky now set ablaze, Hinata and Ino gaping in shock while even Ravager herself looked shocked by this. "Ever seen something like that before?" Kakashi questioned and Ravager slowly shook her head, eye wide and unblinking. Behind them, Ayane whistled lowly while noticing a swirling pillar of black energy and flames in the distance. _**'I wonder what's causing that…'**_ Ayane wondered to herself silently while Sakura roared out in annoyance.

"_Dammit Ayane! This isn't funny anymore! Tell Ravager what's going on so we can go back to normal already!"_ Sakura screamed at the girl, who was now in charge, and Ayane snorted quietly so no one would hear. _**'Fat chance in hell pinky, I've got control now so kiss my ass… which used to be YOUR ass.'**_ Ayane said then reminded with a smirk and Sakura started to scream at the girl angrily before Ayane tuned her out while looking to the spectacle.

"We should check that out, something seriously wrong is happening." Kakashi ordered and Ino looked at the man as if he were crazy.

"Do you not SEE that massive pillar of fire! And you want to go towards it?!" Ino demanded of the man and he gave her a look before rushing off, Hinata and Neji following while Ino huffed. "Dammit! This is insane!" She grumbled before rushing after the others, Ravager and Sakura hot on their heels. Above them all, standing on a building and now fully transformed was Sasuke, a single brow raised as he saw the pillar.

'_Such amazing power… but where is it all coming from? I believe this warrants a little investigation.'_ Sasuke mused to himself before crouching down and then jumped into the air, his wings stretching and catching the wind as he flew towards the epicenter of the massive pillar…

--

(Elsewhere…)

Jinx was looking around for the entrance to Ravager's base when she saw the pillar, gaping for only a moment she then shook her head and dug out her communicator. "Giz, are you seeing the massive pillar burning the sky or am I just going crazy?" Jinx questioned with wide eyes and heard the Tiny Terror start to curse loudly.

"You're already bat shit loco dip-shit, but yeah you, me, and everyone else sees the giant pillar… what should we do about it?" Gizmo questioned warily and Jinx blinked while looking to the pillar then gulped.

"Well… we should probably check that out, it might be the Nin or something just as bad." She reasoned and Gizmo groaned on his end of the communicator.

"I knew you were going to say that… alright I'll alert everyone to head towards the docks. Gizmo Over and Out." Giz replied while Jinx absently nodded her head, then stowed the communicator away. Staring at the spectacle a moment longer, the pink haired girl then shook her head as she ran towards the docks, intent to find out what was happening down there…

--

(Docks…)

The Titans were holding on for dear life, as the sheer power rolling off of the pillar of fire and shadows was enough to push them away. Opening his eyes as he braced himself against the wind, Nightwing saw it start to fade before spiraling inward, becoming smaller and smaller as it did. Soon all that was left was something spinning in the pillars place and that was also soon gone as a new creature was revealed.

Her cloak burned away as her two broaches fell to the ground with a audible clatter though it didn't matter as this being was clearly unlike any of the others, Nightwings eyes widening in shock and horror… It was identical to Raven in Height, build, and some of her appearance with the gemstone on her brow, but the new features they'd seen on Raven's emotions throughout the day had remained. The difference to before however, were her now flame red skin, long ebony hair as black as the feathers of her namesake, deep purple lips, and four glowing red eyes…

Standing up, the Titans looked at this new incarnation of their friend with obvious shock. The Beast however showed no signs of fear as it jumped to the ground and made its way over to her. Her lips quirked up at this, a small show of affection before placing her hand on top of its head. The Beast nuzzled her hands for a moment before "Raven" turned her head to look at the Titans, an amused grin spreading across her lips…

"**The time for hiding is over…"** The girl said in a hauntingly enticing voice, ruined by the sinister smirk crossing her lips as a fireball formed in her free hand. **"Human Garbage!"** She then exclaimed while looking to the Titans, a grin spreading over her face as she did. **"Prepare… to Scream. For your end, has finally come."** She stated darkly while The Beast narrowed its eyes on them while hissing in the back of its throat, Raven grinning at the shocked looks on the Titans faces…

--

TBC…

--


	42. Inner Demons Pt5

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

**Chapter 40**: **Inner Demons Pt. 4**…

--

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

--

(Jump-City Docks…)

The Titans stared on in shock at the strange creature that had replaced Raven, The Beast at her side and growling low in his throat. "No way… Raven…" Cyborg whispered while the flame red girl held out her free hand towards them, the fireball steaming lightly as she did so.

"Raven! C'mon it's us, don't you remember?" BB pleaded while the girl continued to merely smirk towards them, a diabolical look across her face.

"F-Friend-Raven… are you still there?" Starfire questioned of the girl and she tilted her head before she held her palm under the fireball in her hand before clenching her fist over it, the ball condensing while the Titans prepared for the anything to happen.

"**Raven? Sorry, but she's not in at the moment."** The girl wondered aloud then told the teen before chuckling as light seeped from between her clenched fingers. **"I have no true name… but if you must, just call me Raven and be done with the formalities."** She then mused before simply opening her hand in the Titans direction… the effect was instantaneous, a blast of fire was sent flying towards them. The Titans quickly moved out of the way ducking to the sides while the blast continued behind them, tearing a building down in a single blow…

"Whoa…" Kid-Flash whispered as he saw Raven fan her hand lightly, seemingly trying to cool it off with an amused smirk. "Remind me to never piss her off…" Kid-Flash told Donna who nodded her head silently while The Beast narrowed its eyes towards them.

"Night, what do we do now? We can't fight Raven!" Cy demanded while looking at the demonic girl and Night sighed before twirling his staff at his side.

"Unfortunately… it doesn't look like we have a choice in the matter Cy." Nightwing stated while Starfire bit her lip.

"But… how can we fight friend Raven? She is our friend and needs out help, I do not wish to cause her harm…" Star told their leader while BB slowly got up with a grimace while rubbing the back of his head.

"At the moment, she's not Raven, she's something else. And until we find a way to change her back, we have to fight her." Night told the Alien Princess and she looked warily to the smirking girl.

"What do ya want us to do then Rob?" Cy asked while standing up and Night held up an explosive disk.

"What we always do, protect the City. Titans, Go!" Night ordered while throwing his disk at Raven, Cyborg reluctantly firing his Sonic-Cannon as well, and the blast from the attack flying towards an amused Raven. Instantly The Beast moved, its arms wrapping around her body as well as its tails as some form of living shield. The blast hit them a second afterwards, and then passed, The Beast's fur was singed but it was otherwise fine, while a smirk crossed Raven's lips.

"**Please tell me that wasn't your best shot."** Raven pleaded with a fake yawn while The Beast hissed angrily while removing its arms and tails from her. Roaring out loudly, The Beast then crouched back before lunging forward, Kid-Flash, Donna and the others jumping into action to attack. Kid-Flash completely evaded The Beast and ran towards a smirking Raven. The girl saw him coming, obviously, and then waved a hand towards the teen. Instantly, the ground rose up before him, tripping Kid-Flash and sending him skidding forward.

Using her powers, Raven then caught Kid-Flash in a black bubble of energy before swinging her arm. The bubble of energy was sent to the side, flying into Donna before she then swung it into BB while The Beast looked on. Raven then threw the bubble into the air and released its hold on Kid-Flash, the red haired teen flailing his arms as he was sent plummeting towards the ground. Cursing, Donna flew into the sky and quickly caught the boy before making her way back to the ground. Meanwhile, BB jumped up and turned into a T-Rex that roared as it slammed into The Beast.

Growling, The Beast, flipped up along the T-Rex's body before slamming a lightning coated fist into its face. The T-Rex stumbled back for a moment as The Beast landed on the ground and narrowed its eyes. Shaking his head, BB roared loudly and started to rush towards The Beast, mouth open. Seeing this, a frown crossed over Raven's mouth before she held a hand towards the green changeling.

"**I believe that's enough from you Shape-Shifter."** She stated darkly before concentrating and BB suddenly shifted into a dog that went wide-eyed as The Beast grabbed him. Snorting into the Dog's face, The Beast then wound up and threw BB causing him to skid back into human form until he landed in a heap at Raven's feet. **"Did you forget I could morph you?"** Raven quipped and BB looked up at the flame red skinned girl with wide eyes.

"Uh… actually, I did." He admitted with a nervous chuckle and Raven smirked before snapping a finger, a black field of energy surrounding him. Smirking, she then pointed a finger at Nightwing and BB went flying into their leader while Starfire and Donna flew directly for Raven. However, before Starfire could even reach the girl, The Beast roared before slamming into her, Donna evading its flailing tails as she lunged at Raven and slammed a fist into her face.

Donna's eyes then widened, as all the attacked managed to do was cause Raven to tilt her head slightly to the side, a smirk across her lips as she gave a condescending look to the Amazon. **"Really now, that's it? I've had harder punches from Beast-Boy."** Raven mocked before throwing a hand forward, a stream of fire slamming into Donna and sending her flying back before skidding into a heap. Meanwhile The Beast slammed Starfire into the ground and wrapped its tails around her body.

Roaring loudly it jumped into the air with her under its body held by its tails before slamming back into the ground on top of her, a scream tearing through her as it did. "STARFIRE!!" Night exclaimed while lunging at The Beast, swinging his staff into its face before throwing an explosive disk into its chest to knock it back. Ducking down to Starfire, Nightwing picked her up only for his eyes to widen as The Beast narrowed its eyes on him, a rumble echoing from its throat.

Roaring out, The Beast slammed its hands into Night and Star, throwing both of them back, Night crying out as his back came into contact with a dumpster. Kid-Flash used this opportunity to get back into the game, spinning around The Beast rapidly before causing a mini-twister to lift it off the ground. Roaring, The Beast lashed out at thin air trying to catch the speedster as he literally continued to run circles around him.

"C'mon! You gotta be faster than that big-guy!" Kid-Flash told The Beast mockingly, an amused smirk on his face. Frowning, Raven narrowed her eyes at this and then snapped her fingers once more, a pillar of black energy shooting up from under Kid-Flash, not only tripping him this time, but also throwing him into the air. Roaring loudly, The Beast grabbed one of his legs and slammed the speedster into the ground just before its own feet touched down.

"Okay… maybe taunting you wasn't the best idea…" Kid-Flash muttered and The Beast seemed to give him a look to the affirmative. Roaring out a second later, The Beast twisted on one heel before throwing Kid-Flash into Donna, knocking both to the ground. "You know, we really got to stop meeting like this…" Kid-Flash quipped before grimacing as he put a hand to his head in pain and Donna pushed him off of herself.

"Fight now, joke later." She ordered the other teen while Cyborg ran passed them, Sonic-Cannon opened as he swung his arm at Raven. However, Te Beast rammed into Cy from the side at the last second, a furious snarl across its face as it punched Cy into the ground and Raven walked over to them.

"**You pathetic mortal trash, you all really need to learn some new tricks."** Raven noted with a shake of her head, then snapped her fingers and The Beast used its tails and arms to lift up Cyborg before slamming him into the ground back first, once, twice and then twisted and threw Cyborg flying towards Night and Star. Seeing the metal teen heading for them, Night rolled out of the way and Cy slammed into a wall, tearing it partially down. Groaning lightly, Cyborg placed a hand to his head while Night walked over to him with a half conscious Starfire.

"Cyborg… are you alright?" Night questioned and Cy opened one eye to give the younger teen an annoyed look.

"Do I look okay?" Cy asked with a deep frown and Night grimaced for a moment before shaking his head.

"Not really." Night admitted while Cy shook his head and looked to where Donna was lunging at Raven and The Beast. The Beast catching Donna's arms before slamming her into the ground and then threw her to the side like she weighed nothing. Twisting in the air, the girl landed in a crouch while sliding back, Kid-Flash lunging at the two as she hit the ground.

"Shit… looks like even when he's completely lost himself, Nar still fights tooth and nail to protect Rae… actually, I've gotta admire that about him." Cy said to himself from the ground while Nightwing looked at him strangely.

"So that thing is actually Naruto?" Night questioned of his titanium teammate and Cy nodded his head slowly. "What the hell happened to him?" Night demanded and Cy grunted while pushing his body back up.

"That green shit that was covering Nar was come kind of mutagenic agent. It obviously did some real nasty mental damage to accompany the physiological mutations. I have a sample of it but the computer and labs in the Tower were smashed all to hell." Cy explained and Night frowned, wondering what they could do to fix this mess. Meanwhile Donna flew around Raven, evading beams of fire from the girl, and then grunted as she was knocked out of the air by The Beast and landed near both boys.

"Excuse me, I'd really rather not interrupt this interesting conversation… but encase either of you have forgotten we have a VERY large problem bearing down on us at the moment!" Donna reminded while pushing herself back to her feet and Nightwing nodded his head with a scowl.

"Oh my… I feel as if a putkin as been doing the frolicking upon my cranium." Starfire mumbled to herself and Nightwing breathed a sigh of relief as the girl slowly looked up and blinked upon seeing him. "Friend Nightwing!" She said happily before wrapping her arms around his neck, Donna clearing her throat with a frown.

"Ahem, this is all very sweet, but encase either of you have forgotten we still have an evil or at least possessed red chick here." Donna reminded while glaring at Nightwing and the teen nodded his head before placing Star back onto her feet. Looking to the side he saw Kid-Flash as he joined them while helping a very sore BB over to them.

"Dude…" BB muttered lightly before opening an eye and looking over to the "Evil-Raven" mentally noting how dangerous she could be for future reference. "She's not moved an inch from that spot and we can barely even touch her! Has Raven always been this powerful or what?" BB demanded while Kid-Flash shrugged his shoulders and Nightwing looked over to Raven with a frown.

"She has… but she's been holding back so she wouldn't hurt anyone… this is her powers off the leash." Night replied before twirling his bo-staff in hand and the Titans prepared at his sides, each one getting ready. "Alright then, attacking one or two at a time has proven to be ineffective against them… so lets try something a little different." Night mused before holding a hand and pointing towards Raven and The Beast. "Titans, Together!" Nightwing ordered as the Team all rushed Raven and The Beast as one.

Night was the first to move, throwing an explosive disk forward while Cy fired his Sonic-Cannon, the "Sonic-Boom" heading straight for Raven and The Beast. Raising a brow, Raven formed a shield to block the incoming attack, and then dropped it when it passed only for Starfire and Donna to slam into The Beast and send him flying back. Growling angrily, Raven turned to attack only for Night to duck into view and knock her off her feet with a swing of his staff.

Using her powers, Raven began to float and then turned only to widen her eyes as Cy bared in on her. "Sorry about this Rae!" He called out before slamming his Sonic-Cannon into her stomach and firing at the same time, sending her flying back. Kid-Flash then ran forward, passed the other Titans and spun under Raven, creating a mini-tornado that carried her away then threw her towards the ground. BB then made his move as he changed into a T-Rex with a roar and swung his tail, slamming it into Raven and sending her flying towards The Beast.

As the boys did that, Starfire and Donna flew into the air before breaking off from The Beast, allowing it to fall down towards the ground. Flying down under it, Donna prepared as Starfire fired her eyebeams into its back and Donna flew up, causing The Beast twice as much pain. Roaring out in agony, The Beast gave a furious look down at Donna who then tuned under him with her feet against his stomach. "Buh bye." She offered with a slight wave before kicking off of The Beast and allowing it to sail down into the ground where it slammed into concrete.

Groaning and then shaking its head, The Beast slowly got back up only to cry out as Starfire pelted it with her Starbolts. Holding up its arms to block the attacks, The Beast reared its arms down before hurling bolts of lightning up at the two girls. Quickly moving out of the way, Donna and Starfire looked to one another before flying down towards The Beast. Narrowing its eyes, The Beast watched them and then grunted as they turned and came at him from his sides. The two girls then slammed into The Beast from his sides, the creature roaring out in pain.

Moving away from it quickly, the girls then watched Raven slammed into it from the side. Both were sent skidding along the ground, The Beast wrapping its arms and tails around Raven to protect her before they slammed into the side of a building. An explosion of dust and debris accompanied The Beast and Raven's unceremonious slam into its outer wall. Gathering back together, The Titans looked at the building as rubble fell down on top of the two…

"Dude… did we do it?" Beast Boy questioned only for the rubble to shudder before being thrown outwards, a furious looking Raven standing out of it.

"You just had to ask…" Nightwing muttered while BB looked at Raven with wide eyes as she narrowed her four glowing eyes.

"**You fools DARE to attack me? Your suffering will be legend even in the darkest depths of Hell!"** Raven roared while throwing her arms to the sides, her black energy suddenly arching up into the air into two walls at either side of the Titans.

"Shit! Titans Move!" Night ordered while Donna grabbed KF, Star grabbing hold of Nightwing, while BB turned into a hawk and flew away as well while Cyborg ran out of the way as the two walls then slammed together with a loud bang. Narrowing her eyes as a scowl crossed her features, Raven then lunged forward, faster than the eye could see she swiped her hands in Cyborgs direction, blades of black energy arching along the ground straight for him.

"Oh shit!" Cy exclaimed before ducking out of the way while Raven herself jumped up and placed a hand onto his head, thus shifting her weight down on his head to slam him into the ground. Landing in a crouch on top of him, she watched as Cy looked at her and realization crossed his face. "You have Brave's strength… Your not just Rage…" He mumbled and a sinister grin spread across Raven's face.

"**No, not just one, but all brought together. Now you see that I am the True Raven!"** She stated before flipping back and held her hand towards Cyborg, covering him in her black Energy before lifting him into the air with a smirk.

"Cyborg!" Night called and then gave a look to Starfire who nodded and twisted in the air to throw the former Boy Wonder straight at Raven. However, Raven saw it coming and quickly slammed Cyborg into Night and then the ground before finally twisting around and slamming the Titanium Teen into Donna and Kid-Flash. Growling angrily, Starfire lunged at Raven only for The Beast to jump from the side and slam his fists into her, slamming her into the ground as he did. Roaring out loudly, The Beast then batted Starfire into the air before batting her away, sending her flying into the distance.

Raven smirked at this then frowned as Nightwing and Donna came at her from her sides. Sighing she then moved her arms back, black energy forming on her fingers into the shapes of claws, which she then jabbed in Night and Donna's directions. Five blades of black energy flew from her fingertips as she did, all of them flying towards the two Titans. Cursing, both Titans ducked to their side to evade them while The Beast landed behind Raven and placed an arm before her while narrowing its eyes on them.

"Dammit… as if Raven wasn't strong enough on her own, with that beast on her side they're tearing us apart." Night mumbled to himself while gazing at the two, only to blink in surprise as a wave of pink energy sent them flying back. Blinking and turning, Night saw Jinx and nine other criminals he was familiar with… _'I take it that's X's team…'_ Night thought to himself while nearby the Konoha-Shinobi touched down and Jinx glared at them eyes glowing.

"Holy shit! Who's that tearing the Titan's a new one?" Gizmo demanded and Mammoth squinted his eyes for a moment.

"Looks like a big ass monster, and one hot as sin demon chick." Mammoth replied with Billy nodding his head with a wide grin while Night rolled his eyes.

"What are you guys doing here?" He demanded and Jinx snorted while crossing her arms.

"We wanted to deal with those Ninja creeps over there so they wouldn't bug X or his friend Naruto anymore… but now it looks like we're saving your collective asses instead." Jinx admitted while glaring at the Konoha Shinobi and then frowned. Before she could say anything however Raven appeared before her swung her clawed hand. Cursing as she ducked down Jinx evaded a claw to the face while Mammoth threw a punch at Raven. The Beast slammed into him at the last second however while Kakashi and the other Shinobi spread out.

"Help any wounded while I go find out what's going on!" Kakashi ordered, the absence of Sasuke unnoticed by the silver haired man as he rushed over to Nightwing. "What the hell is going on around here?" Kakashi demanded of Nightwing while Ravager stayed behind in the shadows, watching with narrowed eyes. Giving Kakashi a glare, Nightwing slowly got to his feet, the silver haired man actually helping him up.

"Naruto apparently got covered in some weird ooze that started changing him, Raven, and more than likely your friend Sasuke into monsters…" Night replied before grunting as he pushed away from Kakashi and watched as Raven and The Beast focused on fighting Tartarus.

"You mean to tell me that THING is supposed to be Naruto?" Kakashi demanded and Night merely nodded his head while Ino and Hinata healed who they could. Frowning, Night then saw "Sakura" running at Raven from behind before rearing a hand back with a wide, almost insane, grin.

"What the hell is she doing?" Night demanded and Kakashi plainly gaped at the girl in shock.

"Sakura Stop!" He shouted loudly as the girl threw her fist at Raven, the empath merely raising a brow even as she dodged to the side. Growling, "Sakura" twisted into a kick that connected with Raven's cheek, sending her flying away. Growling in his throat, The Beast then grabbed her from behind, however she merely kicked down, slamming her foot into the top of its head and sending it into the ground. Twisting on one heel she then stopped as she was about to slam a fist into The Beast, her dark-forest green eyes wide as she saw the familiar spiky mop of hair on its head and "Fox-Like" form…

"Naruto…" She mumbled and that was all Raven needed to attack, her Dark-Energy forming around the Fuchsia haired girl before throwing her into the air. Cursing, Sakura turned in midair and mentally cursed Tsunade for never teaching her any long-range attacks. _**'Old bat really needs more moves that can hit the opponent from a distance, don't matter how much damn damage I can do up close if they can tear into me from a distance.'**_ Ayane grumbled inwardly while Sakura started yelling at her about not insulting Tsunade, causing Ayane to roll her eyes for a moment.

'_**Honestly Pinky, shut up and let me concentrate before that bitch…'**_ Ayane started to say only to yelp as Raven formed another aura of Dark-Energy around her and then slammed her into the ground. Shaking her head and glad she knew how to soften impacts with Chakra, Ayane flipped off the ground and then cursed as a wave of Fire came at her from Raven's hands. _**'Holy shit! Never would've pegged her as having a Fire alignment! Seemed more like a Water or Wind all things considered…'**_ Ayane thought then mused absently before shaking her head and narrowing her eyes on Raven.

'_**Focus Ayane, you can be impressed all you want after you get Naruto back from this freaky bitch!'**_ Ayane ordered while Sakura muttered under her breath from her new prison. Crouching back, Ayane pushed her Chakra to her foot and kicked off with the same strength normally in her punches increasing her speed as she jumped into a twist and kicked Raven in the chest. Then turned on her heel and slammed the side of her foot into the side of Raven's head, sending her flying once more.

Smirking, Ayane watched as Raven hit a wall and then brushed off her arms before brushing off her shirt. Idly she noticed her body seemed to be more physically developed, now mirroring the one Sakura had seen in the mirror. "Ha! Not only am I in control now, but also MY body looks better than ever! Not to mention that kind of force should've taken Emo-Chick out of the game for…" Ayane started to say before cursing as a beam of fire hit her from behind and laid her out.

Hissing in pain, Ayane turned to see who had attacked her, then plainly gaped as Raven marched towards her. All four eyes were narrowed, and her lips were parted in a snarl, fangs bared and fire forming over her hands… _**'Oh shit she's really pissed off now… and is Naruto dating a real Demon or something?'**_ Ayane had to wonder before shaking her head and reminding herself not to get so distracted. Reaching back into a pouch, she pulled out her Fighters gloves and pulled them on before taking a stance and lunging at Raven once more.

Meanwhile, The Beast had to deal with most of Tartarus while Jinx made her way over to Night. "This thing isn't too bright is it?" Mammoth noted while ducking under a swing from The Beast and then slammed a fist into its chin. Snorting in annoyance, The Beast narrowed its eyes onto the large Australian and then slammed a fist into his chest, sending him flying back while Billy ducked down as two of his clones were sent flying with the large teen.

"May not be too bright, but Billy thinks his brawn more than make up for it." Billy said to himself before rolling out of the way as The Beast slammed its fists into the ground where he had been only a second before. Getting to his feet Billy ran off while Private HIVE rammed into The Beast shield first before slamming a fist into its chin. The affect was no more substantial than that of Mammoth and The Beast's eyes began to narrow before it roared, a sphere of Lightning spreading from its body and knocking the Tartarus boys away.

As she got away, Jinx ran over to Nightwing, who was still with Kakashi, and looked at him with wide eyes. "What IS that thing?" She demanded and Nightwing looked at her for a moment before sighing.

"His name is Uzumaki Naruto, and as you know he's your leader Red-X's friend." He replied and Kakashi looked at Night for a moment before deciding not to get involved. At this revelation, Jinx gaped at Nightwing before looking back to the Beast as it practically made mincemeat out of her team.

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO HIM!?!" Jinx demanded loudly while grabbing both Kakashi and Night's collars, both looking to one another before turning back to Jinx.

"Uh… well… Raven was kidnapped yesterday and he, she, and that Sasuke guy got covered in a green mutagen. Apparently it destabilized their DNA and did something to their minds. They started transforming this morning as far as I know and it only got progressively worse as time went on." Night explained before breathing a sigh of relief and Jinx looked at The Beast with wide eyes. _'I knew it! I knew she was going to get him into major trouble like this! But does he listen to me? NOOOO!'_ Jinx screamed in her head before gritting her teeth as she saw the Red-Skinned Raven fighting with Sakura while the other Ninja were seemingly running damage control for the moment.

"Great, then what do you plan on doing to fix this little predicament?" Jinx demanded with her hands on her hips and Nightwing opened his mouth for a moment before sighing.

"I'm not sure… our labs were destroyed or I'd have Cy try and whip up an antidote to the stuff before it reaches the lethal level." Night admitted and Kakashi and Jinx's eyes both snapped open.

"LETHAL!" The both demanded and Nightwing blinked before nodding his head.

"Well yeah, it destabilized their DNA, thus their genetic codes are unraveling and will probably fall apart altogether if left untreated." Nightwing replied and Jinx looked around and then grit her teeth.

"You need a lab, use ours, I'll grab Gizmo, you get Cyborg! Oh and find that Ravager bitch too, between the three of them they should be able to come up with an Anti-Mutagen to fix this mess." Jinx stated before running off and both Kakashi and Night stared at her retreating figure silently…

"You have to admire a woman who can take charge like that…" Kakashi said and got a look from Nightwing.

"Just find Ravager…" He grumbled while walking off to get Cyborg and Kakashi shrugged before rushing off, not to keen on being lazy for the moment.

"Wow, I think the guys could use our help… think we should?" Dani asked Blackfire while they looked down at the situation, Gizmo flying nearby with a grimace.

"Hell no, I say we run and run far away before that thing eats us!" Gizmo shouted and Dani rolled her eyes before looking to a thoughtful Blackfire.

"You know… that looks like a Andoran Vulpimancer, never seen one off of their home world though, and they normally don't have armor made from bones… rocks yes, but never bones." Blackfire said mostly to herself and got looks from both Dani and Gizmo. "Oh alright, I say we help, besides, its not like there's anything better to do." Blackfire reminded as she and Dani flew down towards The Beast and slammed into it from the side. Seeing his chance, Mammoth grinned and ran at the Beast before jumping up and slamming into it, plowing it into the ground as he did.

"Stupid Cludegheads…" Gizmo muttered before seeing Jinx looking up at him motioning him down. Grumbling, the Tiny-Terror flew down to the girl and gave her a one-eyed glare. "Alright pit-sniffer, what do you want?" Gizmo demanded rudely and Jinx narrowed her eyes.

"Temp's the monster, a mutagen has destabilized his DNA and if we don't fix this mess, he'll die!" She explained quickly and Gizmo was silent for a moment before slapping his face with a growl.

"Only Tempest can get himself into shit this deep. I swear other villains don't have to put up with half the hell he causes us!" Gizmo said mostly to himself only for Jinx to grab him eyes glowing bright pink as she does.

"Listen to me you little bald foul-mouthed midget with an inferiority Complex, if you don't work with Cyborg and Ravager to save Tempest, I swear I'll hex you into a puddle of protoplasmic goo! GOT ME!?" Jinx roared with teeth gritted and Gizmo silently nodded his head with wide fearful eyes. "Good! Then get them to our base and then get to work!" Jinx ordered while pointing over to where Cyborg was with Night and Ravager was with Kakashi.

More than happy to escape, Gizmo zipped over to them and then looked at them both with a frown. "This is only a one time thing." Gizmo stated and Cyborg gave him a look, trying to remind him of a certain tournament no doubt, before deciding to leave it.

"Right, and after this, we go back to our usual routines of trying to destroy one another." Cy said with a smirk and Gizmo gave him a look.

"Uh, Duh." Gizmo replied while Duela jumped onto Cy's back with a wide smile.

"Don't forget me!" She shouted and Cyborg and Ravager both stared at the red haired clown girl.

"And what exactly makes you think you should come with us?" Ravager asked flatly and Duela took a thoughtful look before reaching into her bag and then produced a canister of Smilex, Night cursing as he quickly jumped away from her.

"Besides the fact that I am a bit of a chemist. Do either of you REALLY want to find out what some of this would do to two highly volatile mutated and probably very demonic beings?" Duela asked, sounding surprisingly sane if not a little evil, and Cy looked to Gizmo who shook his head.

"Fine, the clown bitch can come, just hold still. I've only tested this thing once…" Gizmo said and Cyborg blinked for a moment.

"Only tested what once?" He asked and Gizmo grinned as he hit a button, He, Cyborg, Ravager, and Duela all vanishing in a flash of light while Nightwing turned to see Jinx heading after Raven and Ayane…

"It's going to be one of those nights…" Night muttered under his breath before lunging after The Beast, knowing first hand that Raven and Jinx had some serious issues with one another and that it was best not to get in their way…

Above the battlefield, a figure sat with an amused smirk across his lips, one hand resting lightly on his cheek while the other was laid across a knee. Chuckling to himself as he watched the foolishness of the Ninja and strange warriors below as they battled one another into exhaustion. However, moving his amber-gold / red eyes, he then grinned upon seeing that Ayane, The Beast, and Raven were all clearly not tired even in the least, and instead seemed to be running on nearly infinite reserves of energy.

'_Truly marvelous a marvelous display little Naruto-Kun, you've grown even stronger than you were when last we met. It will truly be a pleasure to face you, Jiraiya-Chan's prized student, and also Tsunade-Hime's little apprentice… It will be a regular Gathering of the Sannin through our apprentices… with me taking it in a literal sense of course.'_ Orochimaru's voice echoed even in Sasuke's mind, a twisted smile crossing his lips as he watched the slaughter further…

--

(??)

Inside his mindscape, Naruto hung with a frown while his Inner-Demon walked back into the room, passed him. The Inner-Demon then looked to the silently working Kyuubi with what could only pass as its version of a frown across its face. _**"It would seem you were correct Great-One, This-One could not find a suitable exit for us."**_ The Inner-Demon said while Naruto narrowed his eyes on the creature.

"Yo, Gama-Kitsune thing!" Naruto called out and the Inner-Demon turned and gave him a look while tilting its head.

"_**What does Other-One want from This-One? We are very busy encase you haven't noticed…"**_ It questioned of the blond with what could only come off as a frown, though given its eternal Glasgow Grin it was hard to tell. Smirking in the back of his mind, Naruto narrowed his eyes on his Inner-Demon and frowned.

"What kind of coward are you?" Naruto questioned and the Inner-Demon instantly had him by the throat, a furious expression in its orange eyes.

"_**Other-One DARES to call us a Coward? We are no Coward, we are Uzumaki Naruto, and we fear nothing!"**_ The Inner-Demon growled out while its eyes narrowed to thin slits, Naruto scoffing while trying to adjust his head within the creatures grasp.

"Really? If you fear nothing then why do you have me all oozed up?" Naruto questioned of his Inner-Demon and it narrowed its eyes.

"_**What does Other-One mean? How does this make us a coward?"**_ It demanded and Naruto smirked inwardly while looking at it. _'Hook, line, and sinker…'_ He thought to himself before leaning his head forward to look into its eyes.

"Well, rather than fight me like Uzumaki Naruto really would, your cocooning me in Slime and looking around for an exit, like a coward." Naruto replied and his Inner-Demon scowled visibly before releasing his throat and turning away from him. Shaking his head, Naruto watched the Inner-Demon, noting it hiss in its throat while pacing before him and then turning to face him once more.

"_**Other-One makes a point, We would never merely trap someone and then seek a way out."**_ The Inner-Demon mused aloud before holding up a clawed hand and swiping inward, the reddish-black slime moving to wrap over its form. Falling down to the ground and landing in a crouch, Naruto frowned towards the creature while standing.

"So now what?" Naruto questioned and his Inner-Demon began to circle him, his eyes never leaving the blond.

"_**This-One cannot escape so long as We both exist, in order for This-One to take control, Other-One must cease to exist."**_ The Inner-Demon replied while circling around the blond haired boy and Naruto frowned.

"Basically you want to fight me to prove you have the stronger will between us… Right?" Naruto questioned and the Inner-Demon grinned while stopping before the blond, tails arched towards him and claws outstretched.

"_**Other-One has some brains after all. Yes. If two cannot leave this place, only one may exist. And it will be This-One."**_ The Inner-Demon said darkly and Naruto crossed his arms while rubbing his chin in thought.

"First, one rule, no Jutsu or any transformations to try and demoralize me by turning into Kaa-san, Kara-Chan, or Jinx." Naruto stated while pointing at The Inner-Demon and saw its lip curl slightly in distaste.

"_**This-One agrees with Other-One's terms. Such diabolical tactics are not needed for This-One to defeat Other-One."**_ The Inner Demon said in agreement and Naruto blinked, surprised by the Inner-Demons willingness to agree to his term.

"You're being awfully generous…" Naruto noted and The Inner Demon grinned darkly while giving him a look.

"_**As This-One said, This-One has no need for such Diabolical Tactics. This-One is Uzumaki Naruto's most aggressive traits and tendencies we've hidden… This-One is more than dangerous enough without such tactics…"**_ The Inner-Demon replied before opening its maw, a long tongue reaching out for a moment before it slithered back into its open mouth. Blinking for a moment, Naruto then shivered slightly, was it just him or was that Tongue just a little too similar to Orochimaru's…

"First of all, that tongue is majorly freaky. Second, bring it on!" Naruto said with a smirk and the Inner-Demon crouched down before lunging forward, swiping its claws at the blond haired teen. Leaning back, Naruto moved low so his Inner-Demon's claws passed over him. Twisting back onto his feet, the blond then slid towards the Inner-Demon and slammed both feet into its face. Grunting, the Inner-Demon backed up before grinning as his tails lashed out at the blond.

Flipping back to evade the prehensile tails, Naruto then flipped into the air while his Inner-Demon lunged at him. Twisting around a swing of his Demon's claws, the blond slammed his right arm into the back of its neck. Grunting and growling angrily, the Inner-Demon reached out and grabbed Naruto by his head. Rearing the blond back The Inner-Demon threw him down to the ground before he slammed into him. Ignoring Naruto as he let out a strangled cry, Naruto's Inner-Demon reared back a fist before slamming it into the blond.

"_**What's the matter Other-One, running of steam?"**_ His Inner-Demon taunted while getting off of the Blond and then reached down and grabbed him by the right ankle with one of his tails.

"Shut up fuzz butt…" Naruto mumbled with a grunt and his Inner-Demon merely smirked while looking at him.

"_**What? Other-One can dish it out, but can't take it when someone else starts taunting?"**_ His Demon questioned of the blond and Naruto frowned before twisting and kicking the side of its head, allowing him to fall back to the ground before lunging forward and slamming into his Inner-Demon shoulder first. Quickly stopping, Naruto launched his Inner-Demon into the bars of Kyuubi's cage, the said beast blinking as it opened its eyes and gave a slight glare.

"How's that for dishing it out, Bro?" Naruto asked mockingly and The Inner-Demon hissed while getting back up and narrowed its eyes on him.

"_**We think that Other-One needs better taunts."**_ It quipped before crouching back and launching forward in a run. Preparing himself, Naruto flipped over the Inner-Demon and landed behind him in a low crouch. Turning and staying low he watched the Inner-Demon slow down, however he noticed due to its size it had problems with it.

"This coming from a creature that's clearly all brawn and no brain." Naruto mused aloud and the Inner-Demon gave the equivalent of a smirk while in its form.

"_**At least This-One isn't an Air-Head like you, Tempest."**_ The creature mocked and Naruto blinked for a moment before frowning.

"Why am I not surprised you share my witty sense of humor?" Naruto wondered mostly to himself while his Inner-Demon launched itself forward once more, claws swinging at the blond. Cursing, Naruto ducked under the first swipe of its claws and then used a backwards roll to dodge the next before flipping back to dodge a final swipe of its claws. Landing against the bars of Kyuubi's cage, Naruto kicked off of them and rammed into his Inner-Demon. The beast merely smirked at this and dug its claws into the ground, thus didn't move even a budge as Naruto slammed into it.

Grinning, The Inner-Demon swung its claws at Naruto and he flipped over it, only for it to quickly grab him with its free hand. Roaring loudly, his Inner-Demon slammed him into the ground, once, then swung him over and slammed his back into the ground before swinging him over and slamming him face forward. Chuckling, The Inner-Demon then threw Naruto into the air and rammed into him back first, sending him skidding along the ground where he flipped back to his feet and swayed before shaking his head.

"_**To answer Other-One's earlier question, it's because we share many traits."**_ The Inner-Demon stated and Naruto frowned while it lunged at him once more.

"Really? Well, at least it's nice to know only I have my charming good looks." He said aloud while flipping out of the way of one of the Inner-Demon's tails, and then landed on his back. Smirking, the Blond then flipped back as its tails slammed into its back and spun around into a kick to the side of its head. Landing in a low crouch, Naruto rolled back as his Inner-Demon slammed both of its fists down where he had been only a few mere seconds ago.

Landing in a crouch, Naruto smirked while his Demon narrowed its orange eyes onto him. _**"This is looking to be a most… interesting, if not long, battle. Wouldn't Other-One agree?"**_ His Inner-Demon commented while slowly pacing and Naruto smirked towards his Inner-Demon.

"I hate to admit it… but I think you might be right." Naruto said while taking a stance while his Inner-Demon crouched back and roared while slamming its claws into the ground, digging them in before launching itself towards the blond once more…

--

(Jump-City…)

Nightwing was seriously considering calling for help. Raven was a force to be reckoned with alone, and upon attacking The Beast in numbers they learned how truly pissed off she could become. That had not been an experience he wanted to repeat. Currently he was still laid out along with half of Tartarus, Kid-Wykkyd, Mammoth, Jinx, Dani, and Blackfire being the only one's still moving on their side. Donna, Starfire, and ironically Beast-Boy, were the only ones still standing on their side since the enraged girl had laid out himself and Kid-Flash soundly.

As far as the Shinobi, Neji was still fighting with The Beast, Ino was too freaked to attempt any mental Jutsu on either of them, mostly mentioning something about Multiple Personality Disorder screwing with her ability to control their bodies, thus was stuck to healing any wounded she could. Hinata was healing the injured as best she could as well; Kakashi was still fighting The Beast while "Sakura" tried to deal with the enraged Raven. _'Where's that Sasuke freak run off to? Or is he out attacking some other part of the city?'_ Nightwing wondered while Raven had her energy wrap around Ayane a furious look in her eyes.

"**Mortal Scum, I've had enough of you!"** She roared before flinging Ayane into the ground, then threw her arm to the side slamming her into a building before raising her hand up, Ayane following it up threw the buildings roof where Raven then brought her hand down, slamming her into the ground where Dust and debris was kicked up. Groaning at this, Night looked to the side to see that Hinata girl healing Kid-Flash while Ino was working on Billy Numerous.

"Ugh… I think a truck done hit me… right Billy?" Billy mumbled then asked a clone at his side, both having a hand to their head.

"Yeah Billy, sure does feel like it… Ugh… remind me not to do that again." Billy said to himself while Ino resisted the urge to check out what made this guy tick.

"Agreed Billy." Billy finished and Ino rubbed her temples for a moment.

"You are the ONLY person I know of that can talk to his clones like that and still sound completely crazy!" She complained before shaking her head and making her way over to a downed Seemore. Turning from the scene, Night looked to see Raven making her way towards the downed Fuchsia haired girl only for Jinx to kick her from the side and then march towards the other pinkette. Groaning, Ayane looked up and blinked upon seeing the girl, her jaw going slack a second later.

"Holy shit! There's two of us! I mean me, er you or… OH you get what I mean!" Ayane shouted before saying as she rubbed her temples and pushed herself back to her feet. _**'Ugh… Amaterasu's Panties that was a beating I don't want to relive anytime soon…'**_ Ayane noted to herself before seeing the narrowed pink eyes of Jinx glaring into her. "What? You got a problem Pinky?" Ayane demanded while placing her hands on her hips and caught Jinx slightly off guard.

"Wait a minute, I know you, your that cheating bitch that broke Tempest's hear!?" Jinx shouted while pointing at Ayane, the fuchsia haired girl blinking before she growled and got into Jinx's face.

"Oh hell no! You're so not pinning that shit on me! That was so not me, I mean yeah it was me but it was the OTHER me! Sakura can be a real bitch, but I'm not her, I mean I am but I'm just her inner self and…" Ayane shouted at Jinx then tried to explain while getting a headache, honestly, concentrating was starting to become more and more difficult…

"Yeah, like I'll really believe you, crazy." Jinx said sarcastically, arms crossed as she gave Ayane a look. Growling, the said girl grabbed Jinx's collar and glared at her eye to eye.

"Oh fuck it! Yeah, that's me, but its not me, and can we please talk about this later? We've still got that psycho demon bitch to worry about!" Ayane shouted while flipping back, Jinx following her movements perfectly as they both landed in a perfect crouch. Growling, Raven looked at the two and a slightly evil grin slowly slithered across her face as she cracked her knuckles menacingly.

"**Well what do we have here? The two girls I hate most in life in the exact same spot? Lord, what did I do in a previous life to deserve such a gift?"** Raven mused, and then asked while looking towards the sky before shrugging her shoulders. **"Well regardless, I think its high time I finally got rid of the most annoying pink haired girls in my life!"** Raven said while throwing her hands to the side, both being engulfed in fire as Ayane and Jinx looked to one another.

"What the hell did you do to her?!" They demanded of one another at the same time before yelping as they dodged a fireball from the girl. However before the two could attack Kid-Wykkyd appeared and swung his cape at Raven, the girl backing away as black energy trailed from it.

"Who the fuck is the guy in the Bat costume?" Ayane demanded and Jinx blinked for a moment while Kid vanished to evade an attack from Raven.

"Kid-Wykkyd, he's a member of my team but he never really takes any of his fights seriously from what I know." Jinx admitted while Kid reappeared at a light poll and swung his cape at it, teleporting a portion of its metal away and allowing the light poll to fall towards Raven.

"Interesting ability, how's he do that?" Ayane asked as the light poll fell towards Raven, the red skinned demoness easily evading the Light-Poll as Kid frowned. Blinking for a moment Jinx frowned while Raven lunged at Kid, the grey skinned teen vanishing back into his cape just as Raven swiped her claws, creating arches of black energy that tore into the ground where he had just been.

"Well, to be honest I'm not sure. All I know is that Kid can open up alternate dimensions or something, and uses his cape as a medium for the portal." Jinx admitted, since she didn't know the exact mechanics behind Kid's powers. Kid himself reappeared above them and gave them both a frown, Jinx grinning nervously as she got up. "Right, fight now, discuss your powers later." Jinx said mostly to Kid and he nodded his head while Ayane couldn't help a snicker.

"So what's the plan?" Ayane questioned as Raven crouched and lunged towards them with her teeth gritted.

"Kid, think you can show your stuff?" Jinx questioned and Kid nodded his head silently before throwing his cape to the sides and pulling the girls into it. Blinking, Raven slid to a stop where they had been and looked around only for Kid to appear behind her and Ayane to kick her with a grin, sending Raven skidding away.

"Oh hell yes! I don't care what anyone says, Teleportation kicks so much ass!" Ayane said with a grin while Kid-Wykkyd pulled his cape around them once more and they appeared above Raven, Jinx throwing a Hex-bolt at her and causing the ground to melt beneath her. Growling, Raven looked up in time to see Kid-Wykkyd pull them back into his cape before they appeared before her and Ayane slammed her foot into Raven's face, sending her flying back…

Meanwhile Dani, Blackfire, Kakashi, and Neji are watching as Mammoth has a test of strength with The Beast. Kakashi had his Hittai-Ate up to reveal his Sharingan, but was taking a break from actively fighting The Beast for a moment… he was still recovering from last night after all. "You know it's not so scary when it isn't beating on you…" Blackfire noted mostly to herself while nursing a headache and Dani rolled her eyes. Blackfire had been the one to have the most severe of beatings, Dani having used her intangibility to evade such a fate while the others go the physical punishment.

"You all complain way to much." She noted while crossing her arms and Blackfire's eyes snapped open before looking at her in shock.

"Oh by X'hol, I didn't think it was possible. But you're actually talking even more like X than normal!" Blackfire stated and Dani blinked and then shivered while Kakashi and Neji looked to one another and shrugged, as far as they were concerned, this entire universe was totally insane.

"Uh hello! I could use a little help here!" Mammoth shouted at them as The Beast used its tails to get some leverage on Mammoth, thus knocking him off his feet before slamming him into the ground and then threw him into a building.

"Well he be okay?" Kakashi asked while looking towards where Mammoth hit and Dani yawned while fanning her mouth.

"Who… Mammoth? Yeah he's probably fine, he's got a real hard head." Dani replied with a nod and Kakashi wondered how they could be so lax at times like this. "Now then, lets go Blackfire!" Dani then stated while flying forward and ramming into The Beast from the side, then formed a pair of Plasma-Rays and fired into it, sending it flying back. The Beast was sent flying, skidding along the ground for a moment before slamming into a warehouse…

"Am I good or what?" Dani asked with a smirk under her mask and Blackfire rolled her eyes before yawning while Neji looked to Kakashi.

"That was… most impressive all things considered." Neji said and Kakashi rolled his eyes before narrowing them as The Beast roared out in fury while making its way towards them.

"Unfortunately it doesn't look like it was enough." Kakashi said while Blackfire and Dani prepared for a fight when Beast-Boy slammed into The Beast as an elephant with Starfire. The Beast rolled along the ground for a moment before flipping onto its feet and looked around warily as BB and Star made their way to the others.

"Dudes! Does this thing not know when to quit or what?" BB asked while shifting back to his human form and Kakashi sighed while pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Naruto always did have a hard head… not to mention being too stubborn for his own good." Kakashi admitted then mumbled under his breath and Starfire gasped.

"You mean that this most violent monster is also Friend-Raven's friend who is a boy?" Starfire questioned and Kakashi stared at the girl for a moment.

"Huh?" He asked intelligently and Blackfire sighed.

"Please forgive little Starfire, she never was any good with foreign languages. Probably why mom suggested I be an ambassador…" Blackfire explained then mused mostly to herself while Starfire pouted.

"Sister please, I though you would not be doing anymore of the bragging or any of the 'putting me down'." Starfire grumbled and Kakashi looked to Neji before shaking his head.

"Well, if you are all going to talk, I think its time we incapacitated that Beast before it gets out of hand." Kakashi reminds while The Beast narrowed its eyes and then sucked in a breath before unleashing a loud Chakra enhanced 'Sonic-Roar' that sent the flyers soaring back while BB turned into a gorilla to stay put and Kakashi and Neji both used Chakra to hold still as The Beast's roar was finished.

"Whoa what kind of attack was that?" BB questioned and Kakashi frowned before crouching down as The Beast readied itself to attack, Neji doing the same.

"That would be bad." Kakashi finally said as The Beast lunged forward, quickly forming a few hand seals Kakashi then narrowed his eyes. **"Doton: Doryuheki! (Earth Release: Earth Style Wall!)"** Kakashi then exclaimed as a rock wall rose between them and The Beast the said creature growling as it then jumped up and over the wall. "Good." Kakashi said while throwing his hands out, Ninja wire wrapping around The Beast as he yanked it down to the ground BB gaping in shock.

"DUDE! That was so awesome! How'd you do that?" BB questioned and Kakashi looked at him strangely while Neji lunged at The Beast. _'If I can just knock out his Chakra, we won't have to do any further harm to…'_ Neji started to think while activating his Byakugan and then rolled out of the way of one of its tails. Dodging to the side, Neji lunged at The Beast once more only for it to grab him by the throat and throw him into the distance. Roaring loudly, The Beast then turned to glare at a wide-eyed Kakashi.

"Well this can't be good…" The man mumbled as The Beast roared loudly as Lightning spread from its body and into Kakashi from the wires. Gritting his teeth even as the lightning coursed into him, Kakashi then released the wires and jumped back while The Beast shook its head and ripped the wires from its body. "Just great… and I was hoping to do this without actually having to hurt him." Kakashi muttered under his breath before lunging to the side and pushing BB out of the way as The Beast lunged at them once more…

Meanwhile Raven was sliding to a stop while Ayane, Jinx, and Kid vanished into his cape once more. Gritting her teeth the red skinned demoness threw her hand forward, a black portal forming where she then reached inside. Grasping something she then yanked out Kid-Wykkyd and the girls, all three looking at her with wide eyes. **"You really shouldn't taunt the Daughter of Trigon fools."** She growled out, Jinx and Kid paling greatly while Ayane raised a brow. Grinning slightly, Raven then formed her energy over Kid, Jinx, and Ayane and raised them into the air.

"Ah hell, not this again!" Ayane complained as Raven slammed them into the ground multiple times before twisting around and throwing them skidding along the ground where Dani, Starfire, and Blackfire had landed. Groaning, Ayane sat up and placed a hand to her head. "Shit… does this bitch not know the meaning of holding back?" Ayane asked seriously while Starfire blinked then grit her teeth.

"YOU!" She shouted and lunged at the girl, Blackfire and Dani hugging one another while looking on in shock as Starfire mercilessly attacked Ayane…

"Uh… what's she done to piss your otherwise perky cheerful sister off like that?" Dani asked while Blackfire listened in on what little she could make out of what Starfire was saying while speaking in Tameranian no less…

"I think this "Sakura" girl might've used someone to get to someone else and hurt his feelings greatly…" Blackfire said and grimaced as a bad taste entered her mouth.

"Wait… Sakura? Isn't that the chick who cheated on X?" Dani asked while still hugging onto Blackfire, the said Tameranian Princess blinking for a moment.

"Oh… yeah that sounds about right. So, do you think we can just let Starfire destroy her?" Blackfire asked seriously and Dani gave her a look in response.

"As interesting as this conversation is, would you two get the fuck off of me already?!" Jinx demanded with wide angry eyes and both Blackfire and Dani blinked before releasing one another and floating off of the pinkette. Growling, Jinx then flipped back to her feet before lunging at Ayane and plowing into her from behind, Dani and Blackfire looking to one another.

"Are we the only girls around here that don't have some kind of insane aggression towards that Sakura girl?" Dani asked and saw Blackfire shrug her shoulders.

"Technically speaking, Sakura is a Garlock, and to a Tameranian that is the greatest sin you can commit and the worst thing you can call someone. So Starfire's reaction I understand, as for Jinx, she likes X, and Raven, she's his mate, so all and all, they have reasons to pummel her." Blackfire explained while Dani looked at the older girl for a moment before shaking her head. Nearby, Raven was smirking seeing the mortals attacking one another, then frowned and sniffed. Narrowing her eyes she turned towards a building and saw Sasuke sitting on it watching them.

'_**There he is…'**_ The red skinned demoness thought to herself before narrowing her eyes and formed a ball of fire over her left hand. Throwing her hand towards the teen she saw him blur into motion as the flames slammed into the warehouse. Frowning, Raven looked up to see a smirking Sasuke floating above them.

"So that's where he went…" Nightwing whispered while Ino and Hinata healed Mammoth, Dani and Blackfire dragging Kid-Wykkyd over to them. Dropping Kid down, both girls turned back to the fights to see Private HIVE and Seemore were now attacking The Beast with BB and Kakashi. Neji was unconscious and Donna was picking him up and pulling him over to them, and last, Jinx and Starfire were tearing into Ayane…

"It's turning into a war-zone around here!" Dani noted and Blackfire shook her head while Donna flew passed them and dropped Neji off to be healed while Billy and some of his clones watched the continuing battle with wide eyes.

"Billy, how come no matter what we do, we always end up in some massive fight?" Billy asked one of his clones and another Billy shook his head.

"Don't know Billy, probably just bad luck on our part." His clone noted while another Clone looked out from between them.

"Now here's what I'm wondering Billy. Who the hell is that there freak flying above us?" Billy's clone asked and the other two Billy's shrugged their shoulders while Dani and Blackfire stared at the teen.

"You know, listening to him makes me feel so smart." Dani admitted and Blackfire nodded her head in agreement with the ghost girl.

Meanwhile, "Sasuke" gazed down at Raven with an amused smirk as she glared up at him. _'Such a strange girl. Though I must admit that her powers do intrigue me.'_ He thought to himself while floating down to the ground and then turned his head to see The Beast glaring at him. _'Naruto-Kun, even as a monstrous Beast… you still manage to look at me with those eyes of yours… ones that mirror his own.'_ "Sasuke" thought as he turned towards Naruto and frowned as The Beast ducked under an attack from Kakashi before slamming into him, trampling over Private HIVE along the way and then lunged at him with a roar.

"**Come to play have you, Naruto-Kun?"** Sasuke questioned mockingly while taking a step to the side and allowing Naruto to pass him. Sliding along the ground, The Beast soon came to a halt next to Raven as she watched "Sasuke" turn to face them with a twisted smirk across his lips. **"It's been so long since I last had a battle worthy of my time, I do hope you can entertain me."** He said with a slight chuckle while Kakashi looked towards Sasuke and widened his eyes upon seeing the single snake like eye…

"Orochimaru?" Kakashi whispered and Sasuke turned, the markings around his eyes being revealed as well.

"**Ah, Kakashi, it's been so long since I last saw you. I see age is finally starting to take its toll on your body… I know the feeling."** Orochimaru said mockingly and Kakashi narrowed his eyes while pushing himself up to his feet while Raven frowned deeply.

"**A pathetic body-snatcher inhabiting the soul of an equally pathetic mortal. Why am I not surprised?"** She wondered aloud while placing a hand on The Beast's head to keep it, relatively, calm. Stiffening at the accusation, Orochimaru then whirled around to face Raven while Ayane was holding Jinx off of herself while Starfire had her in a headlock at the same time.

"I am… confused… is that not the Sasuke or someone else?" Starfire suddenly questioned and Ayane frowned before snickering.

"Ha! Pinky slept with a snake! Now that is so fucking rich! Wait… that means I did…" Ayane said then muttered with a grimace before visibly shaking in disgust at the notion while Orochimaru and the two "Inner-Demons" ignored them.

"**Well my dear, if I'm pathetic, what are you? Your powers do intrigue me, such abilities without any form of Chakra. It would be a unique opportunity to find out how they worked, I feel they might even help me in my endeavors."** Orochimaru questioned and Raven looked down her nose towards the possessed teen.

"**What I am is for me to know. A pathetic body-snatcher like you does not even deserve to be in my presence, let alone know what I am."** Raven responded before holding out her hand, fire forming over it. **"Which is why I must bid you farewell, Body-Snatcher, we will NOT be meeting again."** Raven stated while firing a beam of flames towards Orochimaru. Smirking, the former Sannin looked on as the beam of heat came his way then effortlessly jumped over it and flew towards Raven.

"**I see someone is a bit too arrogant for her own good. No mater, I'll just have to teach you a lesson in respecting your superiors!"** Orochimaru mused aloud while forming several hand seals and then threw his hands towards Raven and The Beast. _**'Sen'ei Tajashu! (Many Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!)'**_ Orochimaru thought to himself as dozens of Snakes seemed to sprout out of the arm-warmers Sasuke wore.

Eyes widening slightly, Raven frowned while The Beast evaded the many snakes by rolling to the side. Raven on the other hand merely formed a black shell around her body before smirking and snapping her fingers. Instantly her shell exploded, flames spreading out and burning all the snakes into ash. Chuckling at this, Orochimaru landed on the ground while Raven brushed off her shoulders. _'Truly intriguing, I must know where this power of her's comes from.'_ Orochimaru thought to himself before backing up as The Beast came at him with a roar.

"**You really should learn how to keep your pet on a leash."** Orochimaru mocked while kicking The Beast in the jaw, frowning when it easily righted itself and came at him swinging once more. Frowning at Orochimaru for his accusation, Raven watched the two before snapping her fingers, causing a pillar of black energy instantly launching Orochimaru into the air where The Beast came at him swinging. Smirking despite himself, Orochimaru grabbed one of The Beast's outstretched arms before twisting and throwing him into the ground. Landing in a crouch with a smirk, Orochimaru was surprised to see Raven standing before him, arms crossed.

"**First of all, that's not my pet."** Raven growled out while slamming a fist into Orochimaru's face, sending him skidding back. Chuckling, Orochimaru looked up as Raven vanished and then reappeared over him, eyes narrowed in hate. **"Second, I hate snakes like you…"** Raven hissed out while forming another ball of fire over her hand and Orochimaru grinned.

"**Yes, well I assure you that the feeling is completely mutual."** Orochimaru stated ominously before twisting around to knock her off balance and then flew into the air to evade a quick beam of heat. Landing on top of a building, Orochimaru watched as Kakashi got back up and prepared to attack him as well. _'This is truly an interesting world… maybe I should capture some of these so called "Meta-Humans" for some experimentations later.'_ Orochimaru mused to himself with a light chuckle while the two Inner-Demons prepared to attack as well. Throwing his arms out, Orochimaru then formed a pair of Chidori's in his hands and grinned sinisterly…

--

(??)

At the same time, Naruto was still facing off against his Inner-Demon, the creature evading his strikes as he tried to catch it. Growling, the blond then lunged at it with a kick and it merely grabbed his foot before twisting, causing Naruto to spin in midair where it then punched him. Naruto grunted as the force from the blow sent him flying away, the Kyuubi watching everything with obvious amusement. Pushing himself back onto his feet, the blond haired ex-shinobi then jumped back and kicked off of the wall, ramming into the Inner-Demon and slamming it into the wall opposite him.

"_**We think that this game has gone on long enough!"**_ The Inner-Demon hissed out angrily before grabbing the blond and tried to bite him. Moving upwards to evade, Naruto then brought his foot down on the back of its head, knocking it down to the ground as he then rolled back and away from it with a smirk.

"I couldn't agree more!" He replied and the Inner-Demon narrowed its eyes before slamming its hands into the ground and launched itself at Naruto slamming its rock hard head into his gut. Grunting and grimacing in pain, Naruto then brought both arms up before slamming them into his Inner-Demon's back. Falling to the ground for a moment, the Inner-Demon shook its head only for Naruto to kick it in the face and sent it flying back a second later.

Growling low in its throat, the Demon flipped in midair and landed in a low crouch while narrowing its eyes on its blond nemesis. Said teen nearly groaning as he saw that the Inner-Demon was still more than ready to keep going. "C'mon, why won't this fucker just stay down already?" Naruto wondered and Kyuubi rolled his eyes while watching the spectacle, clearly amused by the beating he was taking.

"**Because Gaki, it's as stubborn and hard headed as you…"** The ancient demon responded and Naruto mocked him for a moment before watching as the Inner-Demon slowly padded his way towards the side while never taking its eyes off of him.

"_**This is becoming repetitive, neither This One or Other One are making any headway."**_ The Inner-Demon noted with its eyes narrowed and a frown across its strange face, Naruto nodding in agreement with it.

"I guess we're both just way too stubborn for our own good." He mused and the Inner-Demon scowled before nodding its head in agreement. Lunging forward a second later, both beings slammed into one another, Naruto slamming a fist into his Inner-Demon's face before lacing his fingers together and slammed his hands into the sides of its head, knocking it back slightly. The Inner-Demon retaliated in seconds however as two of its tails shot out and wrapped around his legs before lifting him into the air.

The Inner-Demon then jumped up and started to slash into him with its claws before rearing a fist back and slamming it into him as they hit the ground. The floor of the sewer like mindscape that had become their battlefield cracking from the sheer force of impact. Grunting, Naruto then moved his legs up and kicked the Inner-Demon off of himself before rolling into a crouch and panted slightly. Shaking his head, Naruto lunged at the Demon and jumped up, over its head and onto its back.

Roaring out indignantly, the Inner-Demon struggled to knock the blond haired teen from its back. Flailing about wildly while Naruto held onto the spikes of hair on its head for dear life. Hissing out in pain, the Inner-Demon sent its tails towards the blond and he smirked while flipping forward and off of its back. The Inner-Demon roared out in pain as it impaled itself seconds later and Naruto twisted into a kick to its face, causing its head to lurch to one side.

Growling, the Inner-Demon then turned back to the blond and lashed out with a quick punch. Cursing, Naruto flipped in midair and landed in a low crouch while his Inner-Demon narrowed its eyes and crouched back. Lunging forward seconds later, the beast reached the blond in seconds and swung its arm down at him. Flipping back at the last second, Naruto evaded a crushing blow while the Inner-Demon then began to wildly swing its clawed arms at him. Dodging and evading the claws, Naruto then flipped over the Inner-Demon and kicked it in the ribs, grunting as he noticed it did almost no visible damage to the beast.

"Dammit its almost like this thing is impossible to kill…" Naruto said to himself while flipping out of the way of a punch from his Inner-Demon. "Wait a minute… I've just been fighting it all this time…" Naruto realized as his Inner-Demon tried to bite him, grabbing it by its throat he slammed its head to the side and tried to flip over it. Only for one of its tails to grab him then throw him into the air. Flipping in the air and looking down as his Inner-Demon grinned and then lunged up at him.

"If fighting isn't the way to stop him… then maybe…" He whispered to himself as his feet touched the ceiling and he kicked off down towards the Inner-Demon. Slamming into it on his way down, Naruto wrapped his arms around it and grit his teeth as tendrils of reddish-black started to wrap around his body. _'If I can't kill my demons… its time I faced them head on.'_ Naruto realized while the darkness crept over his form, visions of things he'd tried desperately to forget flashing before his eyes.

Visions of learning of Jiraiya's death and not even being given the time to grieve, visions of Haku's death, a friend he'd only just met when he was still just a twelve year old boy, of Tsunade falling into a coma, him being worried she may never wake up, of Asuma's death and feeling helpless to help a grieving Kurenai in her time of need, and visions of his mothers death, for whom he'd also never been allowed to grieve. More visions then came, most were a recurrence of the Nightmares he'd been having recently, including the one where he'd been unable to save Raven from doing something and vanishing…

These were his demons, his doubts and his fears… fears and doubts that he'd lose someone else that was important to him… that he wouldn't be able to save someone else. Shaking his head as the visions slowly faded from his eyes, Naruto held on even tighter as the Inner-Demon slammed into the ground with a grunt and its tails lashed out stabbing him in his back. The two merely lay like that for a moment, the Demon's arms spread while Naruto grit his teeth, as it's five tails dug into him. Looking up, he saw his Inner-Demon looking down at him with a confused expression across what he could make out of its face.

"_**What do you think your doing? You cannot destroy This One with a hug!"**_ The blond teen's Inner-Demon mocked and Naruto chuckled lightly.

"Your right…" He admitted before looking up at his Inner-Demon, the creature looking down at him strangely. "But… the truth is, you'll always be a part of me… and no matter how hard I try… I'll always have some doubts or fears." Naruto said to himself, literally in this case, as a smirk crossed over his face.

"_**What nonsense are you speaking, This One and Other One cannot exist like this at the same time, only one may control this body."**_ His Inner-Demon reminds the blond and Naruto chuckled lightly, while the darkness continued to wrap around and stab its way through his form.

"Yet again, your right. But both of us have something we need to protect. You were born of my doubts and fears and need for revenge, your big and strong, something to destroy those fears. But you don't want to see Kara-Chan hurt anymore than I do… am I right?" Naruto questioned and his Inner-Demon was silent while the darkness seemed to stop spreading. Smirking as he could tell what its answer was just from that, Naruto bowed his head and closed his eyes. "I thought so. We're too halves of the same whole, you're the side of me that admits he can fail sometimes and my most aggressive vengeful traits." He then whispered while the Inner-Demon chuckled and leaned its head back, its body forming into a wave before swirling around Naruto's own form…

--

Naruto walked down a familiar street, looking around he saw Konoha and frowned. Seeing the Hokage Monument and a tiny speck of yellow on it, the teen walked towards it. Silently climbing up the monument, Naruto walked over to the Yondaime's head where a figure sat. "So this is the real you." Naruto noted while sitting down next to an eight year old child that looked like himself at that age.

The true form of his Inner-Demon was eight years old at best; he had blond spiky hair, tanned skin with whisker marks, a black shirt with a red spiral on the front, a pair of blue pants, Shinobi Sandals. The only thing that was different between them was that the Inner Demon still had orange eyes with + shaped pupils and red marks next to them.

"This One is your Inner-Demons, it's a metaphor not what This One looks like." His Inner-Demon mumbled while looking out over Konoha, Naruto following his gaze.

"I remember… when I was your age… I hated the village. There were so many times that I wanted nothing more than revenge… because the people of the village hated me." Naruto mused and his Inner-Demon was silent for a few moments. "I take it, given this form, that's what you are." Naruto noted and his Inner-Demon was silent once more before sighing.

"They never understood. We never wanted to hurt anyone… but they made us so Angry. We wanted to make them hurt like they made us hurt. We wanted revenge again when we thought Haku killed Sasuke, we wanted Revenge against Orochimaru when Jiji died, we wanted revenge for Gaara, Yugito, and the other Jinchuuriki, and we also wanted revenge for Asuma and Ero-Sennin… and more recently we wanted revenge on Sakura and Sasuke for hurting us." His Inner-Demon said while clenching his fists, Naruto frowning before looking to the sky.

"I never knew there were so many times I wanted revenge… it's almost surprising I never ended up like Sasuke myself." Naruto said mostly to himself and his Inner-Demon was silent for a moment before speaking up.

"No. We were still young, so many had wronged us, so many were taken from us, but we wouldn't just fall into shadows. To do so would make us no better than the ones who tormented us, we hid behind a smile, we never allowed anyone to know the truth. We couldn't allow ourself to fall into darkness, so This-One was hidden away in darkness… alone." His Inner-Demon explained and Naruto chuckled lightly while looking to the sky. Turning back to his Inner-Demon, Naruto gave a sly grin to the "Child" and he looked at him strangely.

"Like I said. I can't escape my mind so long as you exist. But I don't think either of us can overpower the other. I won't give in to my demon's, I don't want to end up like Sasuke after all." Naruto stated and his Inner-Demon's was silent while gazing at him once more.

"Then what does Other-One propose?" His Inner-Demon questioned once more and Naruto held out a hand to him.

"I won't give in… but… what if we tried to do this together?" Naruto offered and his Inner-Demon looked to his hand silently for a moment before bowing his head.

"This-One does not understand you Other-One, why does Other-One not hate This-One? This-One has attacked Other-One and caused so much trouble…" The Inner-Demon questioned then stated and Naruto smirked despite himself.

"Think about it, I like to help people out of the Darkness. Even now. I helped Blackfire, I'm trying to help Dani… so why can't I try to save myself as well?" Naruto reasoned and the Inner-Demon was silent, mulling that over before nodding his head and taking the blond's offered hand.

"This-One agrees. And this one… thanks Other-One." The Inner-Demon said with the first true smile Naruto had ever seen on that face in a long time…

--

Back in the sewer, the black form from before swirled and warped, moving in and around itself. Chuckling in his throat, The Kyuubi watched the spectacle as the reddish-black Ooze soon began to form into a miniature twister. **"So he finally figured it out. You can't kill your Demon's…"** Kyuubi mused as the twister of reddish-black soon stopped and a new figure was revealed, hissing and clicking the creature then crouched slightly and looked around…

Twitching, the creature looked to the water beneath it and hissed while crouching low, almost on all fours. Seeing its reflection, it noticed it still had the Inner-Demons eyes, however it's body more closely resembled… _**'An X-Suit… we might have to make a few notes for the new one based on this.'**_ Naruto thought to himself before looking up and hissing as the Kyuubi raised a brow. Chuckling lightly, Naruto then stood up, looking at the Kyuubi with amusement.

"_**Now we shall work together, two halves of one whole, and make sure our fears never come to pass!"**_ Naruto and The Inner-Demon's voices called as one before roaring as a long tongue came flailing out of its open maw…

--

(Jump-City…)

Ayane was currently preoccupying Raven again, who seemed more than a little obsessed with crushing her, and Jinx was with Starfire against the fuchsia haired girl. Meanwhile Orochimaru grinned, he was more or less playing with "The Beast" as it swiped its claws at him and somehow channeled Lightning Chakra in his direction. _'I really must figure out how he does that.'_ Orochimaru suddenly thought to himself while flipping back as The Beast slammed it's hands down into the ground and then glared at him angrily. Raising a brow, Orochimaru crossed his arms as The Beast came at him once more, swinging its monstrous claws at his face.

Rolling his eyes, the former Sannin tilted to the side to evade before kneeing The Beast in its gut. Grunting, The Beast elbowed the Sannin in his head, only for a smirking Orochimaru to backhand him sending him flying. _'It's not even intelligent enough to use its Chakra to increase its strength or speed in this form.'_ Orochimaru noted and then flipped back to evade a fireball from Raven, who seemed more than a little pissed off. _'I suppose she must be his mate.'_ Orochimaru noted to himself before stopping as he felt a surge of Chakra and looked to where the Beast had been, its body shuddering as it slowly got back up.

Narrowing his eyes, he watched as it's bone like armor / mask started to crack, a fine mist flowing out of them and giving him a start. _'Well well well, it may not have much in the way of intelligence, however its subconscious abilities are truly amazing. It's even found a way to solidify Chakra into a form of natural armor plating to increase its overall defense. Truly remarkable, I really must figure out how it does that for myself.'_ Orochimaru mused before shaking his head and crouching back, Raven sending a fireball his way just as he lunged at the immobile beast.

Said beast was on its knees as its armor fully faded, leaving Chakra Mist hanging in the air around it as the Sannin lunged at it. _'Sorry now Naruto-Kun, but I can't have you getting any stronger and destroying my new body.'_ Orochimaru mocked in his mind as a twisted smile slithered over his stolen features before he jumped into a kick to The Beast's head, sending it sailing to the side while one of Tartarus members jumped at him this time, he believed "Jinx" was her name or some such nonsense…

As The Beast was sent flying into a building, Raven stared intently towards where it had been as a strange feeling came from it. Seconds after a hand reached out before a body was pulled out of the building. Orochimaru, Ayane, Raven, and all the others who had been fighting stopped suddenly, then turned to see the creature, and Orochimaru had to raise a brow upon seeing its slightly very familiar visage. Said creature then shook its head before it opened its mouth in a low hiss, its long tongue flailing out for a moment before receding back into its mouth.

The creature was clearly humanoid in shape as apposed to the beast, and stood to the same height and overall build as Naruto, however its entire body was covered in a dark reddish black fur with stripes of reptilian flesh over its arms and down its back, its fingers were tipped with long black nails, its feet sharing them, its mouth was in the same pumpkin shaped grin as The Beast, only suited more on its smaller head, its hair was short and spiked like before, now in a familiar shape while red marks circle its orange eyes. Strangely, it now wore a pair of familiar black Shinobi pants; only they were clearly very torn, stretched, and tattered.

Leaping forward, the new creature's almost Glasgow length grin widened even further as a mist of Chakra formed over its body before condensing and taking an almost bone like structure, forming into a Skull shaped mask with sharp fangs for teeth, spiked spinal plates along its spine, two long rib shaped bones formed from under its arms and over its chest in the shape of a large X, spinal columns wrapped around its forearms and biceps before arching over its shoulders and attaching to the spinal plats, white plates formed on the back of each of it's fist, and segmented bones formed into claws over each of its fingers and thumbs…

"Dude! That looks so wicked awesome!" BB said with wide eyes while the new creature shook its head before stretching out its arms and legs for a moment. The creature then vanished for a moment before appearing before Orochimaru and slammed it's fist into his face, thus sending him flying back as the creature landed in a low crouch, arching one of its claws with a wide grin across its face…

"_**Ah… that made us feel so much better."**_ The creature noted with a near psychotic look to its eyes before turning to look at the Titans with a wide grin… _**"Hello everyone, we're so sorry we kept you all waiting."**_ The creature said with a toothy grin, Raven smirking as it then turned to look at her, Naruto's transformed eyes narrowing at seeing her own changes. _**"Something tells us, this is going to be a very long night."**_ Naruto noted to himself before dropping into a stance as Orochimaru got back up and then glared at the teen…

--

TBC…

--


	43. Inner Demons Pt6

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

**Chapter 42**: **Inner Demons Pt. 5**…

--

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

--

(Jump-City Docks…)

Naruto looked around while "Sasuke" slowly rose back to his feet across from the teen. Raven and the girls were no longer in a catfight to end all others, the other Titans were staring at him, as were Tartarus, and the Shinobi seemed the most surprised by his new form. _**'Given that it usually means we're being influenced by Kyuubi, we suppose we should forgive them.'**_ Naruto mused to himself before looking back to Raven and had to resist giving a wolf whistle.

"_**Holy Hell, is that you Kara-Chan?"**_ Naruto questioned while the red skinned demoness mutely nodded her head while looking at him. _**"Wow… we never knew how much of your figure you hid with that cloak."**_ Naruto said with a light whistle and Raven smirked slightly while Jinx and Ayane growled at her angrily. Turning away from them, Naruto narrowed his eyes on "Sasuke" with a frown, instantly noting the markings over his eyes and single snake like eye… _**"You."**_ Naruto's voice hissed and Orochimaru chuckled while a smirk slithered across his lips.

"**Hello Naruto-Kun, it's so good to see you in such good health."** Orochimaru offered with a mocking bow and Naruto growled while throwing his right arm to the side. Instantly a familiar long-sword appeared out of his flesh before he took hold of it and took a stance across from the former Sannin. **"Ah, so that's what happened to my Kusanagi."** Orochimaru noted mostly to himself before smirking as Naruto launched at him and swung the blade.

"_**You have no idea how long we've waited to tear a piece out of you Oro-Teme!"**_ Naruto shouted while the blade lengthened and Orochimaru jumped into the air at the last second. Chuckling lightly, Orochimaru crossed his arms while hovering in the air, no one moving as Naruto glared up at him furiously.

"**Come now Naruto-Kun, you really need to learn how to control your temper."** Orochimaru said mockingly while Naruto growled and swung the Kusanagi up towards the former-Sannin. Rolling his eyes, Orochimaru folded his wings against his back before rolling out of the way of the blade. Coming out of the spin, Orochimaru brought his wings back out before launching himself towards Naruto, a Kunai now clutched in one hand. Growling low in his throat, Naruto launched himself at Orochimaru while swinging the Kusanagi at the former Sannin.

Both caught the wrist of the other, Orochimaru still smirking while Naruto narrowed his eyes. **"Impressive, it seems you take to Kenjutsu and even to my old Kusanagi like a fish to water Naruto-Kun."** Orochimaru noted before flipping into a kick, Naruto stumbling back as the man landed in a low crouch. **"Sadly however, I do want my sword back, so I'm afraid I'll have to take it from you."** Orochimaru said while Naruto grinned and swung Kusanagi at him.

"_**We don't care WHAT you want back! Just shut up and die already Oro-Teme!"**_ Naruto roared out while swinging the Kusanagi, Orochimaru flipping over the blade at the last second before landing in a crouch.

"**My my Naruto-Kun, don't forget this IS still little Sasuke-Kun's body. If you kill me, you kill him."** Orochimaru reminded and Naruto thought about that for all of five seconds before grinning widely.

"_**We think that sounds like a bonus!"**_ Naruto admitted with a slight grin while twisting the Kusanagi around and pointing the blade towards Orochimaru, instantly the blade lengthened and came flying towards the former-sannin. Blinking in no small amount of surprise, Orochimaru evaded the attack while evading around several more slashes, Naruto obviously intent on his destruction…

Meanwhile, Raven finally blinked before glaring at Ayane and Jinx and formed her black energy. The energy shoved both pinkettes, and Starfire from her person and allowed her to stand up once more. Brushing off her legs and person, she then held a hand to the side with a smirk. Instantly it was coated in her black energy before a throne of stone formed and rose up beside her. Sitting down, the girl crossed her legs and folded her arms together, watching as Naruto went after Orochimaru with the Kusanagi.

Nearby, Starfire groaned while pushing Ayane off of herself and then grimaced visibly. "Oh… why must Friend-Raven be so violent…?" Starfire wondered while Jinx rolled into a crouch and watched the fight between Naruto and "Orochimaru" with wide eyes, as Kakashi seemed to move into position nearby, waiting for his own moment to strike the former Sannin.

"Probably because she enjoys kicking people around…" Ayane mumbled before frowning as she remembered herself being like that. "Ugh… now I know how much of a bitch I was…" She muttered before also reminding herself it was technically Sakura who was the bitch… thus causing Sakura to start yelling at her. "Shut up pinky I'm not listening to you!" Ayane shouted to herself while Jinx rolled off of the other girls and then groaned while rubbing her ribs.

"I think she might've bruised something…" Jinx mumbled before looking towards where Raven was and blanched. "Is she sitting back to watch this?!" Jinx demanded and Kid-Flash looked at the scene with a frown.

"Looks like it." He admitted with a smirk and Jinx started getting back to her feet, Mammoth helping her up as she swayed.

"Thanks Mammoth." She mumbled and the gigantic teen grinned towards her.

"No prob." He replied while Ino made her way over to them and looked over Jinx for a moment.

"You should be fine, doesn't look like anything's broken…" Ino said before going over to Starfire, then thought better of it considering the girl was an alien and helped Ayane up instead. "Sakura what the hell were you thinking jumping into fight her like that?!" Ino demanded and Ayane rolled her eyes before placing a hand to her head as searing pain burned down her spine.

"Shit… what the hell is wrong with me?" She wondered to herself, idly noting her build had improved as had her bust, and Ino huffed while placing her hands onto her hips.

"That's what I want to know! You've been acting weird all day!" Ino accused and Ayane rolled her eyes before going over what happened and then her eyes snapped open. _**'Sasuke threw his shirt on us, it was covered in the same Green shit that he, Naruto and Raven were! It must be why I'm in control…'**_ Ayane reasoned and heard Sakura let out a mental sigh of relief. _"Oh thank Kami, that means I only have to wait for one of these guys to cough up an antidote and I can go back to being normal."_ Ayane heard and then frowned for a moment while thinking over her options.

Option one was wait for the antidote and pray she was still strong willed enough to overpower Sakura. Second, she could just not take the antidote, and from how things were going, probably die. Third, she could try to remove whatever the hell was in her system herself, thus preventing anymore-genetic damage or mutations, while preserving the already altered traits and retaining her control of the body… yeah, option three was looking really good at the moment.

Looking around at the Titans, Ayane walked passed an indignant Ino while forming a chakra-scalpel in one hand. Opening her shirt slightly to make an incision, Ayane then concentrated while sitting down, hand over the wound. _**'Alright, here goes nothing… **__**Saikan Chushutsu no Jutsu! (Delicate Illness Extraction Technique!)'**_ Ayane thought while closing her eyes and looking for the mutagen in her body. Frowning in thought she smirked as she found a foreign substance in her body and began to draw it out of herself.

'_**Ha! Being a Med-Nin rocks in this kind of situation!'**_ Ayane said to herself while healing any damage she could find, while also leaving the minor mutations of her body alone, as she really liked them. Soon feeling out and extracting the last of it into a small sphere in her hand, Ayane held her hand up and looked to see the others were preoccupied with watching Naruto fight with Orochimaru. Looking around, she found a glass bottle and quickly poured the green mutagen into it before stuffing an old rag into the top of it.

"_What the hell do you think your doing?!"_ Sakura suddenly demanded while Ayane whistled innocently while tossing the bottle into a dumpster. _**'Making sure I'm staying in control Pinky, no one knows I was mutating, so I don't have to worry about them trying to fix us. And besides, I like actually having tits, unlike you.'**_ Ayane told the pinkette before yawning tiredly, the physical stress from the mutagen and her own beating catching up to her. _**'I think I'll just take a little nap…'**_ She inwardly mumbled before falling asleep, ignoring a ranting Sakura…

Back with Naruto, the blond evaded yet another attack from Orochimaru before landing in a low crouch. Growling lightly, Naruto swung the Kusanagi at the former-Sannnin, only he easily evaded before landing in a crouch. Pulling out ten shuriken from his shirt, the Sannin then grinned towards Naruto dangerously.

"**Well well Naruto-Kun, I never expected you to be so… ruthless. Though I must admit it is a pleasant change of pace."** Orochimaru mused aloud while throwing the ten Shuriken from his hands, Naruto frowning as they came at him. Moving with lightning fast speed, Naruto stabbed the Kusanagi into the ground then twisted around in order to dodge the Shurikens while also plucking them out of the air before coming out in a low crouch, both hands now filled with the used Shuriken.

"_**Impressive, but allow us to show you how it's really done!"**_ Naruto uttered darkly while forming several hand seals. _**"Shuriken Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu! (Shuriken Shadow-Clone Jutsu!)"**_ He exclaimed while throwing the mass of Shuriken towards Orochimaru, hundreds of Kage-Bunshin Shuriken forming from the nine he'd thrown. Whistling lightly, Orochimaru flapped his wings before flying into the air and dodging and weaving around the attack, a grin splitting his lips as he did.

'_Incredible Naruto-Kun, your skills have only gotten more impressive since we last battled. I'm almost tempted to see the limits of your skills… but even I'm not so keen on fighting the one who murdered Madara.'_ Orochimaru thought to himself while Naruto formed a Kage-Bunshin at his side.

"_**Ready?"**_ Naruto asked the clone and it jumped into the air before transforming into a Fuuma-Shuriken. Reaching out to grab hold of the weapon, Naruto then threw it straight for Orochimaru. Raising a brow, Orochimaru effortlessly evaded the Shuriken before one of Sasuke's memories of this tactic kicked in. Quickly turning, Orochimaru saw a poof of smoke as the Clone reformed and formed another while throwing a Shuriken it'd kept in hand. The Shuriken was followed by dozens of others that came at Orochimaru, seemingly impaling him multiple times.

Gaping in shock upon seeing the truly grizzly, the Titans then watched as "Orochimaru" dissolved into Mud before their very eyes. Blinking in confusion, Naruto then looked around before growling as he realized what had happened. _**"Shit, an Earth-Clone. But when did he…"**_ Naruto started to question while looking around, before the original Orochimaru suddenly appeared out of a building behind the original Naruto.

"**A most impressive Tactic Naruto-Kun, however sadly I am not one to fall for such tricks."** Orochimaru said before suddenly throwing his hands towards Naruto, the blond cursing as he grabbed the Kusanagi. A mere fraction of a second later, dozens of Snake's shot from the arm-warmers Orochimaru was wearing and started to wrap around the blond while Orochimaru turned into a flip and slashed the Kage-Bunshin that attacked him with the Kunai he still had hold of.

Growling in his throat, Naruto watched as Orochimaru turned back towards him and the youth felt his eyes widen slightly. _**'His skin… it's… paler, it's turning white like Orochimaru's used to be. And his hair, it's getting less spiky.'**_ Naruto noted while Orochimaru looked at his hand for a moment before chuckling.

"**So it would seem as if I'm not done changing yet. How… interesting."** Orochimaru noted before moving quickly, rushing towards Naruto as the teen. Growling, Naruto used the Kusanagi to cut the snakes that were binding him and bent over backwards to evade a swing from Orochimaru's Kunai. Using his momentum, Naruto managed to flip and landed low to the ground before twisting low to the ground and sweeping the Kusanagi. Letting out alight Chuckle, Orochimaru flipped back, evading the sword before landing across from Naruto, the said teen narrowing his eyes…

"Dude… that was so cool!" BB suddenly said while staying back with Night and the others, Nightwing shivering slightly. _'Who is this guy, it looked like he made something almost like a kind of mud golem… not to mention his snake abilities are creepy as hell… and he's starting to change even further into something… not human. And Naruto, he's becoming more and more violent as this goes on… Cyborg, where are you and that antidote when we need you?'_ Nightwing noted then wondered to himself while Mammoth looked over his shoulder toward the two combatants.

"Why is that Raven chick still just watching all this without doing anything?" Seemore suddenly questioned and Blackfire frowned while looking towards the girl, then to Starfire.

"I think she's the type to enjoy other's pain and misery right now. Thus, she's getting a kick out of watching her boy nearly tear this guy into pieces." Blackfire offered as an explanation and Dani frowned slightly.

"That doesn't sound like Raven…" She noted and Nightwing blinked before turning to the ghost girl with narrowed eyes.

"How would you know anything about Raven?" He questioned suspiciously and Dani looked at him and tried to think of an excuse.

"You think you're the only one who studies his enemies birdbrain? We do too…" Jinx stated while coming to Dani's rescue, Night mulling that over for a moment before turning back to the fight. Sending a silent thanks to Jinx, Dani then looked back to the fight as well, Naruto still facing off against Orochimaru.

'_**We must admit, we don't think we were expecting Oro-Teme to be this much of a pain in the ass!'**_ Naruto thought to himself while evading a Kunai as Orochimaru threw it at him. Growling, Naruto then twirled and swung the Kusanagi once more, blade lengthening while Orochimaru merely flipped over it and then smirked as he formed five quick hand seals.

"**Fuuton: Daitoppa! (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!)"** Orochimaru exclaimed as the burst of wind slammed into Naruto before sending him flying into the air. Cursing as Orochimaru flew towards him, Naruto swung the Kusanagi and thus grunted as the man evaded it. _**'Shit… he just had to be an expert in both Kenjutsu and Wind-Jutsu, my main tactics, didn't he…?'**_ Naruto inwardly muttered before Orochimaru slammed into him and then brought him careening down into the ground.

Growling, Naruto kicked Orochimaru from his body and then rolled back to his feet as the former-Sannin chuckled darkly. **"It's been so long since I've had a decent battle… even Saru-Sensei didn't give me a battle that was this exhilarating!"** Orochimaru said while rising up and grinned towards Naruto and the teen merely growled while the possessed Uchiha then slumped forward and opened his mouth.

'_**Why does this look familiar?'**_ Naruto suddenly wondered only for his eyes to bolt open as hundreds, if not millions of snakes suddenly flowed out of Orochimaru's open mouth straight for him.

"_**You have got to be kidding us!"**_ Naruto exclaimed while taking a step back and quickly considered his options. _**'All right, Makyou Kaiten is out, it's not diverse enough to take out that many and the stragglers would just attack. We need something that can destroy them all, or at least protect… duh!'**_ Naruto thought then mentally exclaimed while twirling the Kusanagi around and held it in a reverse grip. Closing his eyes as the Snakes approached, Naruto then used a quick "One-Thousand Blades Jutsu" the hundreds of wind blades surrounding him slicing through the hundreds of snakes as they tried to reach and wrap around him.

Soon the snakes ebbed and Naruto narrowed his eyes on a grinning Orochimaru. _**'Alright Oro-Teme, what are you going to do next?'**_ Naruto wondered to himself while Orochimaru pulled out another Kunai and held it in his right hand. Smirking slightly before taking a breath Orochimaru then breathed out onto the blade. Shaking his head, Naruto watched and then blinked in surprise as Orochimaru created a literal blade of wind from his Kunai.

"_**What the hell!?"**_ Naruto demanded while Orochimaru twirled the wind blade for a moment before pulling out another Kunai and breathing in before forming another one in his left hand.

"**A little Jutsu I picked up from Danzo during my stint working with his ROOT devision of AnBu. It's quite useful if you want to form a blade in a pinch."** Orochimaru noted and then grinned seeing Naruto's look. **"Oh don't look so surprised Naruto-Kun. My main element IS Wind after all…"** Orochimaru reminded and then frowned while flipping back as Kakashi came at him from behind with a Chidori. Easily evading the attack, Orochimaru then used a quick Daitoppa on Kakashi to send him flying, Naruto growling as he did.

Extending the blade of the Kusanagi while keeping it pointing towards the ground. Naruto was sent flying into the air and grabbed Kakashi by his leg before kneeing him in the stomach. _**"Stay out of this Kakashi-no-Baka! This is our fight!"**_ Naruto told the silver haired man while throwing him over to the other nin as the Kusanagi returned to its original length. Groaning as he landed, Kakashi looked up and watched as the blond landed on one of the still standing buildings.

"Did he really have to knee me in the gut like that… I was actually trying to help him for once." Kakashi mumbled to himself while Hinata quickly hurried over to the man before helping him back over to the alley they were watching from.

"Dude, does this Sasuke guy have enough snake techniques or what?" BB suddenly asked and Nightwing shook his head, still shocked and surprised by what the two "Ninja" could do. Nearby, Jinx looked on with no small amount of worry while Raven merely watched for the sake of not wanting to get involved in what was a very interesting fight. What could she say; she enjoyed watching her Naruto tear into the Snake freak as often as he could.

"His name is Orochimaru." Neji stated while rubbing his head and Beast-Boy looked at the older teen.

"Wha… but I thought his name was Sasuke?" BB questioned while scratching his head, Nightwing looking to Neji with a raised brow.

"Yes. That body is Sasuke's, however in our world there was a man who sought to become immortal in order to learn all the worlds Jutsu. To reach this end Orochimaru learned the most forbidden of Kinjutsu, a jutsu that would allow him to transfer his soul and take the body of another for himself." Neji explained, while those around looked at him in shock while Jinx shivered visibly, easily remembering the man with serpent eyes shown to her and Raven by Naruto…

'_So this is that guy Temp told us about, the one with those damn evil eyes.'_ Jinx thought to herself while remembering those slitted yellow eyes in her mind.

Meanwhile, Naruto was evading a swing from Orochimaru's wind-swords. Growling, the blond ducked under a swing from the pale and now almost sickly looking possessed teen. _**'The longer that this progresses further, Sasuke-Teme starts to look more and more like Oro-Teme… We need to end this once and for all!'**_ Naruto thought to himself while Orochimaru came at him once more, rolling to the side, Naruto held his hands to his sides. Instantly wind spiraled around his right hand and into the Kusanagi, while lightning arched up the length of his left arm while forming into a single point in his left palm.

"**Oh, what now Naruto-Kun? Going to show me another of your interesting abilities?"** Orochimaru questioned and got his answer as Naruto quickly swung the Kusanagi towards him. Smirking, the former Sannin jumped over the attack while watching it with the Sharingan, not really surprised he couldn't copy it. _'Most impressive Naruto-Kun, you've taken your wind and lightning Chakra affinities to a level similar to the Nidaime's control of water. Had I known you held such promise as a Shinobi, I would've taken you as my own personal apprentice…'_ Orochimaru thought to himself while Naruto reared his left arm back, the single point of lightning sparking wildly in his hand before he threw it at the Former-Sannin.

Chuckling, Orochimaru used a quick Kawarimi no Jutsu to evade the attack before it could hit him. Allowing the cut light-pole that Kid-Wykkyd had sliced down, Orochimaru landed and then lunged at Naruto from behind. Growling Naruto turned and only narrowly evaded a swing of Orochimaru's wind-swords. Twisting into a kick, Naruto kneed Orochimaru in the gut before head butting him in the face, causing him to stumble back. Grinning darkly, Naruto then crouched back before quickly lunging forward and swinging his claws, grinning almost psychotically as he seemed to slice Orochimaru clean in half…

Seconds later, the youth felt his eyes widen in shock as Snakes suddenly reached out of Orochimaru's severed halves. The snakes shot to one another, coiling around each other before pulling Orochimaru, his back towards his front. **"Oh my Naruto-Kun, that was ruthless, devious, and absolutely vicious of you."** Orochimaru noted before his body twisted around into the correct position, Naruto shivering visibly as he saw a twisted grin across the man's face. **"As I've said before, I much prefer this new you over the pacifist I remember from before."** Orochimaru mused aloud before twisting his wind-blades in hand and lunging forward once more.

Dodging around the slashes of the man's blades, Naruto then twisted around and kicked him in the face before lunging forward and slamming his fist into the man's gut. Briefly, Naruto widened his eyes as he noticed that Orochimaru's formerly spiky blue hair had actually turned black, now more closely resembling his original hairstyle. Gritting his teeth and twisting his fist in the former-Sannin's gut, Naruto then dug one heel into the ground while sending him flying back. _**"We want you to shut up Oro-Teme! We are sick of hearing you prattle on!"**_ Naruto growled out angrily before twisting around and kicking Orochimaru, sending him flying back where he flipped back to his feet and landed in a low crouch.

'_Now now, Naruto-Kun. You should remember patience, otherwise your going to get sloppy.'_ Orochimaru thought to himself, while closing his eyes, his legs blurring as he launched himself forward at unimaginable speeds. Throwing his hands forward, the former-Sannin grinned lightly as Naruto raised a brow. **"Jigai Jubaku! (Snake Authority Spell!)"** The pale skinned man exclaimed as two massive white snakes were extended from his arm warmers. The snakes soon reached Naruto and wrapped around him, making him grit his teeth as they pinned the Kusanagi to his arm.

Looking up a second later, Naruto's eyes widened as Orochimaru came at him and swung both of his wind blades. Cursing under his breath, Naruto leaned back to evade a swing from the former Sannin, only for Orochimaru to turn, his legs having somehow formed into a snake's tail. _**'Where does he get all of these snake themed Jutsu?'**_ Naruto wondered to himself while using Kusanagi to cut one of the snakes around him, it's grip weakening enough for him to slice it off of his body and flip into a low stance.

Naruto then looked back to the former-Sannin, his eyes widening as the man was upon him almost instantly, a wide grin across his face. Opening his mouth to allow his ridiculously long tongue to roll out for a moment, Orochimaru then swung both blades at the teen. Quickly rolling back to evade the attack, Naruto quickly swung the Kusanagi at Orochimaru in retaliation. Easily evading the quickly swing, Orochimaru then lunged at Naruto swinging one of his swords. Growling to himself Naruto flipped over the Sannin before stabbing the Kusanagi into his tail to pin him down.

Grunting in pain, Orochimaru turned only for Naruto to slam his fist into the snake like teen's face. Grunting as his head lolled back, slightly, Orochimaru then grunted as Naruto slammed his fist into his gut. Looking to Orochimaru's arms, Naruto quickly grabbed each by the wrist and grinned at the Sannin. _**"You have no idea how long we have waited to do this!"**_ Naruto stated as he made Orochimaru stab himself with his own wind-swords, forming an X with his arms. Releasing his wrists, Naruto then slammed a fist into Orochimaru's jaw while spinning into a roundhouse kick.

The sheer strength of the kick was enough to force Orochimaru away, the Kusanagi cutting open the portion of his tail it had been lodged into. Skidding away, Orochimaru soon turned and started rolling back before hitting a light-pole with an audible grunt of pain. Panting slightly, Orochimaru looked up towards Naruto from his spot on the ground… and started to laugh. Blinking, Naruto looked at the man as if he had lost his mind, however Orochimaru sat up and grinned towards him.

"**Truly Naruto-Kun, you have surpassed not only Jiraiya-Chan, but also Sarutobi-Sensei, and your father in skill…"** Orochimaru said while Naruto frowned, something wasn't right with this picture. **"In fact, I think you deserve to see my most powerful technique!"** Orochimaru said with a wide grin before opening his mouth wide up, a pale hand reaching out of it as he did. Grimacing in disgust, Naruto then watched as a second Orochimaru slithered out of the first, fully healed and panting slightly with a wide grin across his lips…

"Eww…" Jinx mumbled while watching the scene, Night shuddering as even the other Ninja looked more than a little green. "I don't care what kind of technique that was or how well it heals you, it's totally fucking disgusting!" Jinx then stated and got nods of the head from those around her, the Ninja included while Kakashi grimaced, sitting beside of the sleeping Ayane.

"Hey, you said this guy was supposed to be looking to be immortal right?" Night then asked Neji and the stoic Hyuuga nodded his head. "Then what's the problem with him? I've seen him be cut in half, have swords stabbed through his chest, what sounded like bones breaking and he's still not down. How is he not already immortal?" Nightwing demanded and Neji sighed for a moment.

"Being able to take punishment and being immortal are too different things. Orochimaru seeks to live forever, but even with all his techniques and abilities he is still unable to stop the aging process." Kakashi explained while rubbing the spot Naruto hit him, Blackfire frowning as she looked towards Orochimaru.

"He sounds like a couple guys I met in space, all of them were completely psychotic however. This fellow, while I'll admit has few morals, obviously isn't insane. He's more… oh, I don't know, cold, like a scientist trying to learn everything I suppose." Blackfire said and Kakashi blinked for a moment before looking at her strangely.

"Actually… all things considered that was a pretty good description of Orochimaru." Kakashi noted before Ino noticed Orochimaru crouching down, his body shuddering.

"What the hell is he doing now?" Ino wondered and Kakashi held a hand to Hinata, the young Hyuuga-Heiress helping him stand so he could see what was going on better. What he saw was Orochimaru falling to his knees before looking up with a wide nearly psychotic grin across his face…

"**Yamata no Jutsu! (Eight Branches Technique!)"** The former Sannin exclaimed and then seemed to explode, Raven cursing as she teleported, Kid-Wykkyd quickly pulling the others into his cape to evade whatever was happening. Cursing, Naruto grabbed the Kusanagi while flipping back; away from the Sannin only for a giant white Snake head to come towards him.

"_**HOLY SHIT!"**_ Naruto shouted aloud while quickly grabbing onto the mouth of the snake as it tried to swallow him. Holding on and gritting his Teeth, the teen was then thrown up into the air with a flick of the giant snakes neck. Looking down, Naruto's eyes widened in shock to see what appeared to be a one-hundred feet long, gigantic snake with white scales that formed spikes down its body, eight long branching tails and heads, all eight of the heads being Orochimaru's yellow eyes only with a black sclera…

"Dudes! Is that a Hydra?!" Beast-Boy suddenly demanded with wide eyes while Nightwing gaped and Donna paled greatly.

"Well… it… it certainly looks like a Hydra… though it looks like it's missing a head… and this one is a little big even for the Hydra." Donna admitted while taking a step back as the Snake hissed and twisted around it's own numerous heads.

"Um… excuse m-me, b-but what is a H-Hydra?" Hinata questioned of the girl and she blinked before turning to her.

"It was a very large nine-headed snake with poisonous breath that it could burn the flesh from your bones. Not only that but its heads could regenerate and one of its heads was "Immortal" in that it couldn't be cut off." Donna said without thinking and Hinata shivered slightly while Kakashi grunted and looked towards the beast.

"Well sorry to break this to you, but that is a different mythical monster from our world… or at least it looks like it. That would be…" Kakashi started to say before grimacing as his wounds started to hurt him. Nearby, watching on with a frown, Raven lunged forward before jumping into the fray, and flying towards the beast…

"_**The Yamata no Orochi!?"**_ Naruto demanded as one of the massive snake's heads lunged at him from below. Cursing, the youth quickly formed a Kage-Bunshin which grabbed one of his arms before throwing him out of the way as it was eaten by the giant snake. Flipping in the air, Naruto landed on the top of a large building before coming to a skidding halt, as all sixteen of the snake's eyes seemed to lock onto him. _**"It looks like we were right, this is going to be a very long night…'**_ Naruto thought to himself while trying to think up a plan to fight this massive beast…

--

(Tartarus HQ…)

Duela resisted the urge to snicker or even laugh, though not completely as they still managed to break through. Gizmo, Cyborg, and yes, even Ravager had been arguing for the passed several minutes on how to finish the compound they would need to cure Naruto and the others. While they had more or less completed it without her, they started arguing after Gizmo threw an insult towards Cy and Ravager. This started it, and they'd been yelling at one another ever since, Duela watching them the whole time.

Of course, being that she wasn't willing to let people die for her jokes. _'Yes that's right people, I do actually have regard for human life unlike my dear old pop The Joker… or was it Two-Face? Maybe The Riddler… er… now I'm confused.'_ Duela thought seemingly aloud, as if she were speaking to someone with her thoughts. Now then, Duela was, is, and has been a chemist for a very long time, her father did teach her a couple things after all, regardless of the fact she couldn't remember which father she meant most of the time. Unfortunately, she found it hilarious for them to argue while she started concocting the antidote herself.

She honestly wondered why no one knew she was good with chemistry. She was the Joker's… or was it Scarecrow's… daughter after all. Hell, she even made a compound that changed her skin pigment to stark white. _'What? Did you readers think my skin was naturally stark white?'_ Duela asked seemingly no one while thinking to herself and then whistled lightly reaching for another chemical. Turning her head back to where Ravager and the others were arguing, she resisted the urge to laugh once more by snickering into one hand.

'_I think these guys really need to get their priorities straight, how about you people out there?'_ Duela suddenly wondered while seemingly staring off into space, and then shrugged her shoulders as she put one chemical away. Taking up another one, Duela blinked as Gizmo jumped at Cy and started grappling with the metal man, Ravager grimacing and rubbing her temples as they did so. _'Yeah, they really need to get their priorities straight… hey! Are you people even listening to me? I'm trying to have an intelligent conversation here!'_ Duela inwardly demanded of no one while snickering once more and placed a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing.

Shaking her head, Duela then whistled while twirling a vial of chemical in one hand and poured some into her newest concoction. Technically speaking, creating an antidote was way too easy for her. Her dad made Poisons and Acids practically for a living; he also made antidotes, just encase. Hell, if she couldn't make an antidote she would seriously start to wonder about whom she really was. _'And nobody wants me to be even more confused about who I am. Right?'_ Duela thought then asked while putting the last chemical up and pouring some into another vial.

Blinking, Duela then turned back to where everyone had been arguing with one another and saw them staring at her. "What? Do I have something on my face?" Duela asked with a blink as they just stared at her for a few moments.

"No… it's just… I didn't actually think you were a chemist." Cy admitted and Duela rolled her eyes with a smirk across her lips.

"I'm The Joker's daughter, chemistry is practically in my blood… literally if you take account the fact dad fell into a vat of chemicals once… I think… or was that someone else?" Duela said then wondered to herself while scratching her head. Honestly, with all the multiple realities out there she was having trouble keeping track of what her father's back-story was.

"Er… right. So are you done?" Ravager questioned and Duela grinned while holding up a vial.

"Taadaa! One super special antidote!" She replied and Gizmo swiped it from her before looking at a sample of Naruto's mutated blood.

"Please let this work…" Gizmo mumbled to himself while pouring a drop onto it and then looked at it under a microscope. The change wasn't instant by any stretch of the imagination, though given how long it took them to change, it stood to reason it would take time to return to normal. However, after a few moments the small amount of blood started to revert to it's original form, Gizmo breathing a sigh of relief as it did.

"So, did it work or is she just a crazy clown after all?" Ravager questioned and Duela blinked before shouting an indignant Hey in her direction.

"No, it worked alright, now we just need to make some more of this shit to fix those three before they completely destroy the city." Gizmo stated and Duela blinked and then snickered once more. "What's so funny?!" Gizmo demanded of the girl and she crossed her arms behind her neck.

"Simple, the city is already being destroyed from what I've heard. Nightwing sent a communication a minute ago about a giant eight headed and tailed snake called the "Yamata-No-Orochi" or something like that." Duela replied and Cyborg visibly grimaced before shaking his head.

"Why didn't you mention this before?" Cy questioned flatly and Duela couldn't help a wide grin.

"Because it's funnier this way!" She replied and Cyborg slapped his face while Gizmo slammed his head into the table they were working at… honestly, did she have to be so random and crazy all the time?

"Dammit! Duela that's fucking important information!" Gizmo shouted at the clown girl and she shrugged her shoulders. Sighing tiredly, Cyborg looked to his right arm and activated his communicator.

"Rob, come in Rob. Can you give us an update on your situation down there?" Cy asked and then saw what looked like Nightwing was running.

"Cyborg! Do you have any idea how long I've been trying to get in touch with you?! I even had Jinx call Gizmo but only Duela picked up!" Nightwing exclaimed and Cy grinned sheepishly for a moment before shaking his head.

"Uh yeah, we were having some difficulties…" Cy started to say and Duela looked over his shoulder with a grin.

"In other words, they were arguing with each other while I finished the antidote for them!" Duela said and then ducked out of the way with a laugh as Cy glared towards her angrily.

"Listen, I don't care about that right now. I just need to know how long it'll be till you can cure Nar, Rae, and that Sasuke creep." Night stated and Cy looked over to Ravager who frowned in thought.

"We need three very durable syringes, and more of the antidote before we can cure all three of them." Ravager replied and Cyborg grimaced while Gizmo twitched.

"Listen Rob, try and hold on just a little longer. We should be good to go soon enough." Cy said while looking stone serious and Night nodded his head while appearing to duck into an alley.

"We'll try to hold out a little longer. Nightwing, Over and out." Night replied and Gizmo squinted for a moment while Cy turned his communicator off. Sighing tiredly, the teen then placed a hand to his face before turning around to the others.

"Alright, Duela, you and Ravager fix more of this stuff. Gizmo, I hate to say it but we need to work together to come up with some way to inject this into them." Cyborg stated and Gizmo nodded his head while handing the vial of antidote to Duela, the clown girl grinning towards Ravager as they got to work…

--

(Jump-City…)

Naruto cried out while jumping off of a building as one of the Yamata's heads tore threw it. Growling, the blond turned and cursed as the Yamata slammed the nose of its head into him, sending him flying into the air. _**'Urgh… why do we always end up in these kinds of situations? Just once we would like a nice quiet day without something or someone trying to kill us!'**_ Naruto thought to himself while twisting his body out of the way as one of the Yamata's heads tried to swallow him. Turning, the blond swung the Kusanagi, the blade extending and allowing him to lop off one of the Yamata's heads.

Hissing out in pain, two of the Yamata's heads lashed out, heading straight for the mutated teen. Grumbling in his throat, Naruto twisted around the heads before landing on one and ran down the length of its back. Hissing, the second head lashed out, trying to bite the mutated teen. Naruto quickly lunged out of the way however, the massive snake biting itself as he did. Hissing out in pain, another of the Yamata's heads lashed out at the tiny mutated teen. Chuckling to himself, the teen evaded that head as well a smirk crawling over his face.

'_**That's the thing about being so fucking big, it makes it really easy to see your attacks are coming.'**_ Naruto thought to himself while evading another head and then jumped off of the neck of the head he'd been on. Swinging the Kusanagi at another head, he growled as it moved under the blade and then came at him. However, instead of trying to bite him, this one took a breath before spitting out a poison mist. Eyes widening, Naruto cursed and then swung the Kusanagi, a burst of wind parting the poison and allowing him to travel through it harmlessly.

However, the Yamata's head then slammed into him, a tail moving to slam into his back after it did. Another head then came from the side and quickly caught the mutated teen in its maw. _**"Dammit! We really, REALLY HATE SNAKES!!"**_ Naruto shouted loudly before jumping up and held his arms close to his body for a moment. _**"One-Thousand Blades Jutsu!"**_ The mutated teen exclaimed loudly as hundreds of blades of wind suddenly lashed out at the Snake around it.

The Beast started to thrash loudly before suddenly throwing its head into the air and opening its mouth. Instantly Naruto twirled around and sent another burst of wind flying into the snake. The said serpent head lashed out as the wind cut into one of its eyes and one of its other heads hissed before flying at the mutated youth. _**'Doesn't this thing ever get tired of this routine?'**_ Naruto wondered to himself and then stabbed the Kusanagi down as its blade stretched towards the head of the Yamata.

The Yamata's head moved out of the way however and then coiled around the blade of the weapon before trying to bite into the teen. Cursing, Naruto retracted the blade quickly and then placed his hands onto the nose of the serpent's head. Growling he then placed his toes against the bottom of its lips as it tried to open its mouth and swallow him whole. Narrowing its eyes, the Yamata then lashed out with its tongue, its long forked tongue quickly wrapping around the teens waist.

"_**Ugh, as if your tongue wasn't already freaky enough…"**_ Naruto muttered before yelping as the tongue tried to pull him into its mouth. Gritting his teeth, the youth then blinked and grinned as an idea came to mind. Allowing the serpent to pull him into its maw, Naruto held the Kusanagi in one hand before falling down its throat. Chuckling to himself, Naruto then stabbed the weapon into its throat before placing a foot on the side of its neck and spinning the blade.

The head of the Yamata fell off soon after Naruto had done so, the mutated teen quickly lunging out of the open wound to fall into the air. Looking back, he grunted seeing two of its tails heading his way before rolling to the side and then placing his foot against one of its tails. Quickly flipping off of it, the teen found himself in the air as another of the Snake's heads came flying towards him. This one didn't bother trying to swallow him; instead it spat out poison at the teen. Chuckling in his throat, Naruto formed a burst of wind from the Kusanagi and then opened his arms to catch the wind as he fell down, slowing his decent…

"Dude! He's tearing that thing apart head by head!" BB exclaimed with wide eyes and Nightwing nodded his head.

"Wow, he's a lot tougher than I thought." Blackfire noted with no small amount of surprise and Dani nodded her head in agreement.

"Yeah, but something's still bugging me." Dani then said and got looks from the others, thus placed her hands on her, admittedly wide, hips. "How come we're not helping him?" She demanded and Night pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Maybe because none of us can apparently control the wind… not to mention constantly dodge and or cut our way out of a giant Snake like that." Night offered before something came to mind. _'Wait a second here, Naruto can control both the wind and to some extent lightning… just like X.'_ He thought to himself with a slim frown while BB continued to watch the battle, Jinx openly chewing on her lip as the snakes tried to kill the mutated teen.

"Dude, this is so awesome, it reminds me of the first God of War, when Kratos faced the Hydra! Only it's not on a boat… and he's actually cutting its heads off." BB noted and Dani blinked while standing at the other side of the green teen.

"Now that you mention it, yeah, it kinda does." Dani admitted while BB stared at the white haired ghost girl.

"Whoa, you've actually played God of War?" BB asked with amazement and Dani gave him a look.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She demanded angrily and BB quickly held up his hands placatingly.

"N-Nothing! It's just I didn't think a lot of girls would like that kind of game is all!" BB said quickly while Dani continued to glare at him, eyes glowing a bright green while Jinx watched as Raven flew up the length of one of the branched heads.

"What's she doing?" Jinx suddenly wondered and Night looked to where Raven was flying and then grimaced as the girl fired twin beams of heat into the eyes of one of the serpents, causing it to hiss out in pain before thrashing about wildly.

"It looks like she's helping her boyfriend…" Night offered flatly and Jinx grit her teeth while narrowing her eyes as Raven flew towards the mutated teen…

Raven flew around the head of a Snake with a slim smirk across her lips as she soon came upon the mutated teen. **"Need a hand, Love?"** She quipped while grasping one of his forearms and Naruto grinned up at her in response.

"_**We are delighted to have your hand, Kara-Chan."**_ He replied before looking down as the Snakes came towards them. _**"And we still have six of this thing's heads left to deal with. This should be most a interesting battle from now on."**_ Naruto mused aloud while Raven grinned sinisterly while holding the mutated teen close to her body. Flying down towards the multi-branched-serpent, Raven grinned as two came at them and spat another batch of poison mist towards them.

"**Would you be a dear and get rid of this pesky poison for me, Love. I think it's high time this lesser monster learned whom it was fucking with."** Raven cooed and Naruto's grin widened as he turned towards the snakes.

"_**Gladly Kara-Chan, your wish is our command."**_ The Mutated teen replied while slashing the Kusanagi, a whirlwind forming around them and blowing away the poison cloud. Smirking, Raven then held a hand towards the Head that had its mouth cut up by Naruto, blood pouring from its damaged mouth she narrowed her eyes.

"**I believe it's high time someone put that pathetic head out of its misery."** She noted and then closed her eyes. **"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthose!"** She cried and black energy formed over the snake's head / neck. Smirking darkly she then clinched her fist and the head was crushed under the force of her power. Releasing her hand, she watched as the crushed head fell over, now clearly dead while Naruto whistled slightly before grinning towards the girl.

"_**Impressive Kara-Chan, but this isn't a contest."**_ Naruto reminded and then turned his head to look as two more of the Yamata's heads came their way. _**'Five more to go.'**_ He noted with his eyes narrowing, Raven moving them out of the way of one of the heads as it attempted to swallow them.

"**Such an impudent beast, how shall we destroy it, Love?"** Raven asked and Naruto took a thoughtful expression before holding the Kusanagi to his side.

"_**Just spin us around Kara-Chan, we will do the rest for this!"**_ Naruto stated as the two heads came at them from both sides and Raven grinned. Quickly spinning around, Raven twisted her body around until she was holding onto Naruto from around his waist. Holding out the Kusanagi, Naruto then allowed its blade to lengthen out, slicing through one of the Yamata's heads while the other quickly ducked down. _**'Four to go.'**_ Naruto thought to himself while Raven brought them to a stop, lightly swaying before shaking her head as another head came their way.

"_**Fly towards it Kara-Chan!"**_ Naruto told the girl, causing her to raise a brow before grinning darkly as she did just that while forming a fireball in one hand. The Yamata's head hissed as it neared them then opened its mouth as if to fire another poison mist. However, Raven quickly threw her fireball into its open maw, the Yamata's head hissing in pain as it closed its mouth. Quickly attacking, Naruto stabbed the Kusanagi towards the Yamata, the blade flying into and then threw its throat before he hefted the ridiculously long blade up and cut the head in half.

"**These serpents wouldn't last a second in the lower levels of hell."** Raven noted and Naruto briefly wondered why she knew that, before deciding not to care as the blind head from before came flying towards them. _**'Three more to go…'**_ Naruto noted while Raven grinned as the head came towards them, its tongue sticking out so it could smell them. **"Shall we attack this oversized Garden Snake together, Love?"** Raven questioned of her mutated boyfriend and Naruto grinned.

"_**Lets!"**_ He said and Raven flew them towards the snake ducking under its head before Naruto swung his claws, lashing out at its throat. Raven then spun them around, grabbing one of his arms and swung over of her claws, slicing into its neck further while continuing to spin them. Naruto then swung the Kusanagi, just deep enough to cut into it without killing it while Raven then formed black energy along her hand and swung it, causing the energy to form into blades that sliced threw the serpents neck completely.

Grinning Raven quickly moved them away as the blind head fell down towards the ground in a heap, Naruto chuckling in his throat. _**'Only two more left.'**_ Naruto thought to himself while the two final heads gazed at them while the other's lay in bloody heaps around them. Hissing in outrage, one head lunged at the two, Raven looking to Naruto with a wide grin.

"**What next, Love? I'm really starting to enjoy this."** Raven questioned then said enticingly, a shiver of desire running up Naruto's spine for a moment. Shaking his head, Naruto held one hand to the side and concentrated on his wind Chakra, soon forming a Rasengan with it.

"_**Fuuton: Rasengan!"**_ Naruto said while holding the ball of wind at his side, Raven getting an idea and forming a ball of fire into one of her hands. Watching as the head came towards him, Naruto and Raven looked to one another before putting their hands, and attacks together…

The affect was instantaneous. The wind of Naruto's Fuuton-Rasengan increased the heat and intensity of Raven's stream of fire as it was sent flying towards the Yamata's head. The ball of wind and fire literally shredded and then scorched its way through the head, tearing it into chunks of flesh and gore while Naruto and Raven watched on with wide surprised eyes…

"_**We had no idea it would do that…"**_ Naruto admitted and Raven blinked before nuzzling the side of his head.

"**But I believe that it is a most pleasant surprise, wouldn't you say so, Love?"** Raven offered and Naruto took a mock thoughtful expression for a moment before grinning up towards his girlfriend.

"_**We agree."**_ Naruto admitted before turning back to the Yamata and narrowing his eyes, grinning wider than ever. _**'Only one left.'**_ He noted to himself while the beast hissed while looking up towards him with narrowed eyes…

"Whoa! They're so tearing that thing apart dude!" BB noted and Dani nodded her head while watching the scene.

"And I thought Kratos was brutal when he killed the Hydra. Those two tore that snake thing into pieces within seconds!" Dani said in awe while Kakashi twitched and shivered, making a note that Naruto with Raven was a tag-team dangerous enough to be like the Nidaime and Shodaime working together.

"You have to remember though, Naruto has control of wind to disable air-born poison attacks, and a sword that can stretch and cut threw anything. Meanwhile we know that Raven has supernatural powers and the ability to control fire and fly. Next both have an unreal regeneration factor, and each one is dead set on protecting the other. The two are practically the perfect tag-team, Naruto's wind can increase the heat of Raven's fire to make it burn hotter, and they both watch each other's back constantly." Nightwing noted while BB blinked and Jinx nodded her head while looking towards the slaughtered heads of the Yamata.

"Remind me never to piss them both off." Mammoth suddenly said, getting nods of agreement from the rest of Tartarus as they watched. _'No wonder He's the leader…'_ The boys all thought at the same time while Blackfire watched with a grin.

"You look like your enjoying this." Neji noted and Blackfire was silent as she continued to watch the continuing fight without blinking.

"K-Kakashi-San… w-what about S-Sasuke-San… d-do you b-believe he is a-alright?" Hinata suddenly asked and Kakashi blinked before looking to the Hyuuga heiress and his eyes fell.

"I… I don't know." Kakashi admitted while turning back to the Yamata as it's final head stared towards Naruto and Raven intently…

Said teens were actually starting to get bored as the Yamata stared at them. **"When will it make its move so we can finally end this farce of a battle?"** Raven wondered with a scowl across her face and Naruto shrugged his shoulders, not really minding how close they were to one another. However, no sooner had Raven complained than the Yamata suddenly launched its final head towards them, only to open its mouth as Orochimaru flew out of it with a Kunai in hand, the Yamata behind him fading away into Chakra as he came at them.

"**It's not over yet!"** Orochimaru exclaimed while opening his Sharingan eyes wide. _'Damn, my Chakra is fluctuating wildly, this body is deteriorating even as I speak, and from Sasuke's memories he has the Mangekyou Sharingan and it's nearly caused him to go blind. Such a useless vessel… however, I cannot allow this to end. Should they cure Sasuke-Kun of whatever this mutation is, I could be resealed, or worse, fade completely.'_ Orochimaru noted before narrowing his eyes onto Naruto and Raven.

"**Amaterasu!"** He called out while a black flame shot towards Raven and Naruto, the mutated blond cursing even as Raven pulled them out of the way of the black flames. Orochimaru grunted as he felt blood trickle down from his eyes, his vision going blurry as he stared towards the two. _'It's almost a shame Sasuke-Kun, I would've loved to have at least harvested your eyes, but now their useless to me. A pity. But I suppose I'll just have to move on and find a more… suitable host.'_ Orochimaru thought while using Amaterasu once more, the flames flying towards Raven and Naruto as she pulled them out of the way.

Naruto then swung the Kusanagi, the blade extending and swiping towards the former Sannin. However, he easily flew over the blade while concocting a plan in his mind and suddenly smirked to himself. _'But I can't allow you to go unpunished for betraying me Sasuke-Kun. For that, you will suffer a fate worse than death…'_ Orochimaru thought to himself while sending a final Amaterasu towards Naruto and Raven, both dodging to the side as he beat his wings and flew towards them.

"**Now I've got you!"** He called out and stabbed Naruto in the shoulder, Raven growling out furiously and grabbing the side of his head with her hand, then sent fire into her hand and burned Orochimaru's left eye and the side of his head. _'Painful, but it's just the beginning of your suffering Sasuke-Kun…I'll leave you with only a superficial wound Naruto-Kun, I must respect your strength and cunning, you are truly a worthy opponent and I look forward to meeting you again.'_ Orochimaru thought with a mental chuckle while beating his wings once more and pushing them all down towards a building.

"Dude, that was so epic!" BB exclaimed seeing the three slam into the roof of a nearby building and Nightwing frowned. Seconds after, Ravager and the others suddenly appeared and Cy grinned towards Night while holding up a syringe.

"We've got the antidote!" He stated while Duela and Gizmo held up two more syringes and Night smirked slightly.

"Good. Now c'mon!" Night stated while running towards the building with the other Titans and Tartarus, Cy sighing tiredly before following after them. The Konoha-Shinobi stayed back for a moment, Kakashi allowing Neji to hold him up before they looked to him.

"Well. What should we do Kakashi?" Ino asked with her arms crossed and Kakashi sighed tiredly.

"We follow them… this might be our only chance to capture Naruto. Grab Sakura and let's go." Kakashi ordered and Ino nodded her head before turning to where she'd left Sakura, then blinked.

"What the hell? She's gone!" The blond shouted while looking around and Kakashi grimaced then weighed his options for a few moments.

"Dammit… we'll look for her later, let's go get Naruto and Sasuke now." Kakashi ordered and Neji frowned before jumping after the younger teens. He had his own thoughts on this matter, and he knew what needed to be done… what was the right thing to do in this situation…

Meanwhile the three had hit the roof of the building with a crash of dust, Orochimaru flying off of Raven and Naruto before skidding back before coming out of it into a roll, stopping just short of falling off of the building. Naruto landed on his arm with a grunt, Raven on top of him placing a hand to her head while Orochimaru opened his eyes… both now milky white with blindness from his and Sasuke's overuse of the Mangekyou Sharingan.

'_Now Sasuke-Kun, suffer your cursed brother's fate… I have a new world to explore, and new things to learn.'_ Orochimaru thought with a chuckle as his mouth opened up wide, a small white snake with Orochimaru's yellow eyes slithering out of his throat and away from Sasuke before heading down a drain…

Meanwhile, Naruto grunted his eyes growing heavy even as the Kusanagi turned into a snake before sinking back into his body. Raven was slowly opening her four red eyes before looking at him. **"What's the matter, Love? Did that snake hurt you badly?"** Raven asked while glaring towards the immobile Sasuke and Naruto shook his head before gritting his teeth.

"_**These… mutations… are tearing our body apart."**_ Naruto said before hissing out as he felt his leg start to spasm wildly and Raven frowned while looking down at him.

"**Why do you say we?"** She asked and Naruto looked up at her and smiled as best he could, though it looked more like a grin because of his mouth.

"_**We say We, because we acknowledge each other. Naruto, and our Inner-Demon. We are part of one another… just as you are a part of our Kara-Chan."**_ Naruto said softly while placing a clawed hand to her cheek and she leaned into it before shaking her eyes and looking at him strangely.

"**Why would you acknowledge the existence of another in your mind?"** She questioned and the mutated teen chuckled slightly.

"_**Because… our demons are a part of us."**_ He stated and saw confusion across the girls face, thus placed his clawed hand to her cheek once more. _**"It's a part of us we do not like to admit. It is our darkness, our hatred, and our doubts and fears given life. But regardless of this, it is a part of us, it is something we can never destroy."**_ Naruto explained and Raven shook her head, obvious confusion across her features.

"**Then overpower and seal it away, you need not bend to the will of a part of you. Take control and make it obey!"** Raven stated and Naruto closed his eyes and shook his head.

"_**No. Because, it doesn't have to be our Inner-Demon, instead, we can work with it. Work through our doubts and fears; move on with our life, with it as a part of us. Together, we are stronger than anything, and nothing will stop us from fulfilling our goals."**_ Naruto explained and saw a pained look on Raven's face. _**"Stop trying to control everything, stop trying to hide who you are behind a façade. We do not care who you pretend to be… to us, you will always be Kara-Chan."**_ Naruto said before swaying and lying back silently, Raven opening her mouth before closing it.

"**Why should I… I'm hate. I'm hate, rage, destruction and evil. That's all I am, besides, I'd never get to be with you if I let her back in control."** She said quickly and Naruto reached up and pulled her down, placing her head to the crook of his neck.

"_**No. There is more to you than just hate or destruction, I saw it while you fought with us. You are also passion. You are a passionate creature; everything you do you put your heart and soul into. And, since you obviously wished to protect us, you are still a part of Kara-Chan, for if you weren't, why would you protect us?"**_ Naruto told the girl and she reached out and laced her fingers with one of his hands, the two eyes on her forehead closing as a small smile crossed her lips.

"**I am rage and hatred… but I am also Passion."** She whispered as she closed her normal eyes and snuggled into his chest. **"I believe I can live with that… though I think you and Lust will enjoy it even more."** She noted and then smirked at the confused look on Naruto's face as she finally allowed herself to sleep, Naruto doing the same as the Titans and the others came to the roof and ran towards them. _**'Sleep tight, Kara-Chan, we will always be here for you…'**_ Naruto thought to himself as he closed his eyes and fell into slumber with the girl.

Seconds later, the Titans, Tartarus, and the Konoha-Shinobi found this scene, Nightwing breathing a sigh of relief upon seeing they were all either asleep or unconscious. "Cy, go get that Sasuke guy, I don't want him getting away." Night ordered and Cyborg nodded his head before running over to the teen and then quickly knelt down and injected the antidote into his system. Gizmo and Duela then moved over to Raven and Naruto and did the same, both grimacing slightly before seeming to calm greatly.

"Alright pit-sniffer, they should get back to normal by tomorrow." Gizmo stated and Nightwing nodded his head while Jinx and the rest of Tartarus walked away from him and stood with each other.

"Well, its been fun bird boy, but we're wiped, catch you next time." Jinx offered playfully as Gizmo teleported them away, Starfire flying next to the black haired youth.

"Friend Nightwing, should we go and look for the Tartarus?" Starfire asked and Nightwing shook his head before turning to the Konoha-Shinobi, growling when he saw no sign of Ravager anywhere. _'She must've made her escape as well… but so long as we have the ninja, I'm fine with that.'_ Night thought to himself and walked over to Neji as he held Kakashi up.

"You're coming with us." Night stated and Neji looked at Kakashi, then saw Ino and Hinata nod their heads and smirked.

"Yes. We understand." Neji stated, and Night turned around to Starfire and Donna.

"Get Raven and Naruto, we're heading back to the Tower." Night stated and the girls quickly picked the sleeping duo up before making their way towards Titans Tower with the Shinobi in tow…

--

(??)

The next morning in Jump-City, an average man walked down the streets of Jump-City, whistling a little tune to himself. Nearby, a familiar white snake slithered towards him. _'Obtaining the Sharingan is all but impossible now. But this world has so much more to offer me, new things to see and learn. I will need a new host, so I suppose this pathetic fool will have to do for the moment. I'll just have to find a more suitable host at a latter time.'_ Orochimaru's thoughts echoed in the serpent's mind, before making sure no one was around as it lunged at the man.

The snake quickly wrapped around his body and purple Chakra was expelled from it and into his form, as it and the white snake then seemed to sink into his form… Seconds later Orochimaru's chuckle echoed from the lips of the man as he pushed himself up to his feet. "Ah, much better, flesh and blood. And no mutations to hinder me." Orochimaru thought to himself before stretching out his limbs and hissed. "I'm just lucky I was able to save enough Chakra for this, otherwise, I fear I would've ended up dieing… and I can't have that. I have too much to learn." Orochimaru said to himself before opening his bright yellow snake like eyes with a smirk slithering across his face.

Looking to the sky, Orochimaru placed his hands into the pockets of his pants before walking out of the alley and into a busy street. _'Ah, a brand new world for me to explore, with new things to learn, new places to see, and new ways to obtain immortality for me to find. But you have no need to worry Naruto-Kun, I'll return some day, some day in the future, when I've secured my immortality, so I can reclaim my sword.'_ Orochimaru thought with a chuckle escaping his lips as he wandered down the street.

Ignoring a few odd looks from people as they saw his eyes, Orochimaru then disappeared into a group of people, heading off on a journey to discover everything he could about this new world…

Elsewhere in the city, a familiar fuchsia haired girl walked with a light hop in her step. She hummed a nameless tune as she walked towards a train station, a voice popping up in her head as she entered. _"What the hell are you doing? I thought you wanted to get your oh so precious Naruto back?"_ Sakura questioned of the girl, but not even the pinkettes angry voice could hamper Ayane's mood.

'_**Did you not see that Raven Chick? Or have you already forgotten how she laid out your ass? Either way, I'm not ready to take her on yet.'**_ Ayane thought in response while entering the train and then walked over and took a seat while tapping one foot. _"Oh, and how is going on a trip going to change that?"_ Sakura questioned angrily and Ayane rolled her eyes mentally. _**'Because Pinky, Naruto went away from Konoha and came back tough as hell, I'll go on a training trip to, and when I come back, I'll tear that purple haired bitch apart!'**_ Ayane responded while tapping one finger into her right thigh, Sakura suddenly listing a dozen ways that could go wrong.

Not listening or even caring what the pinkette had to say to her, Ayane silently leaned back in her seat and awaited the train to move. It was heading for some place called Metropolis, but she didn't care, so long as it was away from Jump-City and where she could train it was fine by her. Had she opened her eyes, she would've seen a figure walk by her, one with bright yellow snake like eyes. The figure walked passed her without thought or concern and then sat down a row down from her, lacing his fingers together with a sly smirk across his lips…

--

(Ravager's HQ…)

The white haired girl frowned as she sat in her hideout, fingers laced together with a deep scowl across her lips. _'Now I'm back to square one… how annoying.'_ She thought to herself while closing her eyes as she thought of what she should do next. _'Nothing for the moment. The Titans are aware of me, and without the Ninja to draw attention from myself I'll need to be extra cautious. I suppose a little vacation is in order.'_ Ravager mused to herself while pushing her seat back and stood up before walking off into her HQ to vanish into the shadows…

--

(Titans-Tower…)

Naruto slowly opened his eyes with a groan before placing a hand to his head. "Oh… what hit me?" He wondered before shaking his head and looking to his side, blinking as he saw Raven sleeping against him. Looking to his arms and then Raven's body, he also noted that both of them were back to normal, each of them in their original forms, though Raven's hair was long. "Kara-Chan?" Naruto asked and Raven frowned in her sleep before slowly opening her eyes. Looking to the blond haired boy, her eyes snapped open and she quickly wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Naruto! Thank Azar your okay!" She said and didn't even care as a few things suddenly melted nearby. Blinking for a moment, Naruto then smiled and wrapped his arms around Raven, while leaning his head into her shoulder.

"Ahem." Someone called and both teens turned to see Cyborg smirking towards them with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Oh… uh, hey stone-head. What's up?" Naruto asked as Raven gave him a sour look for interrupting the moment.

"Just thought you might like to see those Ninja's one last time." Cy said and Naruto blinked before looking to Raven.

"Don't look at me, I've been asleep with you." Raven reminded and then looked to Cyborg who stepped to the side and allowed someone to walk into the room, Naruto gaping while Raven's eyes widened.

The man wore a blue body suit with a golden belt around his waist, a pair of gold calf length boots that came to a point, and loose gold forearm length gloves that came to a point, he had a long high collared gold cloak with a broach at the front of his neck, and last was a golden helmet that seemed to make his eyes look white.

"Oh shit… He's with the JLU." Naruto mumbled to himself while Raven shook her head to break her of her stupor.

"Dr. Fate. It's an honor." Raven said with a bow of her head and the man chuckled lightly.

"It's alright young one. There is no need for formalities between comrades, and besides. I and some other members of the league are merely here to help with a little… problem you've been having recently." Dr. Fate offered curtly, bearing a slight accent Naruto immediately noticed, though couldn't quite place. "Now, if you two are able to get up. I think its time we sent your… guests, home." Dr. Fate then said while walking out of the room and Cyborg followed with a grin, Naruto silently turning to Raven.

"If they brought the Martian Man-Hunter and Superman with them… I am so dead." He stated with wide eyes, mostly because the Martian Man-Hunter could read minds and he wasn't keen on going toe to toe with Superman with Dr. Fate around. Upon seeing the look on her blond boyfriends face Raven merely shook her head with a soft smile on her lips.

"Don't worry, I'll be with you, nothing is going to happen." She assured and the blond grinned nervously before looking at her strangely.

"You seem awfully… cheerful. You sure your alright Kara-Chan?" He noticed then asked of the violet-haired girl and Raven blinked before frowning to herself.

"I think I need to meditate after this is over… a lot." She said mostly to herself and Naruto pecked her on the cheek before getting up.

"Yeah well, lets go see what Dr. Fate is up too before we go about making any plans." Naruto said while stretching out his sore, aching limbs and then sighed as he felt his neck back and spine crack.

"Naruto…" Raven then said softly and the blond turned to her with a raised brow. "I… I want to talk to you about something. I heard your secret, it's only fair I tell you mine." Raven mumbled and Naruto tilted his head before sitting down.

"You don't have to tell me anything you don't want too Kara-Chan, I'm just glad you can still stand being around me." Naruto said then admitted with a slight grin across his face, Raven smiling towards the boy before shaking her head.

"No. I want to tell you, I don't want anymore secrets between us." Raven quietly admitted while closing her eyes before taking a deep breath and sighing. Silently leaning against the blond haired youths shoulder Raven then closed her eyes as she started her story. "It started before I was born, my mother was a part of a cult that worshipped a demon, that demon's name, was Trigon…" Raven started to explain while Naruto merely listened to her tale…

--

(Outside…)

"What's taking Rae and Nar so long dude?" BB suddenly wondered and Dr. Fate smiled beneath his helmet.

"I believe the two are glad to see one another in good health, we should allow them their happiness." Dr. Fate said and then looked to Kakashi, the man bound by his magical energies while Neji, Hinata, and Ino stood, a still unconscious Sasuke slung over Neji's shoulder.

"I gotta admit I'm surprised that only he actually tried to escape out of the lot of them." Came the voice of The Flash himself, the red suited superhero standing next to Kid-Flash with a smirk as he looked at the Shinobi. Kakashi merely frowned and gave the man a look while testing how he could do anything… unfortunately, whatever Dr. Fate had on his hands and wrists was also holding on to him tightly while keeping him from using any Jutsu.

"Hey c'mon, with us here how could any of them possibly escape?" Kid-Flash asked his mentor with a wide grin and The Flash chuckled lightly while patting the youth on the shoulder.

"Good Point short stuff." The Flash admitted with a grin to match Kid-Flash's while Batman and Nightwing both silently shook their heads. Nearby Wonder-Woman smiled at The Flash's antics before looking down to Donna.

"Well regardless of circumstances, it's still nice to see you again Donna." Wonder-Woman admitted and Donna smiled slightly, BB watching Cy practically drool towards the amazon shook his head with a frown.

"Dude, so not cool Cy." BB stated and Cy gave him a look before crossing his arms while Starfire took a step away from Nightwing and Batman.

"You okay Star?" Cy asked the girl with some concern and Starfire looked to Cy before moving to stand beside him away from Batman.

"The man of bat frightens me." She mumbled while looking to the strange stoic man as he stood next to Nightwing impassively.

"Aw chill Star, I'm sure bats isn't as bad as people say he is." Cy told the girl and Starfire turned back to look at the man, clearly not convinced. Meanwhile as that was happening with the Titans, Dr. Fate looked to Hinata and the other Shinobi from Konoha with his arms crossed over his chest.

"So. Your certain you can have him punished for his actions against our people?" Dr. Fate asked Hinata, being able to tell that the girl was honest to a fault and he did not trust any of the other's.

"Y-Yes. H-His actions w-were reckless and c-complete uncalled for g-given the situation. L-Lady Tsunade will n-not allow him to g-go unpunished for what he's d-done." Hinata said, her stutter making her bow her head while poking her index fingers together bashfully.

"Dude, she's like the Timid Raven." BB whispered to Cy who looked at Hinata before nodding his head in agreement.

"Thank you for the assurance Lady Hinata. Superman had to go to a lot of trouble just to make sure no action was taken against you all by the government for his actions against out people… however, should your people ever come to our world again, I cannot say that we will be quite as… hospitable nor as forgiving for any damage done." Dr. Fate stated ominously and Hinata nodded her head with a slight gulp, Ino shivering as the guy kind of creeped her out.

"W-We understand, Sir." Hinata said timidly while Dr. Fate nodded his head, Neji looking to the man with a frown soon after.

"Are you certain you can return us to our world? Naruto used a Jutsu to get us here, but we're not certain even he knew what he was doing when he did." Neji asked then admitted Dr. Fate and the man seemed to scoff while looking to Neji.

"I don't know any of your "Jutsu's" but believe me when I say I can return you to your world." Dr. Fate stated and then turned his head when he felt something nearby, smiling slightly upon seeing the two they were waiting on. Naruto and Raven walked out of the tower, Raven now wearing a blue cloak with two broaches holding it to her leotard, still dressed in the things her emotions had put on her. Naruto was dressed in the clothes he'd been wearing to fight them, his orange spiral mask placed on one hip while he wore the Akatsuki's rings openly.

"What took you guys so long?" BB questioned and Raven glared at the green teen for a moment. Looking around, Naruto inwardly grimaced upon seeing four of the JLU's heavy hitters, and then widened his eyes upon seeing Batman. Said man merely narrowed his eyes on the teen for a moment before turning to Dr. Fate.

"Looks like everyone's here." Batman stated and Dr. Fate nodded his head for a moment before turning to Hinata and noticed she seemed anxious.

"Is there something you need Lady Hinata?" He asked and Hinata made a small sound before nodding her head.

"I w-would just like t-to say goodbye to N-Naruto-Kun." Hinata admitted and Dr. Fate rubbed his chin for a moment before motioning Naruto over. The blond looked to Raven for a moment before walking over to Hinata, grimacing slightly as he rubbed the Shoulder Orochimaru had pierced the night before.

"Hey Hina, long time no see." Naruto offered and Hinata blushed while poking her fingers together once more.

"I'm s-sorry for all the t-trouble we m-might've caused you N-Naruto-Kun." Hinata said and Naruto frowned while crossing his arms behind his head.

"Don't worry about it. Just make sure it never happens again and we're good." Naruto offered with a grin and The Flash leaned over to Kid-Flash.

"Is he really a Ninja? I thought they were more like Bats." The red wearing man noted and Kid-Flash snickered while both got a glare from Naruto that was mirrored by The Batman.

"Shut up." Naruto and Batman said at the same time before looking at one another and Naruto cleared his throat while looking back to Hinata.

"Um. N-Naruto-Kun, I also wanted t-to say, I'm h-happy you f-finally found where you b-belong." Hinata then said and Naruto smiled softly before taking a thoughtful expression.

"Thank Hina, but I've got a word of advice for you." Naruto said and Hinata blinked while tilting her head to one side. "Give Kiba a chance, he's been chasing you as long as I had been chasing Sakura." Naruto said with a grin on his face and Hinata blushed before timidly poking her fingers together and backing up to stand with the others. "Hey Ino, make sure you Shika and Choji look out for Kurenai and Little Asuma, wouldn't want the boys to corrupt the next generation." Naruto said and Ino snorted before giving a grin to her fellow blond.

"Don't worry, I'll keep them in line." She offered and Naruto looked to Neji.

"Neji… well… I can't think of anything witty to say to you, other than to try and keep the Uchiha on a leash from now on." Naruto stated, BB, The Flash, Kid-Flash, and Cy snickering while Neji smirked.

"I'll try." Neji offered and Naruto looked to a clearly amused Dr. Fate.

"Alright, have at it man." Naruto offered while backing up to stand next to Raven, Dr. Fate nodding his head and turning to the Ninja. Taking a deep breath and holding out his hands, Dr. Fate then closed his eyes and muttered a chant under his breath, soon the man threw his hands forward and instantly a vortex appeared around the Ninja before engulfing them, and all were taken away…

"Well, I'm glad that is finally over with." Nightwing admitted and Batman turned to his young protégé.

"As promised Robin, we've stayed out of your way thus far." Batamn said and Nightwing gave the man a look in response. "But, due to the recent upsurge of dangerous villains in Jump-City lately, don't be too surprised if we choose to check in on you every now and again." Batman then said and Night visibly scowled towards the man while crossing his arms.

"My name isn't Robin anymore, it's…" Nightwing started to say and Batman cut him off.

"Nightwing. I know." The man stated and Night twitched as Batman walked over to Dr. Fate, The Flash looking around and grinning.

"Well kids, it's been fun seeing you all, but I think it's time we got back to our own tower." The Flash noted with a wide grin while Wonder-Woman knelt down and hugged Donna.

"Stay safe little sister." She whispered before walking over to stand with the Flash, Batman merely nodding towards Nightwing as he walked over to stand next to Wonder-Woman.

"Well now young Titans, if ever any of you need any assistance, feel free to call on us in the JLU." Dr. Fate offered Raven raising a brow at the offer as Dr. Fate then backed up to stand with the other members of the JLU.

"Watchtower, this is Batman, bring us up." Batman said while placing his fingers against the side of his cowl. Seconds later, the members of the JLU vanished in a brief flash of light while Naruto breathed a mental sigh of relief. _'Either bats didn't recognize me… or maybe he just choose not to mention anything. And I think I'll go with the latter on this.'_ The blond thought to himself while BB and Kid-Flash looked to one another, Cy grinning behind the two.

"Well dudes, the Ninja's are gone." BB said with a wide grin and Kid-Flash picked up for him.

"The day is, of course, saved yet again." Kid-Flash noted to himself with a smirk and Cyborg decided to pick up for them.

"And Raven and her boy are back to normal. And y'all should know what that means." Cy stated with a wide grin on his face and all three of the boys threw their hands up into the air.

"PARTY TIME!" They exclaimed before suddenly looking over to their leader pleadingly, Nightwing frowning for a moment before suddenly smirking.

"Well… why not." He allowed and the three guys ran into the tower, Starfire and Donna following them to make sure they didn't destroy anything in their haste. As they headed inside, Night turned to Naruto and Raven and looked at the blond. "You coming?" He asked and Naruto looked at the Tower for a moment before silently shaking his head.

"It's been fun hanging with you guys, but I really should get back to my place." Naruto stated and Nightwing mutely nodded his head before giving a look to Raven as he walked into the tower. As her leader left, Raven smiled up at Naruto as he wrapped his arms around her waist and turned to look at her. "So, we good for Saturday?" Naruto asked with a grin and got a look from Raven.

"What do you think?" She quipped dryly and the blond haired ex-shinobi chuckled while rubbing the underside of his nose.

"Right then, see ya later and stay safe, Kara-Chan." Naruto said while giving a mock salute and Raven silently nodded her head as the blond haired youth vanished in a swirl of leaves…

--

(Tartarus-HQ…)

Naruto tiredly entered his room; Jinx had been hounding him ever since he'd returned. But, even having to answer a bunch of questions didn't put a damper on his mood. _'The Konoha-Flunkies are gone, me and Kara-Chan are closer than ever, and the future is starting to look bright.'_ Naruto thought to himself while stretching out his limbs and then walked into his room before turning and landing back first on his bed. The blond then blinked as he felt something and thus looked up to see a smiling Raven looking down at him, his head on her lap…

"Uh… Kara-Chan why are you here?" Naruto asked and the girl merely smiled at the blond teen, then bent forward and kissed the blond on the lips. Blinking as she backed up, Naruto quickly shook his head and raised a brow. "Are you feeling alright?" He asked and Raven took a mock thoughtful expression for a moment before answering.

"I'm more than alright." She replied strangely while waving a hand, Naruto idly noting she had a gold ring on her middle finger.

"Okay… then why are you here. Not that I mind or anything, but… don't you usually sleep at this time of night?" Naruto asked and a strange smirk came to Raven's lips as she placed both hands onto his cheeks.

"I do normally sleep at around this time. But, I wanted to thank you." Raven said and Naruto tilted his head slightly.

"For what?" He asked the girl and she twisted them around so she was straddling his waist.

"For not being afraid of what I am, for not caring who my father was, and for standing by me even when I was a monster." She listed and then reached to the side, Naruto blinking as he noticed another gold ring on her other hand and…

"Wait a minute… why exactly is your cloak pur…?" He started to ask only for Raven to cut him off as she turned off his lamp while pulling him into a deep kiss with a slight giggle…

--

(??)

"**Ah that was actually a rather refreshing change of pace. I so enjoyed seeing that snake cut to ribbons."** Kyuubi noted to himself as he appeared in a familiar cave, Trigon chuckling lightly in response.

"**Yes. And all goes according to plan; your host and my daughter grow closer and closer to one another. Soon, everything we have worked for will come to fruition, you and I will obtain our freedom, and together, we will end the mortal world."** Trigon said as red energy started to sink into the ground, the skeletal hand from before clenching and unclenching slowly.

"**Yes. But how much longer must we wait? I swear that this is starting to kill me…"** Kyuubi grumbled out under his breath and Trigon merely chuckled in his throat once more before answering.

"**Do not fear Kyuubi. Our wait shall soon be over. My daughter's birthday is in but a month's time. And on that day, our day of reckoning shall be at hand…"** Trigon stated while turning back to the skeletal hand in the ground, a diabolical look to his burning red eyes…

--

TBC…

--


	44. Mischievous Mayhem Pt1

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

**Chapter 43**: **Mischievous Mayhem Pt. 1**…

--

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

--

(Jump-City…)

It was a bright and sunny day in the city, after a few weeks of work, with help from the Teen Titans of course, the city was fully repaired and life had returned, mostly, to normal. Recently, Raven had been spending more time with her boyfriend, too much in Nightwing's opinion, though she chose to ignore his attitude. Jinx had decided to keep quiet about Raven's heritage… for whatever reasons she had. Though it seemed that Kid-Wykkyd was just as silent as she was in that respect.

At the moment, Naruto is slowly waking up from a blissful slumber, eyes bleary as he stretched his arms out. Blinking as he noticed a warm body next to him, Naruto looked to his side and smiled softly. The sight that greeted him was that of Raven lying on her stomach, eyes closed and an utterly peaceful look across her face. _'And she's really been pushing those rings of hers.'_ Naruto then thought to himself when he noticed the gold bands around her middle fingers. Looking towards her back, Naruto felt his eyes drawn to the tattoo on her lower back. It was rather simple, it being a simple Raven flying down her lower back with its wings spread out.

Recently, when he'd decided to ask her when, where, and why she got that, she'd answered him as such. _"Terra and me went into town and I decided to try a… different, way to express my self…"_ Shaking his head the blond looked to his clock and grimaced when he saw how late it actually was.

'_I don't care how much slack the Kid gives Kara-Chan, being out all night and then till noon the next morning won't go over well with him…'_ Naruto thought to himself with a visible grimace then reached over to Raven. "Kara-Chan." He said while shaking her shoulder slightly, the girl merely moving further into his pillows and slightly covering her ears. _'oi… when she doesn't want to wake up she really doesn't want to wake up.'_ The blond thought to himself, then rubbed his chin and smirked as he moved down and slowly lifted Raven's head before kissing her on the lips.

This had the desired affect of Raven blinking her eyes open before leaning into the kiss. Soon finishing the kiss and breaking apart, Raven stretched out her body while trying to rouse her mind from slumber. "I think I like being woken up that way." Raven noted absently before turning from Naruto for modesties sake and grabbed her leotard.

"I'd say everyone does." Naruto noted and Raven shrugged her shoulders while looking around for her armor and boots. She still wore the clothes her emoticlones had placed on her, she didn't really say why, save that if they liked them, then wouldn't that mean she did? Either way, even with her costume's upgrade, Raven had still decided to cut her hair back to chin length, saying it was too much of a hassle to take care of when it was long.

"I take it I woke up late." Raven suddenly noted while calling over her boots and pulled them on, Naruto grimacing visibly behind her.

"It's twenty after twelve." Naruto admitted and Raven grimaced visibly.

"I'm going to have hell from Nightwing about that…" She grumbled while rubbing her temples and Naruto shrugged his shoulders.

"Could be worse Kara-Chan." Naruto reminded the violet haired girl and Raven shrugged her shoulders.

"I guess, though I'd prefer it if Night were to leave me alone." Raven admitted then stated and her blond boyfriend shook his head while she pulled on her cloak over her shoulders. "So, do you have anything planned for the day?" She asked and he frowned in thought for a moment before waving her off.

"Nah… I think I'll just train Dani some today." Naruto said while waving her concern off. Getting up, he then walked over to his closet to get out his normal civies while Raven finished getting dressed by pulling her cloak on.

"I'll see you tonight?" She asked and Naruto stopped to think about it for a moment before smiling towards her.

"Yeah. Unless the guys and I decide to do something later today that is." Naruto stated and Raven nodded her head, then swung her cloak and pulled herself into the shadows. Sighing once his girlfriend had left, Naruto leaned his head forward and into his closets doorway. Soon leaving his closet with his desired outfit, Naruto placed them onto his bed before pulling on his clothes. Finishing with his shirt, the blond then looked to a mirror and blinked as he noticed how long his spiky locks were getting, now reaching to the tops of his shoulders.

"Whoa, I'm starting to look like that "Zero" guy that Giz likes in those games of his. How long has it been since I last got my hair cut anyways?" The blond thought then wondered to himself before shrugging his shoulders and sat up, then walked over to a comm. link on his wall. pressing a button on the device, Naruto then frowned in thought before hitting one for Gizmo's workshop.

"Hey, Giz, is my new suit done yet?" Naruto asked and waited for a few moments until he heard Gizmo.

"Huh? Oh yeah, it's ready, just get down here, I've got some things to explain about the new one." Gizmo said before cutting the link and Naruto looked at his hair for a moment before walking out of the door and down the halls. Soon coming to Gizmo's workshop he saw the new X-Suit lying on a table, though it was visibly thicker than the last few, appearing almost like rubber or something.

"Giz, how much armor did you use on this thing?" Naruto asked seriously and Gizmo snorted for a moment while not turning to face the blond teen.

"Not half as much as I wanted, it would've been too heavy so I had to lighten it. It's durable enough right now to stop any low caliber projectile weapons even at close range but higher caliber will still be a bitch…" Gizmo admitted while motioning Naruto over to him and the blond walked over to a chair and sat down, the back of the seat in front of him as he crossed his arms overtop it.

"So…?" Naruto questioned and Gizmo held up a hand while turning around to face him, and then blinked.

"You're starting to look like Zero!" He suddenly shouted while pointing at the former ninja, only one thought crossing his mind. _'Blond hair, wields a sword, calm, cool, and collected, and extremely high analytical and combat skills! Holy shit we've practically got Zero incarnate on our team!'_ He thought to himself while gaping and Naruto gave him a flat look in response before rubbing his face.

"What's sad is, I said more or less the same thing when I saw how long my hair is getting…" Naruto admitted tiredly before exhaling and gave Giz another look. "Alright Giz, I know I need a haircut, but could you please tell me what the new X-Suit's functions are before I fry it and myself in combat?" Naruto asked and Gizmo blinked, still pointing at the blond before lowering his arm and shook his head.

"Uh yeah, sorry about that. But you know how I get with Megaman games." Gizmo reminded the blond and Naruto nodded his head, well aware that the Tiny-Terror was a rather large fan of the series, Dani being more into the "Devil May Cry" series for some reason or another. _'Man, what is with them and video games?'_ The teen had to wonder considering their lives were probably more interesting than playing at least half of those videogames…

"That's great and all Giz, but could you start with the suit?" Naruto pleaded while rubbing his face and Gizmo mutely nodded his head while looking over to the X-Suit.

"First of all, I did a major overhaul on all sub and main combat-systems. I rigged the two thermal Blasters into the gauntlets like before, but added in a new version of the old X-blade attachment as well. I had to take out the "Static-Knuckle" attachment they had and place the gauntlets lower on your wrist for this as a tradeoff." Gizmo explained and Naruto raised a brow while the Tiny-Terror pulled off one of the gauntlets and then tossed it to him. Catching it with one hand, Naruto took a moment to notice it was no less non-descript than the original variations that Gizmo had come up with.

They were simple like the last gauntlets, being black forearm protectors with four crisscrossing straps along the undersides, added however was that they slightly curved over his wrists and the backs of his hands like a Kurokote Gauntlet, and upon feeling something at the wrist and channeling Chakra into it, Naruto held the guard out as a large red blade popped out of it from where the back of his wrist would be, its longest arm pointing towards where the front of the gauntlets were tipped, the other three coming out of the back and sides to form a large cross.

"Well?" Gizmo questioned expectantly while Naruto noticed two more, admittedly shorter, blades coming from the sides and back of the gauntlets.

"So you put an extra few blades in… well, at least you took those scallops off the sides of them. I was starting to feel like a big Batman rip off for a while." Naruto mumbled then said to himself while putting the guard on and swung the blade, noting it was very light in weight.

"Yeah, those scallops weren't one of my better ideas… Anyways, these babies are made of a highly durable armor, but they are still light enough to carry as well as being razor sharp. Also you have your Thermal Blasters in the wrists of the gauntlets." Gizmo then explained and Naruto frowned before twisting his wrist slightly, the said weapon unfolding as the blades slid back into place with a noise.

"Not bad Giz, I'll probably add a seal onto the blades so I can channel my wind-chakra through them." Naruto said while placing the gauntlet back onto the X-Suit and Gizmo rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, well if you'd just show me how to make those I'd have already done it for you, pit-sniffer." The Tiny-Terror reminded and Naruto gave him a look in response, and then looked to the black armor added to the legs of the suit.

"And what's this for exactly?" Naruto asked while tapping the greaves which had a redesign as well, though they were still all black, these looked lighter than the last few he'd worn though that was easy since they looked like they would only covered his ankles, calves, and the sides of his shins while leaving the front visible, though had numerous straps between the sides and what looked like the stabilizer / bracer system from the last pair.

"Those are mostly for light protection more than anything else, as you can see they only really cover the outer portion of your legs. I also removed the electrical function when I learned you can create it on your own, so I decided to go more for speed with this new design. Though I did keep the old stabilizer systems just encase." Gizmo explained then admitted and Naruto shrugged his shoulders while Gizmo picked up the helmet. It was like the last few, a black helm with the typical skull motif with fangs, though the skull seemed more grey this time and the eyes were on the inside of the skull, causing them to look shadowed.

"I take it you modified the vision settings again." Naruto said blandly while placing a fist against his cheek and Gizmo gave him an annoyed look.

"Actually the helmet got the biggest overhaul. It's got a smaller built in rebreather at the mouth that also functions as a gasmask, Scope, Inferred and Ultraviolet vision settings; the Vocal-Synthesizer is built into the gasmask, the lenses still show you a HUD only now I can send you map Data in real-time, and it's got a sonar function to locate anyone around you." Gizmo explained and Naruto whistled, not for the first time wishing he knew half of what Gizmo was talking about.

"Next is the Belt." Gizmo said while pulling that off and Naruto saw the same old ash-grey square shaped plates were formed together, though where his hips would be the two plates were white and shaped more like rounded off diamonds with a removable upper section, the buckle for the belt was circular with a black field in the center, a red X placed over the field, and last a rappelling harness had been added to it as per usual.

"Okay… what's with those two plates?" Naruto asked and Gizmo actually grinned and pulled something out of the portions, revealing a strange device. "What does it do?" Naruto asked and Gizmo grumbled under his breath before holding the device up and split it apart. It revealed something similar to a micro-energy core, causing Naruto to raise a brow.

"These my friend are two miniature Power-Cells. Unlike your old suit, which you fried, I decided to modify this one to absorb your "Chakra" when you're producing too much for it to handle. It will keep it on the edge of overheating, but you won't have to worry about your suit frying. These will also directly tie into your Thermal-Blasters and should increase their output by double if not triple the normal amount. You just have to press down on them for that function to start." Gizmo explained before putting the cell back into the belt and Naruto raised a brow.

"So they'll let me use Sage-Mode without fusing the Suit to my skin?" Naruto questioned and Gizmo nodded his head with a slight frown. "Cool. That could be useful. Say, does it still have all those extra energy cores like the last one?" Naruto said then asked and Gizmo snorted before holding up the helmet and pointed to the back portion of the helm and pulled off the said device. "And the rest of the suit?" Naruto then asked and saw Gizmo grin widely while waving his arms to the suit.

"Like I was saying I upped the armor on this baby while still keeping it light in weight, it still protects against most anything you might encounter. Rain, sleet, snow, fire, lightning, even sand, none of it will affect the suit negatively. Like before it masks your body-heat but sonar will still track you, even with your stealth mode. I added in a masking feature that will decrease the sounds of your footfalls as well as any breathing so you'll be totally silent!" Gizmo explained and Naruto slowly nodded his head before looking at the suit.

It like the last few was a black suit, unlike the last few variations the X on the chest curved down under the arms and up into another X on the back, white spinal plates were along the back in a similar way as well, ash grey metal lined the bottom of the boots with a skull and X on the soles, white plates were on the backs of the hands, with white segmented armor forming claws over the fingers, red X's were placed on the palms, and the hands / forearms of the suit were the usual ash grey with black fingers.

His normal black Sheath and harness had been added to the shoulders and covered them while curving around to the back, a portion of armor dropping down towards the biceps. All and all, it looked very similar to his "Inner-Demon" form from a couple weeks back, though it was admittedly altered enough to where it could probably just be misconstrued as a mere coincidence.

"Not bad Giz. But I think it's time I gave this baby it's first test run and got back to training Dani." Naruto mused aloud and Gizmo grinned widely before nodding his head as he turned back to whatever it was he was doing. Shaking his head, Naruto picked up the pieces of the new suit and carried them back to his room. Quickly changing into the suit, Naruto left the helmet off while looking at the completed suit with a slight critical look.

"I feel like I'm missing something…" He thought before snapping his fingers and walked over to his closet. Digging around he brought out his black trench coat from the whole "Plant-Invasion" thing and pulled it on, then sheathed two Ninjatou onto his back before looking at his reflection with a smirk. "Much better." Naruto said to himself before grabbing his helmet and made his way out of his room. Walking to the Ops Center Naruto looked around before spotting Dani playing a game.

Shaking his head, the blond teen walked over and tapped her on the shoulder silently. Dani merely brushed his hand off while continuing to play her game. "I'm busy." She mumbled aloud and Naruto pinched the bridge of his nose while looking around the room. He saw Mammoth raiding the fridge, Jinx was sitting at the table with a thoughtful look, Billy and Seemore were on the sofa, seemingly awaiting their turn on the game-station, and Naruto figured Private and Kid were off in the base somewhere.

Only idly figuring Blackfire was sunbathing, and Duela was… well… being Duela somewhere, the blond turned back to his current student. Frowning slightly, Naruto looked down at the ghost girl and snatched her controller from her hands. "Hey!" She called out while turning to the older teen and stopped upon seeing him. "Uh… hi Sensei." She offered with a slightly nervous grin and Naruto gave her a look for a moment.

"Dani. Stop playing that silly game, you've got training today." Naruto stated and Dani pouted before nodding her head as Naruto tossed the control to Seemore and Billy, thus allowing them to fight over it as he and Dani walked out of the room. Making their way down the halls of the HQ, they eventually came to the Holo-Room and Naruto waited for Dani to enter before following her.

"So, what are we training in today?" Dani asked while floating into the air and Naruto rubbed his chin with a thoughtful look.

"Ghosts have the ability to shapeshift right?" Naruto asked and Dani slowly nodded her head while looking at him. "Then today we'll see if my Kage Henge no Jutsu is similar to Ghostly shapeshifting." He finally said and Dani frowned towards the blond as he put down his helmet. "Computer, activate Program CE-R4." Naruto then stated and the layout them shifted until it took the form of the arena from the Chunin Exams, though there were no people in the stands.

"Why did you pick an arena?" Dani asked the blond curiously and Naruto crossed his arms with a slight smirk.

"Because this gives us lots of room." He replied and then cleared his throat before exhaling. "Now then, the way I transform is different to what other Shinobi of my land can do, being that I physically change my shape." Naruto explained and Dani slowly nodded her head, not really interested in what other Shinobi did. "With my variation, I actually focus my Chakra and spread it around my body, as I do this I also usually picture the form I want in my mind before releasing the Chakra and allowing myself to take on the new form." Naruto further explained and Dani tilted her head before sighing.

"So basically you want me to try and turn into someone?" Dani asked and Naruto nodded his head causing the girl to pout and sigh. "You know, when I imagined being trained by a Ninja, I thought I might actually be learning about Ninjutsu. You know, "The Art of Invisibility" and all that jazz…" Dani noted and Naruto raised a brow for a moment while looking at her.

"The Art of Invisibility? Where the hell did you get the idea that being a Ninja involved something like that?" Naruto asked seriously, though did himself live by such a thing it wasn't common among Ninja in his world.

"TMNT." She replied and Naruto blinked for a moment and then stared at his apprentice flatly.

"TMNT?" He asked and Dani rolled her eyes.

"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Duh, I mean who hasn't heard of those guys?" She asked him seriously and Naruto pinched the bridge of his nose while giving her an annoyed look.

"One, I'm from an alternate form of reality so the likelihood that I'd have heard of anything from around here is very little. Two, I don't watch TV or play video games…" Naruto grumbled reminded the girl while giving her a look and Dani merely shrugged her shoulders.

"Not my fault Sensei, besides that, I think you might actually like it. The original comic version of the Turtles especially seeing, as they can get really violent, yeah, and considering his personality I bet you'd really like Raph too…" Dani said then mused aloud and Naruto raised a brow towards the girl before sighing and rubbing his temples.

"Yeah… I'll have to look for those comic books real soon…" Naruto said sarcastically and Dani huffed while glaring at the older teen. "Now can we please get back to training?" Naruto asked seriously and Dani nodded her head mutely, arms crossed over her chest.

"Alright, who do you want me to turn into then?" She asked the blond haired teen flatly and Naruto frowned in thought before smirking.

"Jinx." He offered and Dani shook her head.

"She's like my sister, I don't want to be in her shoes." Dani stated and Naruto rolled his eyes before having another thought.

"Starfire?" He asked and Dani silently mulled that over before giving the blond an annoyed look.

"I'm not that nice or perky." She replied and Naruto had to give her that before snapping his fingers.

"Duela then." He finally said and Dani raised a brow then sighed as she relented to that form, her Prankster in Crime was a decent start off if nothing else. Taking a deep breath, Dani then concentrated and transformed into her normal ghost-form, Naruto instantly noticing the new belt hanging on her hips loosely loosely.

"New belt?" Naruto asked and Dani blinked before looking to her waist and chuckled lightly. The "Belt" was white like the last one and was worn loose on her hips, tilting down with two pouches on the left side strapped onto her left leg, the simple white pouch on her right leg still worn to match it.

"Yeah, me and Gizmo decided you were kind of right about my outfit making me looking like a "Robin-Clone" thing so I got a different belt. Since I don't carry Shuriken or Kunai like you me and him decided I wouldn't need so many pouches." Dani explained and Naruto raised a brow before nodding his head, then motioned for her to carry on. Closing her eyes Dani then spread her Ecto-Energy across her body while picturing Duela before releasing it in one burst. The effect was her form instantly shifting, no smoke, though Naruto frowned upon seeing this Duela had white hair and green eyes like Dani, and her clothes appeared to be a larger version of Dani's as well…

"I think you need a little more work, though that is a good first try…" Naruto offered and inwardly muttered to himself. _'Better than my first Henge… that's for sure.'_ He thought grumpily while Dani looked at herself with a critical eye… then lingered on her chest for a moment.

"I think I may have made her a bit too pronounced…" She stated, her own voice coming out instead of Duela's, and Naruto slapped his face before breathing out a grunt.

"Yeah well just change back." Naruto ordered and Dani blinked while looking at the blond.

"How?" She asked seriously and Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Pull your energy back inside yourself." He ordered and Dani nodded her head slowly before doing as instructed. Like before, the change was instantaneous, though Dani looked visibly more relaxed as herself. "Alright, lets try that again, but this time, don't just focus on the body also try to change your colors to match her form." Naruto urged and the girl nodded her head once more before concentrating and released her energy once more.

This time she was in the right clothes, though they were black and green instead of purple, a white flower, Duela's black gloves had green bands around them, and now she had green hair and glowing green eyes… "Okay… you got the clothes right…" Naruto mumbled while admitting she looked more like a "Joker's Daughter" with green hair than even Duela did with Red…

"Yeah but I still didn't get it right." Dani grumbled while smiling as she realized her voice was Duela's this time… though notably higher in pitch.

"Well, practice make's perfect Dani, lets try it again, and remember, don't make your voice too high." Naruto ordered and Dani returned to normal with a sigh before trying again, this time Duela's clothes were green and her hair was black with bright flame red eyes…

"Did I get it?" Dani asked before placing her hands over her mouth, her voice having come out raspy and evil… Groaning lightly, Naruto slapped a hand over his face and slowly shook his head with a frown.

"Shit… this could take a while…" The blond thief noted to himself, flashbacks of Konohamaru's attempts to master the Oroike no Jutsu flashing before his eyes…

--

(Titans-Tower…)

Raven landed in the Tower's Ops Center and looked around silently. BB and Cy were on Gamestation with Kif-Flash waiting his turn with a frown, Donna seemed to be cooking something today, and Starfire was nowhere in sight. Blinking when she didn't see their leader, Raven then turned and grimaced upon finding Nightwing waiting for her with his arms crossed. "Uh… good morning." She offered while raising one hand and Night frowned while looking to a nearby clock.

"More like 'Good afternoon'." He stated and then pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I don't suppose an "I'm Sorry" is going to mean much." Raven noted and got a look from Nightwing in response. "Didn't think so." She admitted mostly to herself while Nightwing crossed his arms and exhaled a breath.

"Listen Rae, I know that you like Naruto, I also know he's willing to die to keep you safe. But you can't just stay out all night without telling someone." Night stated and Raven rolled her eyes with a frown.

"I'm fine Nightwing. Nothing… bad, happened so can we just skip the lecture?" Raven pleaded while rubbing one of her temples and Night gave her a stern look.

"No. Now listen, you want the freedom to see Naruto when you want to, I can understand and accept that. What I can't accept is you staying out at all hours without telling me." Night stated while pointing at the blue-cloaked sorceress, Raven crossing her arms as he did.

"Who died and made you my father?" Raven asked flatly, though would admit inwardly she'd enjoy it immensely if Trigon were dead and buried.

"I'm not trying to be your father Raven, I just get concerned when your out at all hours and I have no idea where you are." Night stated and blinked for a moment when something registered. _'Me and Batman had a talk like this once… man… that's a creepy thought.'_ Night thought while suppressing a shudder as he realized he was actually starting to take after his mentor.

"I respect your concern Nightwing, but as you should also know I'm fully capable of taking care of myself." Raven told the older boy flatly and Nightiwng pinched the bridge of his nose while considering his options. _'Scare tactics won't work with her, I can't argue with her like I can Cyborg or the others, she's a valued member of the team so threatening her would go off badly… guess it's time to compromise.'_ Night inwardly mused before breathing out a sigh and giving Raven a look.

"Raven, I give you a lot of slack around here, but I like to know my team… no, that my friends are all safe at night. If your going to be out like this again, please at least have the decency to call and tell us." Night finally grumbled out while looking at her and Raven blinked before slowly nodding her head as he walked over to a computer and started to look over something.

"Dude! What were you and Nar doing all night, Rae?" BB suddenly asked while tilting his head back and Raven fought the urge to send him into another dimension as a blush creeped over her face. _'I've never been so glad for my hood.'_ She thought to herself before taking a calming breath and glaring at the green teen.

"Is that really any of your business? I never bother you about your girlfriend after all." Raven asked then reminded and BB chuckled nervously before quickly looking back to his game and groaned as Cy beat him.

"Don't take it like that Rae, BB was just worried about ya, you know how he gets." Cyborg offered the girl without turning away from his videogame, Raven shaking her head as she turned only to find Starfire was staring at her.

"Uhh… Starfire, why are you looking at me like that?" She asked only to yelp as Starfire grabbed her, and then quickly pulled her out into the hall. "Okay, what was that for?" Raven asked flatly, eyebrow twitching as Starfire looked around before pulling Raven down the hall by her wrist. _'Aliens…'_ Raven thought to herself flatly while they entered her room and Starfire looked out the door to make certain that no one was nearby. Nodding her head, Starfire then turned and gave a pleading look to Raven.

"Oh Friend Raven! I have been very worried about my sister and wished to know if she was well with her comrades." Starfire admitted and Raven sighed before floating in the air and tilted her head to one side.

"She's doing as well as can be expected Starfire. I think she was sunbathing this morning." Raven offered and Starfire slowly nodded her head before breathing a sigh of relief. "Now do you mind telling me the real reason you practically dragged me to my room?" Raven asked and Starfire visibly blushed while looking around and started to fidget nervously.

"Well… uhh… I believe… oh…" Starfire said while ringing her hands through her hair and Raven blew into her hair tiredly.

"Just get on with it already." Raven grumbled and Starfire quickly took hold of the younger girls hands with a pleading expression across her face.

"Friend Raven would you possibly show me how to do the earthly courting?" Starfire said quickly and Raven blinked while looking at her silently for a moment.

"Huh?" She asked plainly, clearly confused and Starfire bowed her head.

"I am… how you say, unable to grasp the concepts of earthly courtships. It is all very confusing to me, many of the things we do on my planet would be inappropriate and I do not wish to frighten off…" Starfire started to explain and then covered her mouth while Raven sighed and rubbed her temples.

"So basically, you want to learn about earthly courtships in some attempt to attract Nightwing?" Raven guessed with a bored look and Starfire quietly nodded her head with a slight blush on her face. "Alright, but, you have to promise me you won't bug me to go with you to the mall for a month." Raven stated and Starfire looked about ready to protest before seeing the glare that the empathy was giving her.

"Uh… Alright, I will agree to your terms Friend-Raven." Starfire finally allowed while Raven sighed and leaned back tiredly.

"Alright, first of all…" Raven started while Starfire listened to her intently…

--

(Tartarus-HQ…)

Naruto after a couple hours found that Dani was having only a slight more luck with her transformations. After what seemed like dozens of different combinations for her to try to get Duela's form right, they had ended up with the closet one. The only thing off about her this time was that her eyes were still green, and no matter how hard she tried, they only came out green, or the occasional red…

"Sorry Sensei…" Dani mumbled in Duela's voice and Naruto sighed while rubbing his face for a moment.

"Nah, it's okay Dani. It probably just has to do with the fact your powers are Ghostly that they can't fix the eyes." Naruto offered and Dani sighed before calling her energy back into herself to return to normal and breathed out a tired sigh.

"Do you think it'll be that hard for me to become anyone else?" Dani suddenly wondered and Naruto frowned in thought for a moment.

"Not if you get used to it. Try to do Blackfire this time." Naruto stated and Dani frowned before changing, like before only her eyes were off, both glowing a bright neon-green like Dani's did.

"Well, looks like I'm staring to get this power down pat." Dani noted to herself while twirling in the air, making for a very convincing recreation of Blackfire all things considered, though would easily pass as Starfire if she'd change into her. "Now what?" Dani asked while returning to her original form and Naruto frowned in thought for a few moments.

"How are you doing on perfecting those Energy-Claws I was teaching you?" Naruto asked and Dani held up a hand, green energy forming over her nails before lengthening to claws. "Good, looks like you've more or less figured that one out too… so what should we start on next?" Naruto wondered mostly to himself while rubbing his chin with a thoughtful expression across his features.

"Say, what're you two doing?" Duela asked while popping into the room and Naruto grimaced while looking to the clown girl.

"Nothing that concerns you Duela." He said with a flat look and tone, only for Duela to flip over him to stand next to Dani.

"Oh, then can I borrow Dani for a while, I got this killer idea for a prank and…" Duela started to say and Naruto frowned while Dani grinned.

"Cool! What do you have in mind this time?" Dani asked and Naruto rubbed his temples while shaking his head. _'What's sad is they remind me of me…'_ The blond inwardly admitted while Duela held out a box of itching powder and what looked like a simple tablet.

"First, we're going to dump Itching Powder in the JCPD's uniforms, then I'm going to use some of my own "Quick acting foam pellets" in a fountain in town!" Duela responded as Dani looked at the older girl strangely at the foam prank and Naruto shook his head slowly.

"Your still sore you missed April Fools Day aren't you…" Naruto stated flatly, though smirking, and saw Duela start to growl.

"It isn't fair! Those stupid doctors kept me in Arkham on my favorite day of the year! Well besides Christmas… oh and Halloween!" Duela grumbled then said to herself before narrowing her eyes. _'And the stupid Author had to go and forget to post this chapter on April fools as well! Damn you Author!'_ Duela then thought while mentally glaring at the "Author" for a moment before blinking in confusion. "What was I talking about again?" Duela asked and Dani snickered while Naruto shook his head.

"You were talking about two pranks you wanted to pull." Dani finally supplied and Duela blinked before grinning widely and placing an arm over her shoulders.

"Oh yeah, that! Anyways like I was saying, and after we toss in the foam bomb we can deface public property or something else!" Duela said and Naruto blinked before an idea came to mind in the form of "Defacing Public Property". _'Like, oh I don't know, a monument of Jump-City… like Titans Tower…'_ He thought to himself while Duela started to go on a long explanation to Dani about what else they could do. Seeing this, Naruto cleared his throat to get their attention, both girls turning to him and blinking.

"Ladies, I believe that you're both thinking too small on this particular matter." Naruto told the girls before a wide grin spread over his face. "In fact, why shouldn't we make this a day that Jump-City AND The Titans will remember for years to come!" Naruto offered and Duela grinned while Dani gave him a strange look.

"How?" Dani asked and Naruto grabbed his Helmet and pulled it on, a grin forming under it as he gave the two girls a look.

"Why with Red-X and Tartarus pranking not only the Titans but the rest of the city as well, of course." Naruto replied and Duela started to rub her hands together with an evil look across her face.

"Yes! After so many years of Beast-Boy and his lame jokes I'm sure this town must be dying for something to really laugh about!" Duela said mostly to herself while Naruto placed a hand to the side of his helmet.

"Hey Giz, get everyone together, we're going to be giving Jump-City and the Titans a little trouble today." Naruto said into his communicator as Duela grinned widely and Dani looked at them both. _'Well… it beats more training I guess.'_ Dani thought to herself as Naruto deactivated the Holo-Room and walked out with Duela.

"Hey! Wait for me guys!" Dani quickly called while flying after the two and out of the room…

--

(Titans-Tower…)

Nightwing frowned as he looked over more data on Red-X. What little video footage he had on X, was recorded by Cyborg during the limited times he'd seen him in action. Frowning, Night wished he had some on Naruto not for the first time. Pulling up the "Inner Demon" Naruto had changed into had been somewhat more helpful, but the fighting style between Naruto and his Inner-Demon had been radically different. Naruto seemed more calm, reserved, and less brutal in battle than his Inner-Demon. While the said Inner-Demon tended to attack viciously and attack only with the intent to kill…

'_One is part of the other. But they have such radically different styles… then we have X.'_ Night thought to himself while looking over X's style and saw the almost subtle difference between him Naruto, and The Beast. Unlike Naruto, X didn't take fighting seriously; instead he attacked with only intent to mock an opponent. As a result it seemed that X focused on pissing off his enemies, by demeaning and insulting them in combat before taking them down utterly in order to add insult to injury.

'_Naruto and his Inner-Demons had different styles of combat at their base. But, they each had something in common with one another. Naruto used his "Jutsu" in combat and so did he when he was his demon. Naruto has wind abilities, as does Red-X while the Inner-Demon primarily used lightning, which X only used when he was mad.'_ Night noted while watching The Beast's use of Lightning and compared it to X's use of lightning, thus frowned.

'_It's almost like The Beast had a more refined control of Lightning than X did. Which doesn't make much sense if they were the same person. Though, X only used lightning when he was angry… maybe that has something to do with it. It might be a subconscious change that even he doesn't notice.'_ Night thought to himself before rubbing his temples and leaning back in his seat. _'Well that would explain it but Naruto never used Lightning when he was mad, only Wind and the one blast of lightning when he and The Beast merged.'_ Night then reminded himself while looking to the screens and narrowed his eyes.

'_Maybe I need to stop looking for links in their personality and fighting styles… it's getting me nowhere.'_ Night thought and brought up pictures of X, Naruto, and finally the "Ultimate" form of The Beast. Leaning forward and rubbing his chin, Night narrowed his eyes as he studied the basic forms of each of them.

Naruto, X, and even the Beast seemed to have the same basic physical structure, athletic and built for speed rather than power while also being deceivingly thin though all three were much stronger than they appeared. However, Sasuke, Neji, and even Kakashi had a similar build, though Kakashi's was also more pronounced, thus it was probably very common among the Shinobi of Naruto's world.

"Man, you okay?" Cyborg suddenly asked and Nightwing blinked before turning around to see the titanium teen behind him. Sighing, Night then rubbed his face and gave Cyborg a clearly tired look.

"Not really… I had a hunch about X and I'm having trouble figuring out if I'm right or not…" Nightwing admitted while looking back to his screen and Cyborg looked at what the leader of the Titans had come up with and frowned.

"Man, chill. Whoever X is, we'll find him eventually. You need to stop obsessing and learn to live a little." Cy told the other teen and Nightwing gave him a look while crossing his arms.

"Cyborg, X is a threat, a big threat. We can't take a chance he'll decide to stop playing with us and finish us all off. And with his abilities, I can guarantee he'd not only be able to, but also do it without much trouble." Night stated flatly and Cyborg frowned towards his friend while crossing his arms.

"X finish us off rather than continue to insult and defeat us single handedly for the fun of it? Hate to say it Night, but that isn't his style and you know it. And even IF he was Naruto, that would give him one very good reason not to attack and kill us." Cyborg reminded with a flat tone and Night blinked before silently conceding that the metal-teen had a very valid point. Leaning back in his seat, Night then palmed his eyes while Kid-Flash and Donna gave one another a look before sighing.

Watching the two walk over to the boy, Cy then bit back a laugh as Donna picked the black haired teen up. "Hey! Donna put me down!" Night shouted while Kid-Flash shook his head with a smirk.

"Seriously Rich, do we really have to go through this obsessive nature of yours again?" Kid-Flash asked and got a glare from the masked teen as Donna smirked.

"You need to relax, so we're going to do what your team obviously doesn't." Donna stated and Cy and BB looked to one another with raised brows.

"What's that dudes?" BB asked and both Kid-Flash and Donna grinned.

"Not give him a choice." They chorused together while carrying out a struggling Nightwing.

"C'mon, let's head out for pizza and get Sir-Works-too-much away from work." Kid-Flash offered with a grin and Cy outright laughed before following the three out of the room with BB behind him. On their way down the halls of the Tower, Cyborg stopped at Raven's room and knocked on the door.

"What?" Raven asked while opening the door half way, sighing as Starfire peered out from above the younger girl.

"Oh, hello Friend-Cyborg, what is it you wish to know?" Starfire asked and Cy blinked for a moment before shaking his head.

"Uh… we're all heading out for Pizza, you girls wanna come?" Cy asked and Starfire bit her lip while Raven rolled her eyes.

"We'll catch up with you later. I'm explaining something to Starfire right now." Raven replied while Starfire chuckled nervously and Cy was silent for a moment before rolling his one human eye.

"I don't know, and plainly I don't want to know what you're explaining to her. I'll just make sure to save y'all some Pizza." Cy then said while walking down the hall to catch up with the other's while Raven sighed and closed her door.

"Alright, now where were we?" Raven wondered while Starfire hovered over her, literally, and looked down with a smile.

"You were explaining the reasoning behind the earthy customs behind human courtship." Starfire replied and Raven rolled her eyes while moving out from under Starfire and began to hover in the air.

"Right, but what were we discussing specifically?" Raven asked and Starfire frowned in thought for a few moments.

"I wish to know what the meaning behind the giving of unhealthy sugar candies." Starfire replied and Raven considered how she was going to explain this to Starfire. Truthfully, Raven had very little experience with "Earthly Courtship" as the alien girl put it. And technically, she wasn't from Earth, she was born on Azarath a world held in a pocket dimension, though her Mother was born on and thus from Earth, and neither was Naruto from Earth, rather he was from an alternate dimension entirely. However both her and Naruto's races cultures were similar enough to Earth's that they somehow fit in better than Starfire did.

"To tell the truth Starfire, I just think it's something nice you do for the person you love." Raven replied with a shrug, making a note to find someone with more experience to help Starfire. _'Maybe Supergirl, she seems like the type to understand this. Plus she is in an alien like Starfire. That would make Kara a better teacher for this kind of thing than me.'_ Raven mused to herself, then made a mental note to somehow get in contact with Supergirl to help Starfire in the future.

"Then what is the holding of hands significant for?" Starfire asked and Raven was silent for a moment or two while contemplating how to explain that…

"Starfire. You don't really need to understand everything about Earthly Customs, especially in concerns with Dating." Raven told the alien flatly while rubbing her temples and Starfire frowned.

"But as I said I do not wish to do anything that may be offensive. My people are warriors Friend-Raven, we are not especially patient, when we want something or wish to court someone we do not do all of the rituals that earthlings seem to do, we are expressive and feel that such… annoying rituals are mere nuisances more than anything." Starfire replied and Raven raised a brow before sighing and rubbing her temples.

"So let me get this straight, you honestly can't comprehend what Earthly customs are for because you can't relate to them. Right?" Raven asked and Starfire nodded her head, thus making Raven frown for a moment. "Speaking of which, I'm not really all that knowledgeable on your customs either Starfire. Could you explain them for a moment?" Raven asked and Starfire blinking before nodding her head and taking a thoughtful look.

"Well, as I have said my people are driven by emotion more than reason, mostly passion, thus we are a warrior race. However, I must admit that we do not wage war on one another, however invaders such as the Gordanian Horde we will wage war against. We believe that friendship is sacred as friends are people you can trust with your life and they can trust you to protect their own. It is not rare on my world that friends are more… intimate than Humans have shown me to be. And no, I do not mean we mate with our friends, I mean hugs and other signs of affection are very common as you've probably already noticed." Starfire explained and Raven couldn't help but nod her head before wondering what that meant about Blackfire… growling in her throat at a few thoughts before shaking her head.

"What about those "Kom'Secrit" you told me about?" Raven asked and Starfire visibly winced while turning to look at the ceiling.

"I am… saddened to say that Kom'Secrit are often treated as if they were invalids. They are often very withdrawn due to the nature of their… illness. My sister is not fond of hugging or being in physical contact with others because we normal Tameranians can hurt her, and other's like her very easily on accident as you should also know. Knowing now what my sister is, I realize why she wasn't first in line for the throne of Tameran." Starfire explained to the violet haired girl with a sad tone and Raven blinked for a moment.

"Wait a minute. Your second in line so whose first?" Raven asked and Starfire smiled brightly.

"My little Brother of course. In your language I believe his name would be "Dark-Fire"." Starfire supplied and Raven blinked before shaking her head and made a note to find out how many more siblings Starfire had.

"Okay… and he was chosen because he was male right?" Raven asked and Starfire scoffed while crossing her arms behind her head.

"No, unlike the human monarchies I have seen on the TV, our culture has no bias against Females. The reason he was first in line is because Darkfire is a very bright boy, he is also a skilled warrior and as such was chosen because he was better suited for it at the time. However when the Gordanians attacked he went into battle and I have not seen him since… and I must admit I was not always as… compassionate as I've become since living on earth. While he was." Starfire admitted softly with a far away look and Raven frowned for a moment.

"I take it you and your brother aren't on such good terms." Raven mused and Starfire looked at Raven before shaking her head.

"Oh it is nothing like that. It is just that I was, how you say, very harsh on him during his early years of training. When it was decided he would be first in line for the throne I took it upon myself to ensure he could handle his station with aide from our Kanorf'ka, Galfore." Starfire admitted quietly with a weak grin and Raven sighed before placed a fist to her cheek.

"Alright, now can we get back to your culture, I think Cyborg expects us to be at Domino Pizza sometime today." Raven reminded and Starfire chuckled nervously before taking a thoughtful expression.

"Yes, you are very right and I apologize for my rambling friend-Raven. We Tamaranians are, as some other races say, very sensual, but we are not truly attempting to be so, we are just not used to raining in our impulses like a human does. Our passionate nature also transfers to most aspects of life, and as I have said before it is not uncommon to have a "Polygamous" relationship. Also, unlike most humans we are not commonly so… reserved." Starfire admitted with a thoughtful look and Raven raised a brow while looking at Starfire.

"Reserved?" Raven asked plainly and Starfire floated on her side with a slight nod of her head.

"Yes, humans would think that my attire was too revealing correct?" Starfire asked while floating around Raven lazily and Raven frowned.

"Only cause your flying around in a mini-skirt." Raven replied and Starfire nodded her head silently.

"Yes, I know this. But on my planet, less attire than even what I currently wear would be considered perfectly acceptable at my age. My sister wears full body armor only because she needs it in order to use her powers, believe me when I say that she is not ashamed of her body besides her genetic deformation, and you may even remember she was perfectly comfortable wearing my clothing before. If I remember right, my brother used to wear something you humans would consider as little more than underwear before he started to dress in warrior garb and armor to fight in the war against the Gordanians." Starfire explained casually and Raven looked at the alien girl with wide eyes.

"Okay… I didn't know that." Raven admitted before giving the older girl a look. "Your not planning on wearing less clothing any time soon… are you?" Raven asked flatly and Starfire tilted her head and blinked for a moment.

"Maybe. I am not certain, I am comfortable with my current attire, though I will admit it can be somewhat restraining at times." Starfire said mostly to herself and Raven rubbed her temples with a grimace. _'Way too much information…'_ Raven thought to herself before shaking her head and sighing.

"Starfire, I honestly have no idea what to tell you to do. I'm from another dimension and so is Naruto, the only person in the tower who IS human, has a relationship, and is from earth is Beast-Boy." Raven told the girl and Starfire frowned in thought for a moment before scrunching her nose.

"Friend Raven I realize I may appear naïve and foolish, but that is only because many earthly customs are very confusing to me. However I am well aware that Friend-Beast-Boy's courtship skills are limited solely to his current girlfriend and Terra, one of which did not work out well, and the other he needed the assistance of Friend-Nightwing at first." Starfire stated flatly and Raven blinked, having actually forgotten Starfire wasn't quite as foolish as she acted.

"And I'm better how? My only relationships were with a thousand year old Dragon that used me to escape a book, and a Ninja from an alternate reality." Raven reminded flatly and Starfire nodded her head.

"This is true Friend-Raven, however, you have the point of view of an earthly female, not an earthly male, and thus I believe that you are better suited to aiding me. And before you suggest I go to friend-Donna for aide, I feel that I must remind you that she is an "Amazon", not a normal earth girl, thus would probably not be the best person to seek advice from in my endeavors." Starfire explained and Raven made another mental note to remind herself that Starfire was also very intelligent…

"True…" Raven admitted begrudgingly seeing Starfire had a very valid point on both subjects. "But technically speaking Starfire, I'm not an earthling myself." Raven felt the need to remind and Starfire sighed before blowing into her bangs.

"Yes I know this friend-Raven, but you are also the closest female with even a vague knowledge of earthly customs within the Titans." Starfire felt the need to remind and Raven groaned in her throat while rubbing her temples.

"Why not ask someone outside of the Titans, like Blackfire for help? Or even Jinx, Dani, or Duela… wait, scratch Duela she's crazy." Raven started to ask then said mostly to herself and Starfire blinked before considering what Raven said.

"It would be easier for me to speak with the Jinx, she is human, and has most likely conducted Courtship before… yes, I can accept that. However, this would have to remain a secret from Friend-Nightwing, yes?" Starfire mused then asked and Raven silently nodded her head. "Good. However, you fail to remember that we must be catching The Jinx and her comrades, they are still our enemies." Starfire reminded and Raven took a calculative expression.

"Technically their mercenaries, if we "Hire" Jinx for something she's not doing anything illegal, right?" Raven said and Starfire blinked before grinning widely.

"Oh! Yes, I do believe you are most correct Friend-Raven! When may we do the hiring of the Jinx?" Starfire asked in her usual perky tone and Raven actually smiled slightly as it returned. _'I think I prefer perky, innocent Starfire compared to the more intelligent and serious Starfire.'_ Raven mused to herself silently.

"First, we should probably catch up with Nightwing and the other's before Cyborg, Kid-Flash, and Beast-Boy eat all the Pizza." Raven noted and Starfire nodded her head in agreement.

"This is true, though I must wonder how the Kid-Flash can remain so thin given the amount of food he ingests." Starfire said aloud and Raven gave her a look and poked her stomach.

"You have eight stomachs, yet you're still thin." Raven reminded flatly and Starfire frowned towards her before shrugging.

"This is true, however, seven of those stomachs are small, and they simply store nutrients for long trips through space. I actually only need to eat once every couple of weeks to survive, though I eat more often in order to appear more normal to your earthly customs." Starfire explained calmly and Raven blinked before shaking her head.

"Aliens." She mumbled while using her Soul-Self to transport them to Piano Pizza…

--

(Tartarus HQ…)

Naruto stood within ops with a map replacing the TV screen. _'Why do I get the feeling Giz got the idea from Titans Tower?'_ Naruto wondered to himself while crossing his arms, the rest of Tartarus sitting before him. "Alright, now then, today we're going to do something fun for once." Naruto stated and Mammoth blinked before raising a brow.

"Fun how?" He asked and Naruto chuckled deviously.

"We're going to prank all of Jump-City and that includes The Titans." Naruto replied and not only Mammoth but also several other members of Tartarus started to grin.

"Ha! We've never tried pranking the whole city! This'll be so sweet!" Gizmo shouted while Billy looked to one of his clones.

"Sounds like fun, huh Billy?" He asked and the clone rubbed his hands together.

"Tarnation Billy it sounds like more than fun sounds like we're going to have a blast!" The clone noted while another clone moved over from behind them with an equally wide grin.

"Woo wee! We're going to humiliate us some Titans boys!" He called and the three Billy's high fived one another while Blackfire leaned over to Dani and Duela.

"What's a Prank?" She asked and Dani looked at the older girl in shock while Duela grinned as she looked to Blackfire.

"It's where you pull a joke on someone to humiliate them for amusement." Duela offered and Blackfire raised a brow before smirking slightly.

"Enough! Now what's the mission Temp?" Gizmo asked and Naruto nodded his head while pointing to the police station of Jump-City.

"First of all we incapacitate the police. Duela, you and Dani get to handle this with itching powder in their uniforms and helmets. Then you can swing by the fountain to use that Foam pellet Duela came up with." Naruto ordered and Duela and Dani nodded their heads. "Gizmo, you Mammoth and Kid head over to the Power plant in the Tech-Sector and give us a blackout to lure out the Titans. Seemore you can head around town and drop some firecrackers, follow him Private and help if any Titans head his way. Jinx, while their all doing that you head downtown and do what you do best by causing a little mayhem." Naruto said and then saw Billy and Blackfire looking to one another before looking to him.

"And us?" They asked and Naruto chuckled lightly.

"While they're all keeping the Titans distracted I want you and Billy to hotwire a van. Then, kidnap Nightwing." Naruto replied and Billy blinked.

"How is that a prank?" Billy asked and Naruto pointed to a point on the map.

"Does anyone know what this building here is?" Naruto asked and Jinx narrowed her eyes before snorting as a laugh nearly escaped her lips.

"Oh god… it's his fanclub!" She said with a snicker and Gizmo outright laughed.

"We're going to dump him with his fanclub?! That's just Priceless!" Gizmo laughed out while Billy and his clones laughed with one another.

"What do we do before we get him to his fanclub?" Blackfire asked and Naruto frowned in thought while Gizmo grinned and produced a camera.

"I know, why don't you kiss him and get the look on his face on camera? Then we can post it on the internet!" Gizmo offered and Blackfire took the camera before smirking slightly to herself. _'And hopefully if I do, little Starfire will finally ask that boy out and get it over with already. And the look on her face would be priceless as well.'_ Blackfire couldn't help but think to herself while Duela grinned evilly.

"Hey, lets pants Nightwing and take his belt while we're at it! It'll be the Ultimate humiliation!" Duela suddenly offered and Billy whooped in joy while one of his clones rubbed its hands together evilly.

"Not only that but it gets the kid back for stealing my belt that one time." Naruto noted with a smirk and the other's nodded in agreement with the teen.

"What are you going to be doing then Sensei?" Dani asked and Naruto frowned before creating two Kage-Bunshin, one that looked like him without his suit, the other him with his suit.

"First, since I haven't been keeping as low a profile as I probably should've recently, I'm going to make sure the kid and the other Titans don't suspect me to be Red-X by having one clone go around lobbing orange paint balloons at people. It will get the other clone with some of them when they're nearby to get them off my tail." Naruto explained while Jinx came down from her laughing.

"Okay… but what about you?" Dani asked and Naruto crossed his arms behind his neck with a grin under his mask.

"That's a surprise." He replied and Dani pouted before yelping as Duela grabbed her up with a grin.

"Oh who the hell cares? Lets get a move on already!" She shouted and got nods of agreement from the other's while Naruto motioned for his clones to move out, both saluting as they left, the X clone snickering to himself.

"Alright then team, Tartarus, move out!" Naruto ordered and the group all ran out of the room, Jinx staying behind as they left. Looking to the pinkette, Naruto raised a brow under his mask as she fixed a look onto him.

"Why are we suddenly acting like a bunch of kids?" She asked plainly and Naruto blinked before shaking his head.

"Because we are kids. Regardless of the things we've been through, we're still pretty young Jinx. So, why don't we just enjoy ourselves for once? Besides that, the idea of humiliating The Kid is very appealing to me." Naruto explained with a chuckle as he walked away Jinx blinking for a moment before following after the youth with a small smile… then grinned as a few ideas to humiliate Raven started to come to mind…

--

TBC…

--

AN: Hello my readers. This is the start of a short filler arc, it's just for fun and a bit of lightheartedness to take away from how serious everything was becoming. What? Tartarus and The Titans are all still teens, they need to relax or just have some fun every now and again. Besides I originally wanted to post this on April fools but as Duela mentioned, I sort of forgot… and I really need to apologize to her for it.


	45. Mischievous Mayhem Pt2

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

**Chapter 44**: **Mischievous Mayhem Pt. 2**…

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

(Jump-City…)

Dani was hanging on for dear life as Duela drove down the streets of early morning Jump-City with a laugh and going at speeds that should have killed most likely them. Duela was driving what appeared to be a simple yellow moped with a S.S Vespa and a (P!) sticker on the front of it. Not really surprising, Duela choose to forgo a helmet and wore a pair of goggles over her eyes instead, a beige scarf wrapped around her neck and a completely insane grin across her lips.

"Since when do you even own a moped?" Dani finally demanded, wearing a helmet even though she was technically three-fourths ghost and nigh impervious to physical harm, plainly put given Duela's personality it was preordained that she'd also be a crazy driver and would more than likely find a way to harm Dani without ever really meaning too.

"I've had this old thing for a while!" Duela replied with a grin while turning, moving her whole body to the side as she did. Screaming loudly, Dani wrapped her arms around the older girls waist and buried her face into her back. Regardless of the fact she could fly, Dani was more concerned about Duela forgetting their mission. Thus the girl resigned herself to riding with the psychotic clown girl…

"Then why haven't I ever seen it before?" Dani demanded flatly and Duela was silent for a few moments before frowning. Releasing the handlebars of the moped for a moment and then rubbing her chin with a thoughtful look. Cursing as Duela released her control of the Moped, Dani lunged forward, turning partly intangible, just enough that she could move partly through Duela, and took hold of the handlebars of the Moped.

"I think it's because I never needed it before now." Duela replied casually and then looked down as she saw Dani, who had passed through her waist to get at the handlebars of the Moped. "Whoa, neat!" Duela said before turning her upper body, Dani twitching as she did. "Does that hurt or what?" Duela then asked of the ghost girl and Dani mentally groaned.

"No…" She muttered and Duela then grinned while wrapping her arms behind her head and leaned back in her seat. "Aren't you going to be taking control of this thing?" Dani then demanded and Duela cupped her chin with the other arm still crossed behind her neck.

"Nah, you're doing just fine, carry on." Duela replied dismissively and Dani had to bite her lip to keep from screaming at the clown girl.

"Duela, do you even know how to act normal?" Dani suddenly questioned of the clown girl and Duela snorted slightly before her lips curled into a mocking grin.

"Me and Normal don't even share the same universe." Duela replied, sounding slightly more sane than normal, before humming the tune to "Fooly Cooly" to herself as Dani started to bash her head into the handlebars of the moped.

"Can we please focus on putting itching powder in the polices' uniforms?" Dani pleaded and Duela blinked for a moment before grinning as she nodded her head, her almost pathological need to do random things sated for the moment.

"Sure, I'm done being random for now." Duela said with a smile and a nod of her head while Dani truly wondered if that was even possible. "Hey look! I can see the police station!" Duela then shouted while Dani blinked and then frowned.

"Uh Duela… how do you stop this thing?" Dani questioned and Duela was silent for a moment, blinking as a nervous look crossed her face.

"Actually… I forgot…" She admitted and Dani gaped before releasing her hold on the throttle.

"We're going to die!" Dani said with wide eyes before Duela snapped her fingers with a grin on her face.

"Oh yeah, that's how you stop it." She said while reaching around Dani to take the controls back before pulling back on them like a bike. This had the desired affect of activating the breaks, but also very nearly threw them both off of the bike before landing, a bit shaken up, beside of the police station. "Ha! And you thought we were going to die!" Duela said to herself with a laugh to herself and a heavily panting, Dani looked at her with a furious glare.

"Lets just get this over with…" Dani mumbled mostly to herself while Duela produced a few packs of itching powder from her backpack.

"You know what to do right?" Duela then asked and Dani rolled her eyes before taking the packs and got off the death machine Duela called a moped.

"Yeah, yeah, I sneak in and pour some Itching Powder in the uniforms of any cops I see. Then I move to the locker room and pour a little into any helmets I find. Jeez, it's not too hard to remember Duela… though I have to wonder why these guys are such lousy cops?" Dani asked no one in particular and Duela shrugged her shoulders, not really sure of that either.

"I think the author just wanted to make things easy for us." Duela then said while leaning forward on the moped and got a look from Dani.

"Author?" She asked incredulously and Duela nodded her head.

"Yeah you know, the author. Oh c'mon, the guy writing this piece of fiction. Duh. You know, cause we're all actually fictional characters created to amuse people. Hell, I think the original authors in charge of me had me shot for some reason… or was that the Monitors that shot me and they didn't want to bring me back for one reason or another?" Duela started to explain, then questioned with a frown. "Well anyways, I was shot dead, but this new author likes me and brought me back. Isn't he nice!" Duela said with a wide grin across her face while Dani merely stared at the clown girl for a moment before shaking her head slowly.

"Duela, what's it like living in your little fantasy world?" Dani asked seriously and Duela blinked then pouted as Dani flew into the police station. Crossing her arms over the handlebars of her moped the girl then laid her chin on them before looking up to the sky with a slight frown.

"You know author dude, you could've just made her believe me…" Duela stated while looking to the sky, spacing out as she "Heard" the "author" reply. "What! Oh c'mon, why not! Two crazy random girls would be fun!" Duela pleaded and then pouted with a huff at his next reply. "Jeez, spoil my fun why don't you… oh yeah, and why have you been giving me so much screen time lately? I thought I was going to be some wacky side character you added on a whim…" Duela asked then mused aloud while looking to the sky once more before grinning at the answer.

"Aw, thanks, your way nicer than some of my other authors! And I forgive you for missing April Fools day… this time." Duela said with a grin before a frown crossed her face. "And you're especially better that one jerk who had me killed because no one wanted to deal with me! Or was that the monitors in that one world? Er… wait, no the author had that one Monitor kill me because I was an "Interdimensional Anomaly" or something like that. But still! Why did he have to go and kill me? I know I can be crazy, and I know I'm really confused." Duela said while looking to the heavens and then blinked upon noticing several people staring at her from the street.

"Hey! Can't you people see I'm trying to talk to the author?" She demanded and the people walked away from the crazy girl slowly. "Sorry about that, anyways where was I? Oh yeah, and further more, I didn't even get my own damn back-story until after that stupid monitor guy had already killed me! And do you know how much it hurts to get shot?" Duela demanded while starting to rant, going on and on even as she believed her "Author" was now tuning her out and ignoring her entirely…

Meanwhile, Dani was infiltrating the Police HQ, invisible; the girl floated through and then smirked as she saw several targets. Spotting Snake, she stiffened up before shaking as he turned and seemed to look at her for a moment. Grumbling under his breath Snake then walked away, causing Dani to breathe a sigh of relief while making a mental note not to try the joke on him. Looking to her bottle of itching powder, Dani then floated over to a man who was sleeping and pulled his armor / shirt collar back before lightly pouring some of it down the back of his shirt.

The man grunted and mumbled in his sleep and so Dani quietly let his shirt go before moving on. Looking around, Dani moved from person to person, discreetly pouring some of the powder down their shirts before moving on to the next one. Soon enough, Dani nodded her head while floating out of the room. Looking into the next one, Dani moved from person to person yet again, noticing the one's she'd already dusted were scratching the backs of their necks. Mentally snickering, Dani continued this pattern for a while before moving into the Locker-Room.

While remaining invisible the girl then also went intangible and went into the first locker and found a helmet. Pouring a portion of itching powder into it she then moved from locker to locker, sometimes finding a spare uniform or two, which she also poured some into. Once that was done, and she was finally out of itching powder, Dani then nodded her head and flew out of the Locker-Room only to stop at a scream. Looking to the side she poked her head through a wall only to gape seeing most of the cops running around screaming as they tried to reach their backs…

'_Oh shit… Duela what the hell did you give me?'_ Dani demanded before flying up and out of the building to hover over the roof. Returning to the visible spectrum, Dani then pulled out the bottle she'd been using and saw the words "Itching Powder" placed over it in bold lettering. _'Well that isn't so… oh shit.'_ She started to think before her eyes widened at the tiny words above the bold lettering. Those words being the near infamous "Joker Brand" that any and all of The Joker's many products usually carried with them…

Nearly dropping the bottle out of shock, Dani then quickly caught it and turned it around to the back. _'The All New Joker Brand, Quick Acting Long Lasting Itching Powder. Guaranteed to liven up even the dullest party, now lasts for several hours while inducing horrific bouts of itchiness. Warning may cause itching to become so bad that they go insane, love Duela.'_ Dani read and felt her eyebrow twitch before she turned and flew out of the building then grabbed Duela up. Growling she watched as Duela blinked down at her for a moment and tilted her head.

"Hey Dani, what's up?" Duela asked before looking down and noticing that she was several feet off of the ground. "Well, besides us that is…" Duela then mumbled with a snicker and Dani pulled her face to face with herself.

"YOU GAVE ME JOKER BRAND ITCHING POWDER!" Dani demanded of the redhead and Duela blinked before grinning widely.

"Your welcome!" She said loudly and the heard the screams of those trying to make the itching from the powder stop. "Wow, it works even better than I thought it would!" Duela said with a grin on her face and Dani palmed her own face before lowering herself down to the ground and yanked Duela down to face her

"Just shut up and tell me if there's an antidote or something like that, we don't want to drive the police insane!" Dani reminded with a slight growl and Duela waved her off with the same wide smile on her face.

"Oh that, it was just a joke. That's not REALLY Joker Brand Quick Acting Long Lasting Itching Powder." Duela said with a wave of her hand before one of the cops suddenly jumped out of a window, scratching all over and nearly screaming.

"THE ITCHINESS! WHY! WHY!" He shouted while trying to make it stop and Dani turned to Duela with a scowl.

"Oh really? Then what is it?" Dani demanded and Duela grinned wider still.

"My own personal imitation Joker Brand Itching Powder! My version doesn't drive you insane, it starts as a minor itch before progressively getting worse and worse, then it just lasts for a couple hours, though by then it itches so bad you'll probably feel a phantom itch for weeks to come!" Duela said with a thumbs up towards Dani, the Ghost Girl mutely staring at Duela for a moment before turning to look at the cop still scratching all over himself.

"DEAR LORD PLEASE MAKE IT STOP! MAKE THE ITCHY DEMONS STOP!" He shouted out loudly and Dani twitched for a moment before she turned back to Duela yet again.

"I am so not pranking people with you ever again." Dani stated while crossing her arms and walked over to the Moped with a frown. Seeing this, Duela blinked for a moment before what Dani said registered, thus she pouted dejectedly while following after her.

"Hey… c'mon don't be like that…" Duela tried to say before both turned to the cop on the ground as he started to scream again.

"PLEASE LORD! I'LL NEVER TAKE BRIBES FROM THE MOB AGAIN! I WON'T EVER TAKE STUFF FROM THE EVIDENCE LOCKERS! I WON'T EVEN HIT ON OUR FEMALE PRISONERS ANYMORE! JUST PLEASE MAKE THE ITCHING STOP!" The Cop shouted at the sky and Dani twitched slightly before pinching the bridge of her nose.

"On second thought, since he and probably a few other's really deserved it, I forgive you. Just tell me about any of your Joker Brand gags next time." Dani then said and Duela blinked before grinning towards her partner in crime and hopped onto the moped happily. "Now then, lets go Duela. I really don't want to know what everyone else is going to start shouting if they think it's going to make the itching stop somehow…" Dani stated while wrapping her arms around Duela's waist, the clown girl pouting even as she revved up the moped.

"Aw, but that's the best part!" Duela proclaimed before they sped off into the distance, Dani groaning at her friend's words…

(Domino-Pizza…)

"I hate you all so much right now." Nightwing grumbled out angrily at the other titans, still fuming over being forced to relax by Donna and Kid-Flash.

"Aw you know you love us." BB mocked with a grin and Cy snickered slightly while Raven rolled her eyes and quietly ate her salad. What could she say, Pizza just seemed to get boring when you've had it for weeks on end, nonstop, besides the occasional Tammeranian cuisine that Starfire tried to cook up. Thus while she sort of liked Pizza on occasion, she also liked to eat other things.

"Yeah Rich, besides, without us you'd never get away from your computer and just relax." Kid-Flash noted while leaning back in his seat and chewing on some pizza while Donna happily munched on her own.

"Is that supposed to be a bad thing?" Night asked flatly while munching on his own slice of pizza and Cyborg gave him a look.

"It is when all you do is sit in front of the computer without sleep for days on end." Cy replied and Nightwing started to grumble under his breath as BB looked over to Raven and shook his head.

"Dude Rae, why did you get a salad at a pizza joint?" Beast Boy asked the empathy and she rolled her eyes.

"Maybe because I've had pizza almost nonstop for the past few months, with the occasional break being on my dates or when Starfire cooks something." Raven offered and BB blinked before shrugging his shoulders. Next to Raven, Starfire was munching on her own slice of pizza, which had sprinkles, ketchup, mustard, and weirdly enough, she had also wanted sardines… Raven visibly shivered while looking at the single slice of pizza remaining from Starfire's box…

"Umm… Friends, these tiny salty fishes are most delicious! What are they called again?" Starfire asked and Kid-Flash nearly wretched while Cy turned green and BB shivered slightly.

"Sardines Star, they're called sardines…" Night finally said while rubbing his temples and Starfire grinned.

"I do believe that I would also like to try them with cookies, they would possibly taste very…" Starfire started to say only to stop and look at the other Titans, instantly noting they were all turning grin. "Uh, perhaps that is something only I would like, yes?" Starfire asked sheepishly and the others mutely nodded their heads while she sighed as she returned to her meal.

"Dudes, has anyone seen Zack around here lately?" BB suddenly asked while looking around for their usual waiter and Night frowned.

"No. And now that you mention it I haven't seen him since… well, since before X showed up." Night admitted before narrowing his eyes slightly as he had a thought, and then shook his head, what was the likelihood a pizza guy was going to be a ninja? As far as he was concerned, not very good…

"Night, now don't you go thinking Zack might be X. You need to lay off your work and research and just relax." Cy stated while leaning back in his seat and Nightwing muttered under his breath with a frown.

"Please, do you believe that the Zack is alright? Do you believe that he could have been damaged during one of the more recent attacks on the city?" Starfire questioned while looking to her friends and Raven frowned before grimacing as she remembered all the bones in the sewers… _'Well… that's one hell of a way to go if he was down there.'_ Raven thought to herself before taking another bite of her salad and BB decided to stop Starfire's very depressing train of thought.

"Dude, I'm sure Zack's fine. The guy's probably just out sick or on vacation. Yeah, it's probably just something like that and he'll be back to annoy us again soon enough." BB assured Star and she allowed a small smile to cross her features while Kid-Flash munched on some pizza, his feet on the table while he leaned back in his chair.

"Unless he got eaten by some of Ivy's plants… or that snake thing from last month." Kid-Flash noted aloud and Starfire widened her eyes while gasping in horror, Donna slapping the back of the speedster's head with a frown as she did.

"Smooth Bart, make her worry more why don't you." Donna growled at the red head and he grinned sheepishly while shrugging his shoulders.

"Now c'mon guys, y'all need to chill and stop thinking like that. We're here to relax so let go of all your worries and mellow out…" Cy said while visibly relaxing and the others looked at him strangely, until a familiar jingle caught their attention and the Titanium teen slapped his face. "I knew it was too good to last…" He grumbled out while Night reached into his belt and pulled out his communicator.

"What's going on Night?" BB asked and Nightwing was silent for a moment before visibly twitching.

"Duela…" He said with an ominous tone, Donna spitting out her drink and Kid-Flash chocking on his pizza.

"Oh no… not her! Anyone but her!" Donna complained while Kid-Flash started to choke and she slapped a hand to his back, Kid-Flash panting as the pizza induced choke passed.

"Duela…. as in The Joker's Daughter herself? Or is she one of her other personalities today? Do you mean that Duela?" Kid-Flash demanded BB gaping and then shivering as he remembered the painted up clown like girl he'd fought.

"Dude! I was actually fighting against The Joker's Daughter?" BB demanded and Nightwing mutely nodded his head while rubbing his temples. "Dude! She could've killed me! Why couldn't I take on Blackfire! She's safer than fighting anyone whose actually related to The Joker?" BB exclaimed and Kid-Flash, Donna, and Nightwing looked to one another before rolling their eyes.

"She's NOT the Joker's REAL daughter." The three said together while putting emphasis on Not and Real.

"Then why did you guys call her that?" BB demanded and Nightwing rubbed his temples while slowly standing up.

"You remember how I was complaining about "The Joker's Daughter" playing a prank on us when Pink-X showed up?" Night asked and BB thought for a moment before nodding his head. "Well, that's because Duela has a habit of dressing up as the daughter of several villains. Thus far I've seen "Cat-Girl", "Scare-Crone", "Enigma", "Harlequin", "Card-Queen", and about a half dozen other's that all reflect different villains, most of them in Gotham." Night explained simply while BB made and Oh with his mouth before scrunching up his nose.

"Man dude, no wonder you thought she was playing a prank on us." BB admitted and Nightwing nodded his head with a frown while Raven sighed and wondered what the red headed clown was up too this time.

"Then what exactly is she up to then?" Raven asked in her usual monotone voice and Nightwing groaned lightly.

"She's playing pranks on Jump City…" Night offered and Kid-Flash slammed his face into the table even as the other's all got up with Nightwing.

"Oh hell… not again. Does that girl have any idea how much of a psycho she is or what? I mean I swear she knows and just loves tormenting the hell out of us for the sheer fun of it!" Kid-Flash shouted and Nightwing shrugged before narrowing his eyes with a frown across his face.

"Doesn't matter, we've still got to stop her. Titans move out!" Nightwing ordered while he and the others all got up and rushed off, only Raven remaining for a moment, a frown across her face. _'What are you up too Naruto?'_ She wondered before sighing as she flew off after her friends to try and put a stop to whatever it was that Tartarus was up too this time…

(Downtown…)

Duela grinned while laughing as she and Dani rode down the streets of Jump-City once more, the red haired clown grinning wider than ever. The Prank on the police had been just enough to amuse Duela, though admittedly it was only funny if you could actually see those men and women running around, screaming and shouting about itching demons… oh and that one weird little green kid with the bad toupee yelling about something, yeah, that was funny too.

'_Though I have to wonder how many worlds have been mixed up to make this story Mr. Author. What… oh yeah, most are just amusing cameos with no real point to the story besides amusing the masses of fans, good point.'_ Duela admitted to herself, and of course to the author himself, before blinking as Dani wrapped her arms around her neck with wide eyes and glared at her furiously.

"Duela! We're supposed to be heading for those fountains near the center of town! Remember?" Dani shouted at her partner in crime while feeling her eye twitch and Duela blinked for a moment before nodding her head with a smirk.

"Oh right, sorry, I was kinda in the moment there." Duela admitted while twisting on the Moped and zipped down another street with a laugh echoing behind her. Humming a song to herself, namely "Ride on Shooting Star" by The Pillows, the theme for her favorite show, Fooly Cooly!

"Duela! Do NOT start humming that tune!" Dani suddenly shouted at the red head and Duela grinned innocently.

"Why?" She asked with obvious amusement and Dani gave her a flat look.

"Because I am so not being your Noata!" Dani replied and Duela stopped and considered this before shrugging her shoulders, releasing the steering for her Moped once more as Dani cursed.

"Just as well, I'm not a pedophile like Haruko." Duela noted mostly to herself and Dani gave her a look.

"I'm fourteen you spaz!" Dani shouted and Duela scrunched up her nose for a bit.

"Oh… then… hmm… I guess you're a little too old to be a Noata then aren't you… want to be a Ninamori instead?" Duela wondered with a smirk and Dani growled at the older teen furiously.

"Can we please just get to the fountain before I kick your ass off this moped!" Dani demanded and Duela shrugged before grinning as she retook control of her moped and whooped while turning down another street. Sliding low and using one foot to turn, Duela then sped down a street before spotting the Titans and grinned. Seeing a man playing an old blue Rickenbacker Bass Guitar to the side an idea suddenly came to mind.

"Dani, take the wheel…" Duela ordered while gazing at the guitar with a grin and Dani blinked towards her red haired friend.

"Wha?" She questioned before suddenly cursing and grabbing hold of the controls as Duela let go of them. Sticking her tongue out the side of her mouth, Duela then grabbed the blue bass-guitar with a wide grin on her face.

"Hey, my guitar!" The man shouted as they passed by and Duela waved to him.

"Thanks for letting me have this!" She shouted out randomly before grinning and leaned the guitar along her back like some king of baseball bat. Closing one eye, Duela then concentrated on the green member of the Titans intently, placing one foot forward onto Dani's head as she did.

"Duela! Dammit that hurts!" Dani shouted before looking back, seeing the guitar, then remembering they were on a yellow Vespa of all things… "Oh no… Please tell me your not really going to…" Dani started to say before they neared the Titans and Duela suddenly swung the guitar, slamming it into Beast-Boy's head as they passed and sent him flying. Dani gaped as she saw BB spin in midair for a moment before flying back and falling to the ground, his tongue lolling out of his mouth to one side.

"Oh I knew that was going to be so funny!" Duela said with a laugh to herself and Dani blinked for a moment before snickering lightly.

"Alright… I got to admit that all things considered, that it was pretty funny, and that you actually managed to pull that off is very impressive… but your so not ever watching Fooly Cooly ever again" Dani noted mostly to herself before telling Duela flatly as the Clown girl sat down.

"What? Why?" Duela demanded with wide eyes and Dani gave her a look.

"Maybe because you just slammed a bass guitar into the side of someone's head…" Dani replied and Duela pouted for a moment.

"Aww… but it was funny." Duela tried to reason and Dani rolled her eyes.

"And I don't care. No more Haruko for you!" Dani stated as Duela pouted once more and hung her head.

"Spoilsport…" The clown girl grumbled as she retook the controls of the Vespa, the guitar now slung over her shoulders with a leather strap.

"Yeah, I'm a spoilsport cause I know when a joke has gone too far…" Dani replied sarcastically and Duela nodded her head.

"Glad we agree on that." Duela said with an amused grin and Dani couldn't help it as she started laughing; she could only take so much of Duela and her random psychotic behavior before she'd eventually crack up and start laughing…

Meanwhile, the Titans had quickly ran over to Beast Boy, said boy seeing stars while Cyborg scratched his head. "Why did she just hit him with a guitar?" Cyborg had to wonder and Nightwing, Donna, and Kid-Flash all turned to give him a look.

"Because she literally has a "Need" to do random acts like that… at least that's what she says. Personally I think she did it for kicks." Night explains to the Titanium teen while shaking his head. Starfire then stood and held up BB with wide eyes while turning around to face Nightwing.

"Friend-Nightwing how am I to be awakening friend Beast-Boy?" Starfire asked seeing as normally she just had to make him laugh after being hypnotized by Mad Mod, this on the other hand was a little weird even for them.

"Donna, you wake him up, Cy I want…" Night started to say only to stop as his communicator beeped once more. Pulling it out, Nightwing then frowned as he saw another emergency had come up. "Scratch that, Cy, you and Kid-Flash head for the tech-Sector, Gizmo and Mammoth have been spotted down there." Nightwing ordered and then frowned as his communicator went off once more…

"Well this can't be good." Kid-Flash noted and Donna nodded her head in agreement as Nightwing checked the read out and gaped.

"Oh you've got to be shitting me." He stated before gritting his teeth and pinching the bridge of his nose, honestly, today was so not his day… "Starfire you and Raven head further downtown, Jinx has been spotted causing random bursts of Bad Luck. Donna, after you wake up Beast Boy head for the sky and look for Private HIVE and Seemore, they'll be dropping firecrackers… oh and when you finally wake up Beast-Boy tell him to find Duela and hopefully stop her." Nightwing ordered while rubbing his face.

"Yo Titans, what's going on?" The Titans suddenly heard and then turned to see Naruto whistling lightly while walking over to them.

"Hey, Nar what up man?" Cyborg asked of the blond haired teen and he would have spoken had a water balloon not landed on his head, dousing him in orange paint. Looking up after wiping some of the paint off his face, the blond frowned upon seeing Red-X casually tossing a balloon of paint in one hand and laying back without a care in the world. Seeing this Raven raised a brow before rolling her eyes, figuring it was Naruto putting Night off his trail, or playing a joke, while Nightwing himself gaped at the two while X tossed his balloon up and down in one hand.

"Wait… but he… and you… and that means… ugh my head hurts…" Night complained while inwardly ranting about wishing it was easier to figure out who X really was under his mask…

"Apparently a prankster with way too much time on his hands is what's up." Naruto noted with a thin frown across his face while the thief in question chuckled lightly while giving the blond a look.

"Yo Naruto, long time no see man…" X offered while Naruto gave him a look in response and he held up his hands. "Sorry about the paint, but you should really remember to watch out for enemies at all times… constant vigilance and all that. Oh and wasn't that one of the lessons in the academy?" X noted then wondered to himself with a smirk hidden only by his mask as it was clear as day in his voice. Frowning for a moment as he pulled off his hat Naruto then crossed his arms and glared up at X.

"You owe me a new hat, you know that right?" Naruto asked flatly and X merely shrugged while Raven actually had to bight back laughter. All things considered, the two made very convincing actors, if she didn't know any better she might actually believe that Naruto and Red-X were two different people…

"Alright X, what are you up to this time?" Nightwing suddenly demanded and X casually looked over to the Titans leader.

"Me?" He asked innocently and Nightwing twitched before letting out a growl.

"Yes you X, who else do you see around here with the name X?" Nightwing demanded and X tapped his chin for a moment while Naruto grumbled about the orange pain covering him from head to toe.

"Good point but X is a very popular letter you know." X noted and then flipped onto his feet and threw a paint balloon, nailing Cyborg with it. "Oh, and as for what I'm up too… well… I've only got five words for you kid." X then said with a smirk and Nightwing frowned.

"And that is?" Night questioned darkly and X chuckled lightly.

"Catch me if you can!" He stated before lunging off and Nightwing growled.

"I'll handle X! You guys go after the rest of Tartarus. Move out!" Night ordered while running after X and Naruto shook his head.

"See you later Kara-Chan." Naruto offered with a wave as the girl turned and nodded before flying off, the blond watching on silently as the Titans split up and went in all directions, and the teen smirked as he turned around with a shake of his head and walked over into an alley.

"Man Kid, you seriously need to lighten up and learn to live a little." Naruto noted as he then sighed, having done his job he then dispelled himself while leaving only a plume of smoke as the only sign he ever even existed…

(Over Jump City…)

Starfire and Raven flew over the city; Raven mentally groaning, as Starfire wouldn't shut up about finding Jinx. "Star, calm down." Raven ordered flatly while floating beside the orange skinned princess and Starfire fidgeted slightly.

"B-But Friend-Raven how will we be doing the hiring of The Jinx when we are supposed to be doing the capturing of her?" Starfire questioned and Raven mentally sighed before thinking it over for a few moments.

"We don't HAVE to capture her Starfire, just stop her, so long as we do that Nightwing won't notice anything." Raven replied and Starfire frowning in thought for a moment before looking at Raven strangely.

"But is that not less than honest and very sneaky Friend-Raven?" She asked and Raven rolled her eyes for a moment before looking down, mentally sighing when she couldn't see the spot of pink that would announce Jinx location.

"And your point is?" Raven asked seriously and Starfire was silent for a moment, contemplating that before shrugging.

"Nothing. It is just that it will not feel right to do the lying to friend Nighwing and the others when we are questioned about why we did not capture the Jinx." Starfire replied and Raven crossed her arms while flying next to Starfire.

"We don't have to lie Starfire. Ten to one says that Red-X, Jinx and the rest of their crew are just having fun today." Raven offered the orange skinned alien and Starfire frowned in thought for a moment.

"Normal earthly fun or Beast Boy fun?" She asked seriously and a small smirk formed across Raven's lips.

"Beast Boy Fun." Raven replied and Starfire looked like she wanted to groan before huffing and crossed her arms.

"I truly do not see the appeal in humiliating others for amusement Friend Raven." Starfire stated flatly while looking very un-amused and Raven shrugged before seeing a little "Innocent mayhem" being caused by random blasts of pink energy down below.

"It's probably just a way to act out and get attention, Star… well with Beast Boy it is at least. I actually think Jinx and Tartarus truly enjoy causing mayhem like this just for the sake of doing it… and speaking of whom, I think I see Jinx." Raven offered and Starfire blinked before looking down and grinned brightly upon seeing the pink energy as well as a dash of pink on top of a building.

"Oh! I see her as well, come we must do the hiring of The Jinx!" Starfire cried before quickly flying down towards the rosette below them, Raven sighing softly before following after her red haired friend. Soon coming to the building, Raven blinked seeing the said rosette was sitting at the edge of the building with a smirk, her hands positioned as mock guns as she "Shot" Hex-Bolts from her fingers and down into random people and objects below her.

"You know, I never thought you'd be the type to go for this kind of thing…" Raven admitted, causing Jinx to blink before turning around and quickly got up and formed a pair of Hex-Bolts in her hands.

"Oh great, I was actually getting bored of causing random mayhem!" Jinx said with a grin while looking to the two and Starfire quickly put her hands forward while Raven let out a sigh.

"Please Wait! We do not wish to do the fighting, we merely wish to do the talking instead." Starfire said quickly and Jinx gave the two a look, then cocked her hip to the side and placed her hand on it.

"You must be joking." She stated flatly to the two Titan Girls flatly and Raven merely rolled her eyes before crossing her arms.

"Unfortunately, no." Raven stated and Starfire zipped forward to Jinx with a pleading expression on her face.

"Alright, then why is she looking at me like a kicked puppy?" Jinx asked with a raised brow and Starfire still didn't cease with the look.

"I am… I wish to do the hiring of The Jinx please!" Starfire said quickly and Jinx turned to look at Raven.

"Does she come with subtitles?" Jinx asked seriously and Raven sighed slightly before answering for her alien friend.

"She wants to hire you so you can help her understand Earth Courtship…" Raven explained and Jinx blinked for a moment before giving them both a strange look.

"Are you serious?" She asked and both Raven and Starfire nodded their heads, Jinx blinking before scratching her head as they did. "Uh… then what where you going to pay me with?" She asked and Starfire blinked before looking over to Raven.

"What?" Raven asked her friend and Starfire sighed slightly.

"Do you have any of the cash monies?" Starfire asked and Raven narrowed her eyes on the older girl.

"Why?" Raven asked with an edge to her tone and Starfire grinned nervously.

"Well… perhaps because I used all of my own at the mall of shopping…" Starfire replied with a nervous grin and Raven groaned softly while Jinx snickered to herself.

"So, I help red and I get to clean out all miss Goth's cash in one fell swoop… does this deal get any sweeter than that?" Jinx wondered allowed and Raven gave Jinx a look before grumbling to herself as she crossed her arms. Sighing softly, Raven gave a glare to a sheepish Starfire while truly wondering why she had to be the only Titan who didn't spend all her money at the mall…

(?)

Kid Flash and Cyborg where heading down to the Tech-Sector, Kid-Flash on foot while Cy took the T-Car. "So what can we expect from this Gizmo kid and his pal Mammoth?" Kid-Flash questioned from beside of the T-Car and Cyborg frowned slightly while keeping his eyes on the road.

"Gizmo is smart but completely annoying, lets leave it at that. Mammoth is all muscle and not too much in the way of brains." Cyborg reported and Kid-Flash hummed for a moment while they made their way to the power plant. However, Kid-Flash then blinked when he saw some punks harassing an old man. Frowning, KF narrowed his eyes before turning to give a look to Cyborg.

"Hey Cy, I think I'll catch up with you in a bit, I see some punks who need to have a quick lesson in how to treat their elders." Kid-Flash said before skidding to a halt and hurrying over to the scene. Seeing where he was going, a smirk crossed over Cyborg's face before he shook his head while continuing on.

"Those guys have no idea what they've just gotten into." Cy mused to himself while turning down another street corner on his way to the power plant. Meanwhile, Kid-Flash slid to a halt where he saw a small gang of punk kids pushing around an old man.

"C'mon gramps, where's your money." One demanded and the old man merely shrugged his shoulders with a slightly amused twinkle to his eyes.

"Unfortunately I haven't got any with me… probably even left my wallet in my other pants." The old man mused while tapping his chin for a moment and the leader of the punks frowned before throwing a punch at him, Kid-Flash zipping over and grabbing his wrist before it could connect.

"You know guys, this is really not how you're supposed to treat your elders." Kid-Flash said with a shake of his head and then sighed as another of the punks threw a punch at him and he threw the leader into him, thus the other's all got ready for a fight as well. "Why do they always have to learn everything the hard way?" Kid-Flash wondered to himself before quickly lashing out and knocking three of the punks down before turning to the final few punks, only to gape as the "Old Man" he'd seen suddenly lashed out and grabbed one by his arm.

The old man then twisted around while ducking low to the ground and kicked the feet out from under him while throwing him back and down to the ground. Rising up he lifted an arm to block a punch from another punk before slamming a fist into his gut, knocking the wind from him before raising his hand, slamming it into his face and laying him out as well. Sighing, the old man tapped his chin for a moment while the final punk tried to come at him from behind. Smirking, the old man then moved his arm back, hitting the punk in the gut before raising his hand and slamming it into the punks face.

As the punk fell to the ground, the old man let out a slight chuckle at the gaping jaw of Kid-Flash before grimacing and rubbing his back. Groaning slightly, the old man then stretched slightly, arching his back and then looking to Kid-Flash with a slight smile on his face. "Oh… sorry if I wasn't much help there, but these old bones just aren't what they used to be… think I might've actually pulled something." He offered and Kid-Flash blinked once more before rapidly shaking his head as he looked at the strange old man silently for a few moments before suddenly grinning.

"That… was so awesome!" Kid-Flash exclaimed and the old man blinked before chuckling lightly to himself. "Where did you learn to do that?" Kid-Flash questioned and the old man stroked his chin for a few moments before grinning slightly, that same strange twinkle of amusement in his eyes yet again.

"Don't remember." He offered and Kid-Flash gaped before shaking his head. Reaching around in his coat, the old man then smiled as he produced a candy bar and flipped it in hand before catching it between his forefinger and middle finger and held it towards Kid-Flash. "Here, for the help. It's the least I can offer to such a nice young man." The old man offered and Kid-Flash blinked for a moment while taking the candy-bar then blinked while looking to him.

"But I…" He started to say but the strange old man simply patted his shoulder with an odd smile on his face.

"Oh don't think I'll take a no for an answer, go on take it. It's the least I can offer and besides, what's an old fart like me going to do with a chocolate-bar?" The old man questioned of the teen speedster and Kid-Flash blinked yet again and would have spoken up had he not turned to see the old man walking away. Blinking again, Kid-Flash looked at the Chocolate for a moment before scratching his cheek.

"That is one seriously strange old man…" He said mostly to himself before shrugging and took a bite of the chocolate before running off to catch up to Cyborg… he never saw as the Punks he and the old man took down burst into plumes of smoke, each with a smirk. Meanwhile down the street, the old man from before is whistling to himself, smirking as he reaches into his clothes and pulls out a wrapper for the chocolate he gave to Kid-Flash. Turning down into an alley, he then looks to either side before his form shimmers, now revealed to be a clone of Naruto himself, garbed in Red-X gear.

"Man. That was just way too easy." Naruto said to himself while throwing the wrapper for the chocolate laxative into a nearby dumpster with a grin across his face…

(?)

After finally waking up from the minor concussion brought on by getting a Bass to the skull, BB had come out of it groggy and dizzy to say the least. Afterwards, when he heard how he had a Bass guitar, a blue rickenbacker no less, slammed into his head by a chick on a Vespa moped… he'd actually laughed his ass off. Not that the bass to his skull didn't hurt, or that he wasn't a little pissed about it, but the fact was BB realized that Duela had actually been mimicking one Haruhara Haruko from one of his favorite Anime's, Fooly-Cooly, for that particular stunt.

And given Duela's outrageous personality, BB could say without any shadow of a doubt that Duela, if she actually tried, could make more than just a convincing Haruko. However currently Beast Boy is following after Duela and Dani, quietly watching as the two drove down the streets of Jump-City on their moped. _'Dude this is so not fair, how come bad-girls get a Moped and I don't?'_ BB wondered to himself with a pout as he flew overhead as an eagle, watching the two as they slid to a halt in front of a fountain.

"Dude, what are they going to do at a fountain?" BB had to wonder to himself while watching as the Clown and Ghost girls got off of the yellow Moped, the bass from before held over her torso with a strap. "And for that matter, why does the clown girl even have Haruhara Haruko's Moped and Bass?" BB wondered while staring at the two as Duela bobbed her head from side to side, humming a nameless tune to herself as Dani followed. BB slowly slid forward and watched as Duela casually flipped something like a coin in her hand. Raising a brow, BB watched her catch it before flicking it into the fountain, then quickly grabbed Dani's forearm and started to run with a wide grin.

Blinking in confusion for a moment, BB watched the fountain for a moment as well before snorting. The Green jester then fell back laughing as a mountain of foam exploded from the fountain, thus covering all in its path. BB covered his mouth in a vain attempt to stop his laughter before seeing people being pushed back by the foam. What was even sillier was when a few passerby's started to laugh as well, only for globs of the puffy white foam to be thrown at them. This in tern seemed to start a massive foam-ball-fight between several young teens and kids, most pelting one another and of course some of the nearby adults.

Laughing fully at the silly, outright childishness of the prank the two girls pulled, BB actually started to applaud before wiping a tear from his eye. "Dude! That is like so priceless!" BB exclaimed while holding his sides from the intensity of his laughing, then shook his head with a grin and looked to Duela as she hopped onto her Moped with Dani and drove off once more. Snickering for a moment, BB then jumped up and flew after them before he realized something.

"They're not attacking the city… their all just pranking it! I get it, their just having a little harmless fun for once." BB realized and then blinked before considering stopping Duela and Dani before they could, most likely, set off more of those foam charges around the city. Looking back down where several kids were having fun, BB considered it for all of a few moments before he spotted Kitten.

"Well, if they're not up to anything really evil, I don't have to catch them, and I haven't seen Kitten in a while…" He mused to himself before hopping to the ground and running over to Kitten to catch up with his girl… Duela, Dani and the rest of Tartarus could prank anyone they wanted, just so long as it wasn't something dangerous, BB decided it wasn't really worth getting bent out of shape about.

(Power plant…)

Cy ran into the Power Plant with a scowl across his face, Kid Flash appearing at his side a mere few seconds as he entered. "So what's the plan big guy?" Kid-Flash questioned and Cy smirked while turning to the red headed titan.

"We go in, kick their butts, then head home in time for dinner." Cy replied and Kid-Flash grinned slightly as they turned a corner and ran towards the man controls.

"Ah, simple yet effective, I like it!" Kid-Flash offered and Cy rolled his eyes as they came closer to the door to the controls. Seeing it was knocked down, Cy narrowed his eyes and formed his Sonic-Cannon while sliding into the room.

"Hold Up!" He ordered upon seeing Mammoth and Gizmo, both turning and groaning upon seeing the two Titans.

"Aw shit, Temp never said what to do if two of the Titans came after us." Gizmo muttered lowly and Mammoth merely cracked his knuckles ominously.

"Guess we'll just have to improvise a little." Mammoth stated and Kid-Flash rolled his eyes for a moment.

"Oh please, do you guys actually… urgh…" Kid-Flash started to say only to stop and groan while holding his stomach. Blinking for a moment, Cy turned to the red head, Mammoth looking on as well while Gizmo thanked whoever gave him that distraction. Somewhere in the city, Naruto sneezed for a moment before getting back to his work.

"Kid-Flash, you okay man?" Cy asked and Kid-Flash suddenly stood bolt upright with wide eyes.

"SorryCyButIReallyGotToGo!" Kid-Flash said faster than Cy could actually comprehend and then moved like lightning, rushing off, leaving a trail of fire in his wake…

"What was that all about?" Mammoth wondered to himself and Cyborg shook his head before holding his Sonic-Cannon towards him with a scowl.

"I don't know, but I'm still taking your asses into prison." Cy stated and Gizmo used a mirror from his backpack to see what was going on when he had an idea and grinned cruelly. Quickly finishing his program, Gizmo hit a button and everything in the power plant suddenly started to hum loudly. Looking around warily as everything glowed brightly, Cy narrowed his eyes on the Tiny Terror. "What the hell did you just do?" Cy demanded and Gizmo turned, crossed his arms, and grinned at the Titanium Titan.

"Wouldn't you like to know, barf-bag!" He taunted while tossing a pair of goggles to Mammoth and the Hulking teen snickered before pulling the goggles on as every light in the place suddenly glowed brightly… and then shut off completely.

"What the…" Cy started to wonder before grunting as Mammoth quickly moved forward and rammed into him, knocking him back before Cy could get his bearings. "Stupid, don't loose track of them." Cy said under his breath while turning on a sensor in his eyes that allowed him to see Gizmo and Mammoth. "Alright boys, play time is over!" Cy roared while lunging forward and Gizmo and Mammoth nodded to one another before grinning towards Cy.

"We couldn't agree with you more!" Mammoth said before ducking down and tripping Cy off his feet.

"Oh shit!" Cy called out as his momentum caused him, to slam into and destroy the main control consol for the entire Power-Plant… "Uh… oops." Cy mumbled to himself while Gizmo laughed to himself and Mammoth snickered lightly.

"Ha, that was priceless eh Mammoth!" Gizmo exclaimed and the gargantuan teen snickered while nodding his head in agreement. "See you later Robo-Whimp!" Gizmo shouted while Kid-Wikked appeared from the wall and formed his cape around them, pulling Gizmo and Mammoth away while Cyborg got up and turned on the light from his shoulder. Looking down at the damage he'd caused to the control panel, Cy grimaced while palming his face tiredly.

"Oh man… I'm so going to get chewed out for this later." He said to himself while feeling a slight breeze and turned to look at his side as a panting Kid-Flash slid to a halt next to him.

"What I miss?" Kid-Flash asked and Cy would have answered only for the red head to groan and hold his stomach once more. "Urgh… hold that thought…" He mumbled out before quickly running away, leaving Cy to raise a brow and wonder what the hell had gotten into the red-haired speedster. Shaking his head of that thought, Cy looked around for a moment and then palmed his face before making his way out of the building so he wouldn't break anything else…

(Elsewhere…)

Naruto's Clone is currently leading Nightwing on a merry chase across Jump-City, an amused smirk across his lips. Looking back for a moment, X chuckled to himself before lunging forward, then jumped and landed on a flagpole. Turning on the pole in a fluid motion X crossed his arms and cocked his head to one side. "Whats the matter kid! Can't keep up?" X taunted and Nightwing growled low in his throat before reaching to his belt and pulled out several electrical disks.

"Don't count on it X!" Nightwing roared while quickly jumping onto a platform above them and threw one of the disks. Cursing, X flipped back and shimmered before reappearing on the building opposite Night. Growling low in his throat, Night fired a grapple and swung over to X, the thief quickly running away. In his own mind, X was laughing his ass off, sure he was nothing but a copy of Naruto, but this was truly too amusing.

'_I'm distracting the kid while the real me finishes the finale elsewhere, heh, I actually feel important.'_ X thought to himself before rolling to the side to evade another electric disk from Nightwing. "Get back here X!" The titan shouted at him angrily and X mentally snickered to himself. _'Yeah, I'm really going to stop and make this easy for you kid; man does he honestly think that'd work?'_ The skull-masked thief had to wonder before forming an Explosive-X in one hand and turned quickly.

Mentally snickering, Naruto threw the X towards Night and the teen ducked to the side. However, the Explosive-X veered away from Night and instead slammed into one of the beams holding up a water tower. As soon as the X hit it detonated, and Night widened his eyes before cursing and running out of the way as the Water Tower came down. Narrowing his masked eyes, Night then turned and saw X somehow running along an electrical wire to a building across from them…

'_He'd do really well in a high wire act…'_ Night noted before shaking his head and lunged after the skull-masked thief. Jumping onto the wire, Night cursed while holding out his arms to steady himself. While he could do this trick as well, it was more than apparent that X was much faster than him at it. Gritting his teeth, Night hopped to one of the poles connecting the wires and smirked. _'Good thing I can still jump pretty far.'_ He mused while jumping from pole to pole and running after X once more, pulling another Stun-Disk from his belt before hurling it towards X.

The said thief quickly rolled to the side to evade and then pushed himself into a lung, grabbed a hanging ladder and began to climb up its length. "You won't get away this time X!" Night shouted before jumping onto the side of the building and jumped up, grabbing part of the ladder and started to climb it as well. _'You say that every time we meet Kid.'_ X can't help but muse to himself for a moment while still climbing the ladder. Looking back, X snickered for a moment when he saw how slow Night was before then rearing his body back and then launched himself up a ways, then repeated this while leaving Night gaping behind him.

'_I know he's from a universe full of Super-Ninja… but why is it so hard just to keep up with him?'_ Nightwing mentally demanded before shaking his head and hurrying up the ladder while X started to go out of sight on top of the next building. Meanwhile, X himself was running across the roof of the building, flipping over several obstacles before jumping off of the roof and over to the next. Landing in a roll while forming several X-Shuriken into his hand, X came out in a crouch and quickly threw the Shuriken towards the black haired teen. Cursing, Night ducked down while the Shuriken flew over him and then growled as he saw X was getting away.

Blinking X then saw as all of the lights around the city suddenly started glowing brightly. Behind him, an equally confused Nightwing looked around until cursing as all of the lights started to explode in a shower of sparks. _'Looks like Giz and Mammoth managed to get the Power-Plant, not bad guys!'_ The clone thought while snickering to himself as he saw this, Naruto jumped over and onto a light post before jumping off of it and onto a traffic light before jumping off that onto another Light post and then flipped up, and ran up the side of a building to another roof. Behind him, Night narrowed his eyes while following after X, firing a grapple to follow him faster.

Quickly getting up, Night jumped to the ground and saw X jump up and then slide down an electrical wire while keeping his balance, causing Night to gape. "Wow… even I've got to admit that that's impressive…" Night said mostly to himself before jumping off the building and opened the wings of his suit. Gliding down after X, Night landed in a roll before lunging after the skull-masked thief. _'At least we're not on his turf now.'_ Night thought to himself, since it was clear that X was superior in getting around from roof to roof.

Meanwhile, X was grinning as he jumped up and came down in a slide along some of the foam that Duela had created. "YATA! Watch out coming through!" X called out with a grin as he twisted and turned around people and even some foam-balls being thrown by some kids, teens, and now even some adults. _'Ahhh… everyone needs a day to act silly every now and again.'_ X thought to himself before flipping off of the foam and ran towards the Jump-City Park.

Placing a hand to his ear, the skull masked thief then activated his communicator and set it for Billy Numerous. [Uh… hello?] Billy's voice came and X chuckled to himself for a moment while turning to see Night was still chasing him, only now he was covered in foam and scowling deeply.

"Billy, how much longer till you and Blackfire will have that Van ready?" X asked and Billy hummed for a moment.

[I'm just about done with it partner, tell me where you'll need me and I'll be there!] Billy replied and X grinned as he had an idea cross his mind.

"Alright, I'm going to lead Nightwing into the park. Be ready at the entrance to it and you can grab him there!" X stated and heard Billy snicker before giving an affirmative while X turned the communicator off. _'Man why haven't I done something like this in so long?'_ X wondered to himself while sliding and turning at the same time, and then lunged towards the park while Night cursed and slid passed him. Growling, Night slammed a fist into the ground before lunging after X into the park…

Meanwhile, in an old impound lot a couple blocks away from the park. Billy is lying on the ground as he fiddles with some wires under the dashboard of the car. "Are you sure you know what your doing?" Blackfire suddenly questioned with a raised brow while leaning into the side of the van. In her hand is a bottle of some kind, one like you would see for condiments and she is currently sipping it as if it was some kind of soft-drink, truly proving she is indeed Starfire's sister.

"Yeah, Billy knows what he's doing… but he don't know what you drinking." Billy replied while looking towards Blackfire and she rolled her eyes slightly while sipping on her "drink". "Billy got to know, is that mustard ya'll are drinking?" The red haired Texan questioned and Blackfire gave him an incredulous look for a moment.

"Eww… don't even joke like that. Mustard is probably my least favorite of your earthling foods…" Blackfire stated and Billy blinked while she went back to sipping on her "drink" once more.

"Alright I'll bite… then what is that ya'll are drinking then?" Billy questioned and Blackfire looked to him and smiled while holding the bottle affectionately.

"Ketchup! It's got such a lovely flavor, almost like my favorite…" Blackfire started to reply and Billy tuned her out while continuing his work on the van. _'Billy swears he don't understand how these aliens can eat the stuff they do without getting sick…'_ The Texan metahuman thought to himself before grinning as he tapped a couple wires together and created a spark, the van starting up as he did.

"Alright! Time to go!" Billy then said and Blackfire climbed into the back of the van with a grin on her face.

"This is going to be soo much fun!" The Dark haired Tameranean said with a grin while Billy sat up, a couple of clones popping out of his body and waiting for their moment.

"Yeeha Billy, this is going to be a right blast!" One of the clones said and the other clones instantly started agreeing with each other. As they did, Blackfire raised a brow for a moment before rolling her eyes as they zipped off, out of the impound lot and towards the park. Grinning Billy then lifted a hand towards his ear and pressed down on a concealed button…

As he did, Naruto was flipping around, through, and over trees with Nightwing still hot on his heels. _'I'll give the kid one thing, he sure is stubborn.'_ The thief thought before getting the message from Billy, a grin spreading as he did. _'Yes! Finally time for the best part!'_ The blond skull masked thief thought to himself before lunging towards the exit of the park as a van slid to a halt before it. Nightwing was still hot on his heels and as X passed the van, he turned and watched the doors fly open, Blackfire lunging out and grabbing Nightwing before pulling him in.

Snickering once more, X hopped into the van and looked around before closing the doors with one of Billy's clones. Turning around X cracked his knuckles while a couple of the Billy's grinned while holding some rope. Blinking for a moment, Night looked at them warily before cursing as they pounced, quickly tying him up. "I don't know what your up to X, but you'll never get away with it!" Nightwing growled out and X yawned while one of the Billy's held up a camera.

"Ready for ya'll close up Sugah?" Billy asked Blackfire, who was putting on some violet lipstick and winked towards the red-head causing him to swoon.

"Uh… seriously, what are you guys up to?" Night asked with confusion and Blackfire grinned towards him mischievously.

"Oh nothing bad… we're just having a little bit of fun…" Blackfire offered before grabbing Night by his face and pulled him into a soul-stealing kiss. The Former-Boy-Wonders eyes widened in shock before all higher brain-functions ceased even as a flash registered at the back of his mind. Meanwhile X was removing Night's belt and the Tameranian princess smirked while releasing the kiss, Night looking at her with wide eyes while Billy took several more pictures at the priceless look over his face.

"Oh Boy! Looks like the good boy enjoyed himself." Billy noticed with a grin while X slung Night's belt over his shoulder and looked over to the smirking Blackfire.

"So how was it?" Night asked casually and Blackfire smirked while taking a mock thoughtful expression.

"Not bad, but I've had better." The Alien Princess replied before turning towards the driving Billy while Night continued to gape, all higher functions of his mind currently on overload.

"Hey ya'll, look up ahead!" Billy suddenly called out and X looked and saw that Gizmo, Mammoth, and Kid-Wykkyd were up ahead.

"Pick up the hitchhikers Billy my boy!" X ordered and Billy nodded his head with a grin while putting his foot on the breaks to come to a screeching halt before the other members of Tartarus.

"Bout time you cludge brains got here!" Gizmo complained while getting into the van beside of Billy, followed by Kid-Wykkyd while Mammoth got into the back.

"Now to our final destination!" X cried out while pointing and Billy put the peddle to the metal as they drove off at speeds that would've gotten them arrested, had the Police not been a bit busy nearly itching to death…

Meanwhile, Jinx, Starfire, and Raven are in the mall, all three girls coming out of an ice-cream shop. "So you mean to say that the unhealthy sugar candies are only given by the boy, mostly to keep a girl interested in further courtship?" Starfire questioned while walking with Raven and Jinx, all three having a cone of ice cream.

"Not really, sometimes they do it just to be sweet or romantic, or in other times for an apology." Jinx replied while licking her ice-cream while Raven looked about ready to cry with the amount of money she was forced to pay Jinx, then had to treat the rosette to a night on the town…

"Oh. Then the giving of candies is a male ritual yes?" Starfire questioned and Jinx frowned slightly while rubbing her chin while they walked out of the mall and out onto the streets of Jump-City.

"Naw, girls can do it too. I mean Leviathan, this one girl that Mammoth had a thing for back in the Academy, well she once got chocolate and they ate them together on our couch… honestly the mushy lovey dovey stuff from those two nearly made me hurl, and I like mushy stuff!" Jinx replied and Starfire blinked before frowning to herself as she tried to understand what Jinx just explained.

"So, the giving of the candies is just to be, as you say, "Nice"?" Starfire questioned and Jinx looked to Raven and both nodded their heads. "Oh, thank you, now I would like to know of the taboo of displaying affection?" Starfire questioned and Jinx blinked for a moment before giving the red head a look.

"Taboo? What Taboo?" Jinx asked and Starfire tilted her head slightly.

"I believe they call it "PDA" on the TV, yet I do not understand why they would call the Taboo after a device." Starfire admitted and Jinx snorted before snickering into one hand while Raven remained silent.

"PDA means Public Displays of Affection, Starfire." Jinx told the alien princess and she frowned before making an Oh with her mouth.

"So then it was merely an acronym?" Starfire questioned and Jinx nodded her head with a smirk. "Oh, thank you for telling me then, though I am afraid that I still need to understand the taboo with such affection." Starfire said with a slight bow of her head then admitted with a tilt of her lips to the side and Jinx rolled her eyes.

"First and foremost, it's a distraction to others. Second, only some forms of affection aren't allowed to be displayed publicly. Holding hands, hugs, soft kisses, and other small things are allowed. Just don't go grabbing him in places or hot and heavy making out in wide open and you should be fine. And even then it's not a rule so much as it's being polite to keep your private life to yourself." Jinx explained and Starfire blinked before making an oh with her mouth once more.

"So that is what it means. I had feared it meant you were not allowed to do anything in the public setting… though I suppose that makes a bit more sense… thank you once more for explaining." Starfire said with a nod of her head before they stopped as they saw pandemonium was breaking loose all around them… "It would seem your team is quite good at the pranking of the city…" Starfire noted and Jinx nodded her head with a smile, then blinked as a van flew passed them…

"Was that Billy Numerous driving that van?" Raven questioned and Starfire looked to her friend with a strange look.

"I do believe it was friend Raven… that is most freaky, yes?" Starfire questioned and Raven nodded her head, then both turned to a snickering Jinx.

"Something tells me you have something to do with this." Raven stated and Jinx blinked before a catty smile crawled over her features while she gave them a too innocent to be real look.

"Who me?" She asked and Starfire frowned before cracking her knuckles, causing Jinx to groan. "Alright, Billy and Blackfire probably just kidnapped Nightwing and are going to drop him off at his fan-club." She said in a resigned tone, Starfire's eyes bolting open with a horror filled gasp.

"Oh no! The last time that happened he was nearly torn apart and then mauled by his many overly obsessed female fans!" Starfire said and Jinx looked to Raven with an incredulous expression across her face.

"Last time?" She demanded of the violet-eyed Titana and Raven sighed wearily while rubbing her temples.

"Trust me… you don't want to know…" Raven responded with a shake of her head while Starfire shot into the air before turning to Raven.

"Please excuse me Friend Raven but I'm afraid that I must be leaving! I have to save friend Nightwing!" The Tammeranian Princess exclaimed before launching after the van and both Raven and Jinx stood there for a moment.

"So… what now?" Jinx asked and Raven silently mulled that over for a moment.

"Were you planning on pranking me?" Raven questioned with narrowed eyes on the rosette and Jinx shook her head.

"If I did, Temp would be mad at me." She reminded and Raven gave her a strange look for a moment. "What?" The Girl demanded and Raven crossed her arms over her chest with a frown.

"You do realize you're practically obsessed with Naruto and pretty much idolize him right…?" She asked the other girl flatly and Jinx growled low in her throat while glaring at the Titana furiously.

"Hey! I knew him before you, I liked him before you, and as far as I'm concerned your not good enough for Temp!" The Rosette shouted at Raven while poking her in the chest and Raven felt her eyebrow twitch.

"And what exactly is THAT supposed to mean?" The Sorceress demanded through gritted teeth and Jinx held up one hand.

"Your mean, cynical, have no sense of humor, constantly shut yourself off from others, and what's worse is you can barely feel any emotion." The rosette pointed out and Raven placed her hands onto her hips.

"My personality isn't up for debate here, if Naruto really found it so undesirable I wouldn't even be with him now, now would I? And as for my powers, I can express my emotions when I wear a pair of magical rings." Raven told the girl with a dark glare in her violet eyes and Jinx frowned.

"But there's still the fact that you can blow up people with your powers even on accident!" Jinx reminded and Raven narrowed her eyes onto the rosette furiously.

"Now that's a low blow even for you! And I've never once willingly hurt Naruto with my powers, accidental or not! Besides, I bet your powers could burn him alive, electrocute him, trap him in the floor or some other unfortunate situation that might lead to his death!" Raven reminded the Pink-Eyed girl wit her eyes glowing white as a street lamp melted.

"WHAT!" Jinx demanded, her own eyes glowing pink as a newsstand suddenly sparked pink, a gust of wind blowing away all the newspapers from it. "My powers have yet to spontaneously hurt someone I care about you stupid bitch! And besides that, they only go wonky on Friday the Thirteenth!" Jinx shouted while several nearby civilians ran away from the two, random sparks of Pink Hex-Energy and Black Demonic-Power flowing into this and that around the two furious girls.

"Friday the Thirteenth is unlucky for you? Oh how cliché, I thought you were at least more original than that." Raven taunted the rosette and Jinx growled darkly.

"This coming from a Half-Demonic Bitch!" She shouted and Raven snarled.

"Snake-eyed cunt!" Raven shouted back and Jinx clenched her fists pink energy forming around them.

"Bird-Brained Slut!" Jinx shouted back and Raven formed black energy around her hands while clenching them as well.

"**THAT'S IT! I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU AND YOUR MOUTH!"** Raven roared out demonically while her eyes turned bright red, two more forming on her brow and Jinx roared out before pouncing the other girl, both attacking one another viciously as blasts of pink and black energy tore the street around them apart…

Meanwhile, still driving through the city, Billy looks into one of their mirrors and blinks when he sees a pink and black Mushroom cloud behind them. "Hey, did any of ya'll bring a Nuke with ya?" Billy asked seriously and the other members looked at him strangely before shaking their heads. "Weird… then I wonder what that cloud came from?" Billy wondered to himself and Gizmo slapped the back of his head.

"Who cares! This is the best fucking day of my life! I've never had so much fun humiliating someone before!" Gizmo exclaimed with agreements from the rest of Tartarus as they continued through the city.

"When will we reach our target anyways Billy? I think it's about time to let Bird-Brain meet his fans…" Blackfire questioned with a grin and Billy looked back with a wider grin as they slid to a halt.

"We're here ya'll!" Billy replied and X and Mammoth grinned towards one another before grabbing Nightwing. Making their way out of the van they then went to the building and knocked on the door. When it opened, both X and Mammoth saw several girls were inside and the two criminals grinned widely.

"Special delivery!" They said while throwing Nightwing into the lions den and Night widened his eyes. _'Aw hell not again!'_ He thought while sweating bullets and X suddenly gave a mock salute.

"Have fun!" He said while Billy snickered and the two quickly left, leaving a screaming Nightwing behind as they zipped off into the city laughing all the way. Seconds later, Starfire slid to a halt in midair and gasped as she heard Nightwing's screams from inside the building. Narrowing her eyes, the Tameranian Princess lunged towards the building and broke through the door. Inside she saw a frantic Nigthtwing looking at her, portions of his suit somehow ripped and torn off of him, dozens of female fans trying to hug / kiss him all at once.

"FOR THE LOVE OF GOD STARFIRE! HELP ME!" Nightwing pleaded and Starfire cracked her knuckles while narrowing her eyes dangerously onto the girls.

"Grrrr… GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF HIM!" Starfire roared out furiously, her eyes glowing a bright glowing green as she lunged inside, random blasts of green energy puncturing the building from the inside out.

Meanwhile, back on the streets of Jump-City, Tartarus is riding in their van down the street when Billy spots Dani and Duela on her moped. "Hey look ya'll it's the little missus as well as the crazy clown girl!" Billy noted and X nodded his head with a smirk for a moment before rubbing his chin.

"Mammoth, open the doors so we can let the girls in." X ordered and Mammoth nodded his head before throwing the doors to the back of the van open. Chuckling to himself, X climbed onto the top of the van and gave the girls on the moped a mock salute. "Hello Ladies! Looking for a ride?" X asked and Duela took a mock thoughtful look for a moment.

"Depends, promise to be nice to us?" Duela asked while sounding surprisingly innocent for whom she was and X merely chuckled.

"Of course we will." The skull masked thief replied and Duela grinned widely.

"Good enough for me!" She shouted while putting the peddle to the metal and caused her vespa to jump into the back of the van. "Hey guys, how's tricks?" Duela then asked and caused a slight snicker to go through the rest of Tartarus as she did.

"Great!" They all replied and X then stuck his head back into the van and gave a peace sign to them.

"Alright gang, find Jinx, Private, and Seemore and head on home. My real self should be done with his part of the prank so he'll be seeing you later!" X offered before dispelling himself and Mammoth closed the doors to the van as it then swerved into a turn down the next road…

Meanwhile, Beast-Boy walks down the street humming a light tune to himself. He and Kitten had a short date, not too long since most of the power was out around the city, but on the bright side they did get a discount on Icecream since it was going to melt if the power didn't come back on! Smiling widely the boy then sees Cyborg and Kid-Flash trudging towards him and blinks. "Dudes, what happened to you?" The Green changeling questions and Cyborg sighs to himself while rubbing his face.

"You don't want to know… and I don't want to talk about it." Cyborg states and Kid-Flash would've added something, only he grunted and held his stomach instead.

"Gottago!" He said quickly before running off and both Cyborg and Beast-Boy blinked before looking up as Donna came down between them. However, the girl had one eye twitching and her hair was seriously frazzled now, also it looked like numerous scorch marks were covering her, soot also leaving dark splotches on her pale skin while her costume was slightly torn and showing a some of her black bra under it…

"Uh… Donna, why is your…" BB started to say and Donna held up a hand while glaring at both boys dangerously.

"Don't say anything…" The Amazon growled out and both teens turned from her and started to whistle lightly while Starfire landed nearby, Nightwing in her arms twitching violently. "By Hera! Richard what happened to you?" Donna demanded while moving towards her friend and Starfire growled darkly as she got too close to him.

"F-f-fangirls…" Nightwing replied and both Beast Boy and Cyborg winced.

"Ouch, and you got the seriously aggressive ones too…" Cy noted with a shake of his head and BB smiled slightly.

"Man that makes me glad most of mine are the shy ones… why is that anyways?" BB suddenly wondered and Cyborg shrugged his shoulders before Donna cleared her throat.

"As interesting as that is… where are Bart and Raven?" She questioned and Kid-Flash slid to a halt near them with a low groan and over dramatic tears in his eyes.

"It burns so much…" Kid-Flash groaned out and BB snickered to himself.

"Dude, did someone slip you a laxative?" BB questioned and Kid-Flash groaned lightly while Cyborg winced to himself.

"Yikes, talk about harsh… although with your speed that's probably the only way to keep you out of the way." Cyborg mused and got a glare from the speedster as a result.

"Just… shut up man, it's been a really long day." Kid-Flash grumbled out and the rest of the Titans nodded their heads in agreement with him.

"Dudes, where's Raven?" BB suddenly wondered and Starfire blinked.

"The last I saw her she was with the Jinx." Starfire said and Nightwing frowned slightly before figuring she meant fighting with Jinx.

"Well at least one of them will be caught…" Cy moaned out while rubbing his scalp. "As for me… I'm heading home and then to bed." Cyborg said mostly to himself while walking off and BB yawned and stretched his arms out.

"Yeah dude, sounds good." BB admitted, both Donna and Bart agreeing with them on being too tired to chase Tartarus around Jump-City anymore.

"Uh… Friend Nightwing?" Starfire asked while looking to the boy and he twitched violently for a moment.

"Just take me home, Star…" Night stated while bowing his head and Starfire frowned in worry for a moment.

"But what about Friend Raven?" The Alien Princess questioned and Nightwing gave her a look.

"She can take care of herself. Besides I think she asked for the night off to spend with Naruto when we were at Piano Pizza earlier…" Night stated and Starfire nodded her head before flying into the air and then off towards Titans Tower…

Elsewhere, Raven and Jinx were sitting in the middle of what had once been a soon to be demolished building. The building was now totally demolished thanks to the combined efforts of the pissed off girls. Currently, they had managed to work out their anger at one another by totally the building, an idea Raven had managed to think up after knocking Jinx into the building. Like in their usual Catfights, they were now in shredded clothing, leaving bits of skin and even their underwear visible.

"This is all your fault…" Jinx grumbled out angrily, her hair out of its usual horn style and hanging down her neck. Upon hearing the accusation Raven turned to her with an incredulous expression across her face.

"My fault! You're the one who started this!" Raven reminded while a nearby boulder melted from her powers. "Just because your jealous doesn't mean this is my fault!" Raven shouted at her angrily and Jinx muttered to herself while pulling her legs up to her chest and resting her chin on her knees, arms wrapped around her legs.

"Yeah yeah… what are you? My psychiatrist?" Jinx snarked angrily and Raven moved over to the rosette and narrowed her eyes onto her.

"What is your problem with me? Why do you insist on constantly provoking me and making me act like this? What have I ever done to you to make you so hostile towards me!" Raven demanded as several rocks were suddenly sent flying into the air by her powers. Looking at Raven with an angry look the rosette clenched her fists together and grit her teeth.

"Maybe its because I liked Temp way before you yet he never once noticed me!" Jinx growled out and Raven pinched the bridge of her nose while mentally chanting her mantra to try and calm down.

"I've heard that before and that's not…" Raven started only for Jinx to pounce on her and glare at her furiously.

"NO! You don't get it you condescending Bitch! Temp's Ex Sakura, had pink hair and a damn near identical body structure to mine! I could easily pass off as her fucking sister if not her damn twin! So how do you think that made him look at me back then?" Jinx demanded furiously and Raven blinked, genuinely surprised by that thought and it made her calm much faster.

"Like her… or it at least made him wary of you." She mumbled mostly to herself and Jinx threw her hands into the air.

"Wow the girl FINALLY gets it! It took me ages just to get to the point where he'd be in the same room as me without anyone else around! It took me half a year to get to the point with him where he wouldn't flinch whenever I was angry! It took me a whole damn year just to get to the point where he trusted me with his life and real name! And yet YOU didn't even have to wait a fucking week for him to like you!" Jinx growled out and Raven stared at her as she then sat down, crossed both her arms and legs and seemed to want to burn a hole in the ground with her glare…

"Jinx… Naruto's not like that, he doesn't think your like Sakura just because of you look like her." Raven tried to say and Jinx rolled her eyes and gave Raven an annoyed look.

"I know that! But it always felt like it whenever he'd flinch when I'd get pissed… and then when I'm finally able to be in his general area without him acting like he needs to keep me calm, you show up and I'm just his female friend. Do you have any idea how much it hurts to be constantly around the person you care for but he's already taken? DO YOU?" Jinx demanded and Raven winced slightly while the girl huddled into herself, leaving only her eyes visible. Looking at the Rosette for a moment Raven suddenly felt more than a little bad for Jinx.

While she didn't know how Jinx felt, she knew what it was like to be ignored by someone she cared for. In her case it was her mother, but even that was different in that Naruto was at least Jinx's friend. How much worse for Jinx was it to be around him everyday yet always having him out of her reach? "You know… maybe I really am Bad Luck… not just for people around me, but for myself as well." Jinx muttered and Raven winced, now feeling bad for the Bad Luck crack and rubbed her arm.

"Well… at least you can express yourself." Raven reminded and Jinx snorted.

"Lot of good that does me when the guy I like is taken." Jinx mutters and Raven mentally groans to herself. Now it seemed Jinx was going into a stage of depression, and while she and Jinx had obviously never gotten along, the rosette was still Naruto's friend, and Raven didn't want something to happen to her.

"Well… at least you can fully control your powers." Raven reminded and yet again Jinx snorted and gave her an annoyed look.

"Oh yeah how could I ever forget that. I can cause Bad-Luck, how is that something good? Especially considering every Friday the Thirteenth causes them to go crazy and make weird shit happen! And lets not forget I cause electronics to blow up if I'm not careful with them! Like, oh I don't know, an old man's pacemaker if I get too close exploding!" Jinx shouted at the violet eyed Titana with tears at the edges of her eyes and Raven blinked for a moment.

"Oh… I guess that is kind of dangerous." Raven admitted if only to herself while Jinx crossed her arms over her legs and glared at nothing. Watching the other girl for a moment Raven then sighed and started to roll a pebble under her foot. _'Maybe… maybe I have been just a little too nasty towards her. Jinx is Naruto's friend and all I ever do is fight with her and make her feel worse about me and Naruto being together…'_ Raven mused to herself and then took a deep breath while turning to look at Jinx as she continued to glare at nothing.

"Jinx…" She said softly and the rosettes eyes glared towards her.

"What?" She snapped and Raven sighed once more.

"I'm sorry." Raven said and Jinx raised a brow before grunting.

"Not your fault I'm Bad Luck." She replied bitterly and Raven crossed her legs while looking up to the sky as the sun started to set.

"No… I mean I'm sorry for always fighting with you." Raven then said and Jinx merely tried to wipe the tears from her eyes.

"Whatever…" She mumbled and Raven looked over to her and then drummed her fingers on the ground.

"My powers… your right, I can cause a lot of damage with them as well. But at least with you, you don't have to keep how you feel inside all the time." Raven reminded and Jinx blinked while turning to the violet eyed girl with a raised brow. "If I had a chance to choose between having bad luck or my own powers… I think I'd take yours." Raven then added with a weak smile and grimaced as something flew into the air, causing a smirk to cross Jinx lips.

"Yeah… I guess electronic stuff is easier to avoid than feeling emotion isn't it." Jinx mused aloud and Raven sighed softly while nodding her head.

"Maybe we got off on the wrong foot." Raven then said and Jinx raised a brow towards her. Seeing the look, Raven crossed her legs, thus hovered a few feet off the ground while placing her hands onto her knees. "When we met, I was Naruto's girlfriend and you were the girl who likes him. Maybe we should try to be just Raven and Jinx… and not include our relationships with Naruto." Raven offered and Jinx looked away for a moment while mulling that over to herself.

"I thought you hated me cause I went in your room that one time." Jinx then noted and Raven blinked before frowning.

"That too." She admitted and Jinx smirked slightly before both girls sighed.

"So what, do you want to try and be friends or something?" Jinx asked and Raven snorted while looking away from the other girl.

"Never going to happen." Raven stated and Jinx looked at her before nodding her head in agreement. "But… like you said, lets try not to be so violent towards each other. Or at the very least let's at least try not to provoke each other all the time. If for nothing else then for Naruto's sake." Raven then offered the other grey skinned girl and Jinx blew into her bangs before nodding her head.

"I can live with that." She mused before stretching out her arms with a light yawn. "Well then, I should probably find a way back home before the others come looking for me." Jinx said while standing up and Raven gave her a look. "What?" The Rosette questioned with a raised brow and Raven crossed her arms over her chest.

"Your clothes are almost completely tattered and some of your underwear is showing." Raven stated and Jinx looked down at herself before blushing slightly and giving her a look as well.

"Yeah and who exactly did that?" She questioned angrily while crossing her arms and Raven pinched the bridge of her nose.

"I thought we were trying not to provoke each other." Raven noted and Jinx gave her a cheeky smile in response.

"Bad habits are hard to break." Jinx replied and Raven rolled her eyes while the slender girl then rubbed her arms. "So, if you don't mind me asking, what's your brilliant idea to get me home?" Jinx questioned and Raven silently got up then threw her cape around Jinx, causing both girls to disappear into a black Raven shaped bird that went towards Tartarus HQ…

(Titans Tower…)

"Seriously dudes, how come I'm the only one whose not totally bummed out or tired?" BB asks while sitting in the T-Car with Nightwing and Kid-Flash, Cyborg driving them towards Titans Tower as Donna and Star fly home. Currently, they were driving along the underwater bridge that connected Titans' Island with the mainland, and thereby Jump-City.

"I don't know… maybe cause we actually tried to catch those Tartarus creeps…" Cy offered with a scowl and BB rolled his eyes with a smirk while leaning back in his seat, Nightwing mumbling under his breath and Kid-Flash giving a light groan.

"Dudes, I know pranksters, and these guys are pros at it! If you guys were smart, you would've stayed out of their way. Besides, they didn't steal anything or hurt anyone today… well besides stealing that guitar and hitting me with it but I digress." BB said and got glares from the other male titans before Starfire came down to the side of the T-Car and tapped on the window. Blinking, Cyborg rolled down the window as she did and saw a look on the alien princess's face.

"Uh Star, what's wrong now?" Cyborg asked and Starfire sighed visibly as they came out of the tunnel and onto Titans' Island.

"I believe that the Tartarus did not only do the pranking of the city…" Starfire replied before pointing towards Titans Tower, the guys all turning to see it.

"Aw hell no!" Cy said while bringing the T-Car to a screeching halt and quickly got out of it. The other Titan's boys as well as the girls then followed him as they all looked up at Titans tower. The Tower was now completely covered in graffiti, all manor of phrases in both English and Japanese completely covered it, as well as Random pictures of Red-X skull mask with peace signs, swirls, and other such graffiti… the biggest of the English phrases however was in bright orange "Welcome Home Titans! Hope you like what I did with the place! Love X…"

"Dude! Good one!" BB suddenly called out while holding his sides and Nightwing slapped his face as Cyborg twitched then grit his teeth in fury.

"THEY TAGGED OUR CRIB!" The Titanium teen cried out and Kid-Flash groaned while looking up at he building.

"That's going to take forever to wash off…" Kid-Flash mumbled before grunting and holding his stomach then quickly ran into the tower so he could get to a bathroom. Growling, Cyborg began to grind his teeth together as he gazed at the defacement of his beloved Tower with narrowed eyes.

"OH I'M SOOO GONNA GET THEM FOR THIS!" Cy shouted while unlocking his Sonic-Cannon and Nightwing merely pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Cyborg… calm down." Night ordered before trudging forward and Cy gave the spiky haired teen an incredulous look.

"Where the hell are you going? We need to hunt them down we…" Cyborg demanded furiously only for Night to hold up a hand and turn to him tiredly.

"Cyborg, chill out… We can worry about catching Tartarus later. Beast-Boy is right; they were just playing around with us today, not doing anything malicious. As for right now, I'm going to bed so I can forget that this day ever happened…" Night said while continuing to walk towards the Tower and Cyborg gaped towards his leader.

"WHAT! But they tagged our crib! We can't let that go unchallenged or else they'll…" Cyborg started ranting while following after Nightwing, leaving Donna, Star, and BB behind them. Blinking and scratching his head, BB then turned to Donna with a raised brow.

"So uh… what about you?" He asked and Donna gave him a look before sighing.

"I'm with Richard… I'm going to bed." She mumbled to herself while flying into the tower, thus leaving BB and Star behind. Looking to one another the two remaining Titans shrugged before walking towards the Tower as well.

"So how was your day then Star?" BB asked with a smile and Starfire clasped her hands together happily.

"It was most informative friend. I believe that I have learned something new about earthly culture. However, it was also somewhat of a annoyance to have to rescue friend Nightwing from the obsessed girls of fans once more." Starfire replied and BB nodded his head slowly while they walked into the main hall of the tower. "But please, tell me about your day friend." Starfire said cheerfully to the green jester and BB grinned while wrapping his arms behind his neck.

"Well besides getting smacked around by a chick on a moped with a Bass guitar. It was pretty cool for me as well, I got to see my girlfriend today and even get Ice-Cream half off." BB replied happily as they walked through the main hall of the tower and Starfire smiled brightly.

"That is most wonderful. I only wish that the other's could have had as pleasant a day as we have had." Starfire said and BB nodded his head in agreement as he and the alien princess got into the elevator so they could head up to their rooms…

(Tartarus HQ…)

"You tagged Titans Tower? Oh man that is so fucking rich temp!" Gizmo demanded of Naruto while half laughing as he looked at a series of photos, and even a live feed of the Tower. Currently, Tartarus was back in their HQ, Naruto was sitting on the sofa without his mask while most of the others were either trying to hold back laughter, or were falling over due to it.

"Yeah, I know, I'm way too awesome aren't I." Naruto said with a nod of his head and a smirk as he watched Duela actually try to stifle her laughter, only to fail miserably as she fell onto her back, held her stomach and rolled on the floor.

"How did no one see you do that?" Dani asked with a grin as she tried to control her own laughter and Naruto whistled to himself.

"That is a trade secret my young Apprentice." Naruto stated while leaning back and Dani pouts and crosses her arms. Behind him an amused Blackfire places a hand over her mouth as she snickers and then shakes her head.

"Impressive. You not only "tagged" Titans Tower, but in the middle of broad daylight and out in the open where anyone could've seen what you were doing… yet somehow didn't." Blackfire noted and Naruto nodded his head, proud that he was still able to pull something like that off. However, when he heard the door slide open behind him, Naruto leaned back to see Raven and Jinx walk into the room. Jinx is now wearing a new set of clothes, as is Raven, however once they enter the room Jinx started snickering to herself while Raven crossed her arms.

"Well that explains where you were all day." Raven notes and Naruto shrugs his shoulders in response. Walking over to the sofa, Jinx sits down while Raven stares at the screen, which is showing all of Tartarus the Tower completely covered in graffiti. "Don't you think you might have gone just a little overboard?" Raven asked and Naruto scoffed while waving her off, and the rest of Tartarus decided to further answer her question.

"No!" They all stated and then laughed once more, causing Raven to roll her eyes and give Naruto a look. Seeing the look and remembering their date, the ex-nin got up and stretched out his arms for a moment.

"Well guys, I'm heading out with Kara-Chan. See you whenever I get back." Naruto offered while flipping back and made his way into the base so he could change his clothes, Raven following. Seeing this, Jinx let out a sigh and slumped in her seat, even the sight of Titans Tower covered in graffiti not cheering her up…

(?)

Deep within the cavern below Jump-City, two monsters look on from beyond a portal of red energy. Trigon and Kyuubi both look on silently to the flowing energy below them, Kyuubi's grin widening as he see the fist from before ball and curl. Chuckling, the red furred Kitsune then looks over to Trigon with an insidious grin stretched across his face. **"So, the time has finally arrived?"** Kyuubi questioned with his grin seeming to grow wider by the second. Trigon merely chuckled and narrowed his eyes for a moment before steam and mist began to rise up around them.

"**Yes Kyuubi… I can safely say…"** Trigon started to say only to fall silent as the hand gripped the earth and a body slowly immerged from the depths. The body was more a skeleton than anything else, twitching and turning to see both of them before a single, blazing red eye narrowed, an S shaped scar carved into its right eye's socket. Taking several steps forward, the skeleton the held up its arms, redish orange energy thus traveled down his arms, flowing over his body before finally ending as it rose up over his head, concealing the skeleton behind a familiar suit of armor…

The suit of armor was mostly black and made of a thin, strong, durable and highly flexible material, with a thicker grey material around his midriff, around his elbows, and covering his hands and fingers. Overtop that was an odd metal collar, wrapping around his neck throat and collar completely, a bandoleer over his chest, with a metal plate positioned over either bicep, his arms were covered by a pair of black bracers with metal plates overtop them, a grey utility belt is worn around his waist, metal plates cover the sides of his thighs, are positioned over his knees, and fall down his shins as a pair of greaves, last is the metal that is formed over the soles of his boots and curves to cover the instep of his foot as well.

However, his most distinguishing piece of armor is a mask that completely hides his head and face, the eye of it glowing a brilliant red before it closes. The mask is a solid steel one with four thin slits for air, with padding over his ears while more metal curved over the back of his head like a helmet, the left side of the frontal plate of the mask is a copper color, with only the black mark over the eyehole that curled up at the side breaking from this. Opening his eye back up after a second, the armored man then slowly folded his arms behind his back while gazing to the two demons.

"It is… Time." The voice of Slade echoed throughout the cavern, his cyclopean gaze narrowing dangerously…

TBC…


	46. Birthmark Pt1

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

**Chapter 45**: **Birthmark Pt. 1**…

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

(?)

Naruto found himself walking down a long barren street, statues of humans everywhere he could see. The sky was red with dark black clouds hanging over him, buildings were torn into tatters, the bay was filled with lava, and as if the place couldn't be anymore horrific, the "Sun" he supposed, was as red as blood. Looking down at himself, Naruto saw he was dressed in his Red-X gear, his tattered trench coat included, with his swords on his back and a pair of bladed gauntlets over his forearms and hands. Reaching up, Naruto found half of his skull like mask had been broken off and grit his teeth in annoyance.

"What the hell is going on?" He wondered to himself before swiftly turning at a sound. Narrowing his eyes, the blond haired Ex-nin quickly turned and then found his eyes slowly widening as he saw a shadowed figure walk towards him… "Slade." Naruto whispered as the man approached, his arms folded behind his back as his single cold grey eyes glared at the blond ominously. The two stood in the middle of the hellish wasteland, silently apposing one another and glaring into one another's eyes darkly.

"So we meet again." Slade coldly remarked while Naruto narrowed his eyes onto the armored man dangerously.

"What do you want, Slade?" Naruto demanded and Slade chuckled lightly while looking at the blond haired boy.

"What do I want? An Apprentice worthy of my teachings… An heir to take my vast resources and power when I'm gone… the destruction of Jump-City and its Titans… quite a few things actually but all of them are irrelevant for the moment." Slade replied while casually strolling forward and Naruto slipped back into a stance. "Come now, if I was really here to fight I would've engaged you by now." Slade reminded while walking passed the blond and Naruto turned around, finding Slade with his back turned as he looked up to the red sun…

"What is going on?" Naruto demanded through gritted teeth and Slade chuckled lightly while lightning flashed in the sky.

"Why that should be obvious even to someone with as short an attention span as you…" Slade coldly remarked before turning, Naruto's eyes widening as Slade's mask fell to the ground. Now what was revealed to the blond was very clearly not Slade's face. Instead, what was revealed was a skull; the right eye missing from its socket with a long gash carved out of the bone, which also had small cracks here and there, while a glowing red eye loomed ominously from the darkness of his left eye socket.

"**The End has come…"** Slade uttered darkly, his lower jawbone moving even without any muscles to aid it. Taking several steps back from the creature, Naruto turned when he heard a chuckle and saw four eyes floating above him. But just as he saw the eyes darkness suddenly consumed Naruto's vision…

(Tartarus HQ…)

Naruto suddenly shot up in his bed with wide eyes, before placing a hand to his head and let out several shuddering breaths. "J-just another nightmare… but damn that was one seriously messed up nightmare." Naruto mumbled to himself before rolling out of bed, wondering why those Nightmares only seemed to stay away when he slept with Raven. Shaking his head of any possibilities, Naruto pushed himself to his feet and walked over to his closet to get his clothes for the day. Laying those out, Naruto then went about his other morning rituals before coming out and getting dressed.

He pulled on a pair of black Shinobi-pants with pockets on the sides today, his usual Calf-Length black Shinobi-Sandals, a sleeveless black AnBu shirt with the mask rolled over his neck, a red T-Shirt, forearm length fingerless black gloves with metal plates over the back of his fists and a red band around each wrist, and last was a grey utility belt around his waist and black and red bucket hat. Finished, Naruto then walked out of his room and stretched his arms before yawning lightly.

Tiredly making his way down the halls of the HQ and into the Ops Center, the blond made his way over to the fridge. Opening it and digging around for a moment, Naruto got some orange juice before grabbing a cup from the cupboard. Pouring himself some orange juice before reaching into the freezer for some frozen pancakes. Getting those ready, Naruto then leaned back as his meal was heated up. Honestly, while he liked a good home cooked meal as much as the next guy, he liked the sheer convenience of all these frozen foods this world had.

Turning away from that, Naruto then looked around the Ops Center for a moment, instantly noticing that, as per usual, Gizmo wasn't present. _'We really need to get him out of that lab more often… or somehow manage to get him a girlfriend.'_ Naruto thought to himself then saw Blackfire was leaning back into the sofa, practically sleeping with a peaceful look on her face, Kid-Wykkyd seemed to have made a fort out of the cushions to the sofa, Billy was attacking the said fort in an attempt to retrieve the cushions… or maybe they were playing some kind of childish game, and lastly Seemore and Private HIVE were playing a video game.

Blinking for a moment, Naruto frowned when he saw neither Jinx, Mammoth, nor Dani anywhere in sight. "Okay… that's unusual…" The blond mumbled before hearing a groan, then turned in time to see Dani walk into the room. However, Naruto then cursed and quickly moved over to the girl when she nearly fell to the floor. "Shit, Dani what the hell is wrong with you?" Naruto demanded while picking her up and the girl retched before covering her mouth, her eyes glowing a bright luminescent green even in her human form.

"Shit-Stain there is sicker than a dog." Gizmo replied as he and Mammoth walked into the room, Private HIVE and Seemore looking to one another, and then turned off their game, before getting up as well. Only for one of Billy's clones quickly diving for the controller to the Game-Station.

"Yeah I noticed, but since when does Dani even get sick?" Naruto demanded of Gizmo since the girl's fairly unique biology practically negated the effects of any known illness.

"Whatever the hell she has seems to be based on her powers in some way…" Gizmo replied and then motioned Naruto to let the girl down, Seemore and Private walking over to him.

"Is she running a fever?" Seemore asked surprisingly seriously and Gizmo grumbled before looking to Mammoth.

"Get some water." He ordered and Mammoth walked over to the sink, got a glass and then some water from the sink.

"What are you…" Naruto started to ask before Gizmo held up a hand for him to wait while Mammoth came back. Taking the glass of water from the massive member of Tartarus, Gizmo dipped a finger into it then let a few drops fall on Dani's forehead… all of which quickly froze over into a thin sheet of ice. Seconds later however the ice melted and then steamed as Dani started to sweat on the spot, then seemed to chill over again as she shivered violently.

"Holy Hell! I've heard of Hot and Cold flashes before, but this is ridiculous!" Seemore said with wide eyes while Dani groaned uncomfortably before before he nose suddenly twitched.

"Hit the decks!" Gizmo said and Mammoth pulled Naruto and the others out of the way as the girl sneezed. However, white flames spewed forth from her as she did, the flames arching from her mouth, over the couch and then slamming into the wall beside of the TV. This finally drew Billy and Kid-Wykkyd's attention as both slowly looked to where the girl was now swaying before falling over with a groan…

"Okay… that was weird as hell…" Naruto mumbled to himself before blinking in surprise, when the girl suddenly gripped her stomach and mouth, got up, and bolted to the side and threw-up into the sink before letting out a few hacking coughs that mingled with disgusted moans.

"Oh great, now someone's going to have to clean that mess up…" Mammoth muttered and got a cold glare from Naruto while Dani slid to the floor with a groan.

"What are the symptoms, Giz?" Naruto questioned seriously and Gizmo sighed for a moment before rubbing his scalp.

"Heat and cold flashes, literally in her case, sporadic bouts of fire infused sneezes, throwing-up a lot of what I'm guessing is Ectoplasmic-Residue that's collected in her lungs and stomach, a hacking cough for the same damn reason, she's also had sporadic transformations but that actually makes the other symptoms worse, not to mention the physical weakness she displayed all morning that seems to come and go, and odder still are the growth spurts…" Gizmo listed off while ticking down fingers and Naruto blinked at the last bit of info.

"Growth spurts?" Naruto questioned and Gizmo nodded his head with a frown.

"She's shot up three inches in the last five hours." Mammoth supplied and Billy whistled for a moment.

"Well maybe when this is finally over she'll actually look her age…" Billy offered and Dani suddenly sat up and her eye twitched.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean you damn hillbilly bastard? I'm not short!" The girl screamed in rage before suddenly lunging at the Billy that made the comment and started to beat on him to mercilessly…

"Oh yeah, and the final symptom is the extremely violent and spontaneous Mood-swings she's been having all day… I nearly got my head ripped off when I said she was a bitch…" Gizmo finished with a flat look as Billy cried out for mercy and Naruto shivered for a moment.

"So any idea what's going on with her or not Giz?" Naruto questioned while ignoring the Billy that Dani was currently beating the hell out of, the Real-Billy and his other clones looking on in shock and fear.

"Not a damn clue, but as far as I can tell it has something to do with her Ghostly Biology rather than an illness. I only said she was "Sick" because she clearly can't go anywhere like this…" Gizmo stated while Dani ranted about not being "A small ant sized pipsqueak that no one could see even with a microscope!" and twirled Billy around before throwing him into a wall, his neck snapping with a sickening crack before he faded out of existence and Dani blinked before tearing up.

"Oh no! I killed him!" She said to herself and Naruto slapped his face as she started to bawl loudly, finally waking Blackfire up.

"What's with all the crying?" The Dark-Haired Tameranian demanded and then blinked as Dani lunged at her and cried into her chest.

"I killed Billy!" The ghostling girl exclaimed and Duela sat down next to a very confused Blackfire and patted the girl on her back.

"C'mon stop the tears Dani, its just Billy." Duela reminded with a grin and Dani sniffed for a moment then blinked before a grin found its way to her face.

"Yeah, your right, it is just Billy isn't it! We've got like a dozen more in the back somewhere don't we!" Dani said with a grin before falling back laughing while Duela blinked and Blackfire slowly moved away from the clearly, or at least in her mind, "Insane" ghost girl.

"Giz… please tell me you know how to fix this." Naruto stated flatly and Gizmo snorted while Dani rolled on the floor, howling with laughter and Duela watched on, a camera in hand recording it all. Seeing the others staring at her, Duela turned towards them and blinked for a moment.

"What? I'm saving this for posterity!" She exclaimed with a grin before turning back to continue recording the laughing girl as she started to pound on the floor. Turning back to Gizmo they saw the tiny-terror shake his head for a moment before breathing out a sigh.

"If I knew what was wrong with her, yeah, I could probably fix this, but like I said her "Ecto-Biology" is working on something new… or maybe this is just the equivalent to Ecto-Puberty or something…" Gizmo offered while Dani suddenly started to groan before lunging back to the sink and threw-up into it yet again.

"Then what's with her powers going nuts? Not to mention all the vomit!" Naruto demanded of Gizmo and the tiny terror muttered to himself before considering all he knew about Dani and then grimaced.

"Oh I think I know what that means… I mean, like I said it's Ectoplasmic-Residue, it's not so much Vomit as it is a build up of Ectoplasm she hasn't been using and has started to degrade in her systems. She's producing more Ectoplasm than her human or even her ghost form can hold so her body is expelling the excess waist that's being created, hence all the throwing up." Gizmo explained while Duela continued to record everything, now recording the conversation.

"So then why is she building up so much Ectoplasm then?" Naruto demanded and Blackfire turned to look where Dani was now lying on the ground in a boneless heap.

"To hell if I know Temp, all I can tell you is that some weird shit is going down with her biology." Gizmo stated before they all heard Dani start to inhale her breaths erratically. "Oh no not again! Hit the deck!" Gizmo called out as Dani sat up and sneezed out yet another jet of white flames, the sheer force of the sneeze throwing her into the air and through a wall as her intangibility seemed to kick in on instinct…

"Shit, someone go get her." Naruto grumbled out while rubbing his temples and Mammoth nodded his head before heading out the door to find and retrieve the girl. "Alright I can see the build up hurting her physically, thus the weakness and throwing up. But what about those mood-swings, growth-spurts, and all the sneezing?" Naruto questioned of Gizmo and the bald genius mulled that over in his head for a few moments before grimacing.

"Do you know what powers a Ghost's abilities temp?" Gizmo asked and Naruto, and a vast majority of the team, shook their heads no. "Emotions. A Ghost is created when a sample of Ectoplasm comes into contact with an extremely potent Emotion, thus a scorned lover who felt jealousy and hate would create a Ghost who only felt that way and looked the part of one. Thus the limited range of emotions for full ghosts. Dani as a hybrid however constantly feels different emotions, supping up her Ghost form while also causing her to sporadically develop new powers based on those feelings." Gizmo said, mostly to himself, and Naruto frowned while glaring at the bald midget.

"While that does explain how she can be so powerful and yet still so young that doesn't exactly tell me what I wanted to know…" Naruto stated and Gizmo blinked before grumbling under his breath for a moment.

"What I'm trying to say is that perhaps Dani's body thinks it needs more power than it actually does, due to her being a Hybrid, and therefore it is producing more power than needed, which is causing her emotions to come out in violent bursts, but her body can't handle all that power and is creating a run-off in the form of Ectoplasmic-Residue in her lungs and stomach she's constantly expelling." Gizmo explained and Naruto frowned for a moment before Mammoth carried the ghost girl back into the room.

"Yo Danny Fenton he was just fourteen when his parents built a very strange machine, designed to view a world unseen! When it didn't quite work his folks they just quit, but then Danny took a look in side of it! There was a great big flash everything just changed, his molecules got rearranged!" Dani started to sing, more like rap, with a goofy grin on her increasingly pale features and Naruto slapped his face while the others just stared at the girl before seeing Duela with a director's cap on.

"Yeah keep going Dani! Work it girl! The camera loves ya babe!" The girl said while continuing to, 'preserve this for posterity' as she had put it…

"Oi and I thought I'd heard enough rapping from Kirabi…" The blond muttered to himself, inwardly grumbling that Dani was better at it than he and Kirabi had been to himself. "Mammoth get Dani to the Infirmary. And you installed the Anti-Ghost devices there already right, Gizmo?" Naruto questioned of the Tiny Terror and Gizmo nodded his head with a frown.

"Yeah yeah, I also put that shit in Dani's room and my lab. I really didn't like the Shit-Stain popping up everywhere…" Gizmo grumbled out while walking over to Mammoth, the two making their way towards the infirmary with Naruto following them. Pouting as Dani was taken away, Duela then saw the others head off as well and let out an annoyed huff.

"Honestly! Dani gets a little sick and everybody gets all worried." Duela says to herself before turning to look seemingly at no one. "Yo, readers, nice to see you all again, anyone missed me?" Duela questions of seemingly no one with a wave to the "Readers" before grinning widely. "Well, anyways as you can probably guess the Author has been lazy again, but please don't blame him this time, he's really been overworked, not to mention he has other stories to write for and you can't expect him to be able to continuously update this one story all the time." Duela then says while crossing her arms behind her back and blinks when she hears a voice.

"Wha… yeah… right… Umhmm… Okay Mr. Author dude!" Duela says while nodding her head to the unseen voices that seem to be speaking with her. "Anyways fans, I need to go and see what my buddies are doing, and continue to record Dani's ultimate humiliation on tape for future generations!" Duela then says with a laugh while making her way to the Infirmary with a wide and near psychotic grin on her face.

(Titans Tower…)

Nightwing groaned as he slowly trudged out of his room and leaned heavily into the wall at his side. Palming his face for a moment, the former boy-wonder mentally wished he was still a sidekick and didn't have to deal with, as far as he was concerned, his own version of "The Joker" in Red-X. _'Wait… I bet Bruce would trade The Joker for X and his mostly harmless pranks and insults in a heartbeat…'_ Nightwing reminded himself since the Joker was leagues beyond Red-X in terms of villainy. _'Especially after what he did to… Jason…'_ Nightwing added with a mental wince as he made his way down the long corridor, his sleep addled mind willing him to the kitchen for coffee.

'_First X and his crew trash the town with all manor of childish pranks, and then Dr. Light decides to keep us up all night… why can't we seem to catch a break lately?'_ The former boy wonder wondered to himself as he made his way through the tower, thoughts of his fangirls briefly causing him to shiver. _'I've faced psychotic villains, robot commando's, ooze monsters, a demonic manifestation of fear, and even a pissed off Red-X, but Fan-Girls are by far the scariest things in the universe…'_ Night thought to himself while remembering how they had tried to tear his clothes off to keep for some strange reason before Starfire had saved him from them.

Wandering into the Main OPS of the tower, Nightwing ignored the others who were sitting on the sofa, Cy and BB laughing their asses off. "Man I can't believe the look on his face! It almost makes up for them tagging the tower!" Cy said to himself with BB readily nodding his head in agreement with his titanium pal. Kid-Flash however noticed Nightwing and grinned towards his friend.

"Morning Rich, sleep well?" The redheaded boy questioned and Night merely grunted for a moment.

"Need coffee…" Night mumbled while walking to the kitchen and Donna shook her head for a moment.

"I think he's become dependent on that stuff…" Donna noticed and BB snorted.

"Dudette, you have no idea." BB stated and then looked back to the screen which had a video of Blackfire kissing Nightwing, more importantly, the looks on his face before during and after she had done so. "Play it again Cy!" BB ordered with a grin and Cyborg rolled his eyes before rewinding the video feed while Nightwing tiredly started on his coffee. Soon however the face of a grinning Gizmo came up on screen, his eyes closed slightly as he looked to the camera.

"Greetings peons and barf-bags of the internet!" Gizmo exclaimed, the Titans grunting at the insult toward everyone who heard it. "I am Gizmo, Technician of the new Villainous Group Tartarus! And I'd just like to say that if you're from Gotham you'll really get a laugh out of this!" Gizmo said with a grin and Nightwing blinked before looking back to his coffee, deciding it wasn't worth looking into until he could think properly. As such he thankfully took his mug out and poured himself a bit of the drink before looking to the screen with one arm on the counter.

"What you ask is so great that it'd lift the gloom and doom of Gotham and get you to laugh when even Joker can't?" Gizmo asked mockingly before waving his arms as he pointed to a screen with a scowling Nightwing on it. "Why, the look on Nightwing's face when he's kissed by a hot alien super-villain of course!" The Tiny Terror exclaimed and Night did a spit-take while BB laughed as he turned to see what had happened.

"Good morning my friends, is today not another most joyous day?" Starfire asked as she floated into the room and BB shushed the alien princess.

"Dude quiet down Star, it's about to get to the good part!" BB stated with a grin and Cy snickered even as Starfire tilted her head as the screen showed a shaky scene, Nightwing tied up with a scowl on his face.

"I don't know what your up too X, but you'll never get away with it!" Night growled out and they heard what they could only guess was X yawning while Starfire flew forward and leaned on the back of the sofa.

"Turn it off!" The real Nightwing shouted while rushing forward, tripping over something before groaning on the floor. As he did that the video continued with the camera being turned to Blackfire who was putting on some violet lipstick.

"Ready for y'all close up, Sugah?" The heavily accented voice of Billy Numerous questioned and the Titans watched as Blackfire winked towards the cameraman.

"You know I've seen her before and she looks nearly identical to Starfire, but still… why is she somehow hotter?" Kid-Flash asked the other male Titans, only for them to shrug while Starfire blinked.

"Please, neither of us are on fire, though it is in our names… so how would she be "Hotter" than I?" Starfire questioned of her friends and Donna, who was already scowling decided to answer for her.

"He's asking why Blackfire is more attractive than you Starfire…" Donna stated flatly and Starfire blinked before frowning as well.

"Uh… seriously, what are you guys up to?" A confused Night questioned on the screen as Billy turned back to him and the Real Nightwing climbed up the back of the sofa and tried to grap the remote from Cy.

"Turn it off!" Night ordered and Cyborg held him at arms length from the remote.

"No way man, this is payback for not telling us shit!" Cy stated with a grin as Starfire raised a brow, only to see Blackfire come back onto the screen with a smirk.

"Oh nothing bad… we're just having a little fun…" Blackfire replied coyly and Starfire scratched her head for a moment.

"Why is my sister wearing the purple lip makeup?" She wondered aloud before watching as her sister grabbed Night by his face and pulled him into a deep kiss. Star blinked before her frown returned and an annoyed look crossed her face. "I see my sister may have changed, but that she is still my sister…" She mumbled, meaning Blackfire wasn't trying to kill her, but was back to humiliating and teasing her for the fun of it… On the screen, they watched as Blackfire soon released Night from the kiss, his masked eyes wide and his mouth gaping even as Red-X took his belt from him before giving a mock salute to the crowd as the video cut off.

"Alright folks, now, who doesn't think the look on Nightwing's face was just priceless?" Gizmo asked on screen while Nightwing growled under his breath and glared up at the screen heatedly. "Anyways, I hope this has brightened your day a little, until we have more footage to humiliate Nightwing or the other Titans for years to come that will be immortalized on the Internet, I bid you all farewell bitches!" Gizmo exclaimed with a wide shit-eating grin as the video ended and BB, Cy, and Kid-Flash started laughing at the angry look on Nightwing's face.

"They will pay for this… I swear they will pay and pay dearly!" Night promised before giving Donna a look as she snickered and Starfire grabbed the back of his suit and pulled him back to face her. "Uh… you need something Star?" Nightwing asked nervously and saw the flat look on the normally cheery alien's face.

"Yes… why is that supposed to be funny? I do not see the humor of my sister doing the lip contact you humans call a kiss to you? Nor do I see why the "Look" on your face was supposed to be humorous… could you please explain it friend Nightwing?" Star asked and BB and Cy both snickered while Nightwing mentally groaned, wishing that Raven hadn't locked herself in her room last night…

(Tartarus HQ, Infirmary…)

Most of Tartarus have moved to the infirmary, Seemore and Private are off to the side looking over some notes Gizmo had on what was happening to Dani. Gizmo himself is working with Mammoth to strap Dani down to an examination table; the girls skin having turned an off blue color, the skin around her eyes having darkened considerable, while her eyes had changed to a bright glowing red color. Duela is whistling to herself while continuing to film the events with an amused lookMeanwhile Naruto is watching on with a frown while standing to the side, drumming his fingers on his left bicep.

"Well she's strapped down Temp." Gizmo said as he and Mammoth backed away from the girl, as she looked more than a little out of it.

"Still no idea on how to fix this, Seemore?" Naruto asked the one eyed teen and the Cyclops turned with a bewildered expression across his features.

"Uhh… unfortunately while I can roughly guess it has to do with her Ghost Side… I really don't know that much about Ghost Biology…" Seemore admitted and Naruto groaned before palming his face as Gizmo moved to his computer.

"Ugh… would someone please just kill me now?" Dani suddenly asked while reaching a hand up to her head, then looked down at her restraints with one eye. "And why the fuck am I tied down?" The girl demanded as she gritted her teeth in fury, Naruto raising a brow when he saw sharp fangs had replaced her canine teeth…

"Because we didn't want you flying away whenever you sneeze…" Seemore offered from the side and Dani blinked, her eyes muting down to a more normal red before suddenly turning bright neon-green.

"My head hurts…" She mumbled to herself before falling back, then started to breathe lightly as she fell to sleep…

"Maybe we should get out of here…" Mammoth offered, getting nods from Seemore and Private as the three quickly ran out of the room, leaving Gizmo, Duela, and Naruto with the ghost-girl.

"Pussies…" Gizmo mumbled with a frown while Jinx chose that moment to slide into the infirmary and grab Naruto by his shirt.

"Temp, what happened to Dani! I went looking for her this morning after she sneezed and flew away, but I haven't been able to find her?" She asked quickly and Naruto pointed behind the rosette, Jinx breathing a sigh of relief when she saw the girl was sleeping, only to gape as she saw her features.

"What the hell is happening to her?" She demanded loudly, thus waking the sleeping girl who turned her bloody red eyes onto her sister-figure…

"Shut the hell up bitch! I'm trying to sleep!" Dani shouted before closing her eyes again and Naruto pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Oi… she's starting to sound like you Giz." Naruto noted and Gizmo shrugged his shoulders before going back to his work. Sighing softly, Naruto then grabbed Jinx's arm and pulled her out of the infirmary, then reached in and dragged Duela out to give Dani some peace and quiet while Giz worked on fixing this mess.

"Temp… what's wrong with her?" Jinx asked with a strange look on her face and Naruto shrugged even as he pulled the girls towards OPS.

"Not sure, Giz thinks it has to do with her Ghostly Biology." Naruto replied while Duela struggled with her leader's grip.

"Hey! Let me go, I wanna see if Dani 'll blow up or something else that's insanely amusing to watch!" Duela shouted before growling as she reached up and started trying to gnaw on Naruto's wrist. Twitching, Naruto wondered if it was worth it to keep Duela from Dani, and then remembered the sheer level of humiliation on Nightwings head from their little video… by Twelve-PM last night, they already had ten thousand hits on YouTube! In any case, what Duela could do would be worse and Naruto would not allow his little Imouto to be embarrassed that badly.

Snickering at that thought of Nightwing's humiliation even as he dragged the girl behind him, Naruto then cleared his throat and looked to Jinx, ignoring Duela as she tried to reach his wrist. "So, you had any lunch yet, Jinx?" Naruto asked casually and Jinx blinked before suddenly staring at the blond haired teen.

"No…" She replied slowly and Naruto nodded his head.

"Cool, then do you want to head out to get some Pizza, seeing as more than likely someone has eaten the food I left out earlier…" Naruto asked his pink haired friend and saw her raise a brow while staring at him intently. "What?" Naruto asked at the look and Jinx frowned before crossing her arms over her chest.

"It's just… you haven't asked me personally to eat with you in a while… or anything else really unless it revolves around the team." Jinx replied while looking at the blond and he reached back and rubbed his neck with a nervous grin.

"Yeah well, Kara-Chan has issues with her Birthday like I do, so I figure if she's anything like me, she doesn't want presents, she doesn't want a party, and she really, really doesn't want anyone bugging her right now." Naruto explained before grinning towards the rosette. "Besides, I really don't spend enough time with any of you guys lately." Naruto then admitted and Jinx raised a brow, but also decided not to look a gift-horse in the mouth. However, Duela then flipped up and leaned heavily into their shoulders with a wide grin on her face.

"Lunch sounds great! Can I come?" The red head asked while looking to the two and Naruto blinked before smirking.

"Sure, the more the merrier, right Jinx?" Naruto offered and Jinx mentally huffed, physically pouted, and let out a sigh.

"Yeah right, Temp… absolutely fantastic…" She mumbled out sarcastically as they made their way out of the base, Jinx absently turning on her Holo-Watch so she wouldn't attract any unwanted attention to them…

(Titans Tower…)

Beast-Boy was wandering through the tower; actually, he was in one of the air vents over the main Titans Mainframe. The reason why is because he was technically banished from it. _'I swear, one virus in Cyborg's stupid Recharger and you're branded for life!'_ Beast-boy thought to himself before turning and securing a rope to the top of the vent shaft. _'I have got to thank Kitten for showing me how to do this… and ask her how she knows how to do it later…'_ BB thought to himself while securing the rope to the harness worn over most his torso.

'_I'm also going to have to ask why she had this weird set up, I mean dude its like she's a part time thief or international super spy or something!'_ BB thought to himself before licking his lips as he undid the vent cover over the computer. Closing his eyes and taking a quick breath he then looked out from the vent shaft and into the room of the mainframe. Looking for anyone, BB was pleased to see no one around and thus pulled himself out of the shaft. Squeezing a trigger on his harness, BB was lowered towards the computer while humming the theme from Mission Impossible to himself…

Oddly, the green teen was wearing an all black outfit, complete with a black hat over his hair and leaving only his face visible. Coming closer to the computer, BB stopped himself and turned the device on with the flick of a switch. Grinning as the device powered up, BB moved quickly and started to type rapidly on the keyboard of the computer. While it was true that he was in no way or form a genius, BB knew this after all, he WAS a fairly competent hacker, and as such, BB's mission was made all the more easy as he narrowed his eyes and entered into the off-limits area of the computer.

"Gotcha!" He said to himself while hacking the password for the Titans Archives Personnel files. The Files were individual files for each member of the Titans, there was one for Nightwing, one for Cyborg, one for Starfire, one for Raven, one for BB himself, one for Wondergirl, one for Kid-Flash, and even more for Titans East! The Files had all of their personal information on the off chance they were severely injured in battle, or worse, murdered by an enemy. This way, any family or friends could be alerted to the situation and a headstone could also have their name on it…

Currently however, BB had other reasons to hack into the files besides alerting someone or even making a headstone… though Raven would probably kill him if she found out he was digging around in her file. Bringing up Raven's file, BB then stuck his tongue out at the side of his mouth before looking over the information silently…

-0-

Real Name: Raven…

Known Aliases: Rachel Angela Roth, Pride…

Gender: Female…

Height: 5,6…

Weight: ?

Family: Arella Roth (Mother), Scath (Father)…

Nationality: Off-Worlder, an Alternate Dimension known as "Azerath"…

Former Team: None…

Powers: Empathic abilities, Natural Healing Ability, Flight, "Soul-Self" and some form of Magic / Telekinetic powers…

Titan Status: Active Member…

Birth-Date: 09, 09, 1009* (* On Azarian Calendar…)

-0-

Upon reading that, BB stopped at the mention of her birthday and his eyes suddenly widened before a wide grin stretched across his face. "Dude, Jackpot!" He said while almost swearing a cash register sounded somewhere. He then read over the entry with great interest before he suddenly did a double take and widened his eyes when he saw what the real date for Raven's Birthday would be on a normal calendar. "It's Raven's birthday today! Sweet!" He exclaimed loudly before covering his mouth and looking around to make sure no one had heard him.

Sure that no one knew where he was; BB quickly turned the computer off before turning around in midair. Grabbing the rope holding him up he then climbed his way back up before replacing the grate over the vent he'd used to get into the mainframe. Grinning, the green jester then turned and made his way back to his room, a plan already forming in his mind. _'Dude this is going to be so sweet!'_ He thought to himself while journeying into the depths of the vents around the tower…

(?)

Rose Wilson, AKA The Ravager, walked back into her base after her nice long vacation with a sigh. "It's so nice to be home." She said to herself while sipping an ice cold soda and walked further into her lair, only to stop and narrow her sole remaining eye when she noticed the destroyed remains of several of her security droid. Frowning, she walked further in, over to a wall and grabbed both of her swords before unsheathing them with narrowed eye. Walking forward with the swords at her side, Rose widened her eye slightly upon seeing scorch marks on several of the robots.

'_Did Raven turn into a Demon and attack my base? No, there'd be nothing left if that were the case.'_ Rose reminded herself while journeying deeper into the base, noticing the signs of destruction were becoming increasingly more devastating the further within she went. Oddly however, the gears and cogs that made up the machinery of her lair were all twisting and turning, endlessly churning and creeping her out slightly, that was one of her father's old tactics after all, leaving the cogs and gears on was a way of expressing the passage of time…

"Alright, whoever the hell you are come out now and I'll consider leaving you with your head still attached!" Rose shouted and then looked around for whomever had dared to enter her base while she was on vacation. _'Honestly, the nerve of some people! I can't even go relax at a nice spa for a week or two without something attacking my home!'_ Rose thought to herself while moving one step at a time and then saw the screens to her monitors were all glowing.

The chair before them was turned to them and she could see the edge of someone's head sitting within the chair… Growling low in her throat, Rose approached the chair and it turned towards her. Someone sat within the chair, silhouetted in shadow and leaving only a single eye glaring down towards her. "Who the hell are you and what are you doing in my home?" Rose demanded of the intruder and watched as he stood to his full, impressive height then folded his arms behind his back.

"Now now dear…" The familiar cold, calculating voice of a ghost echoed and Rose's sole eye suddenly widened.

"N-no… it can't be you, you're dead! You can't be here!" Rose said while the shadow raised a brow and then stalked towards her. The girl then began to shake while taking several steps back, and the man walked forward, snapped a finger and numerous lights suddenly started to come on. Soon a familiar figure was revealed and Rose dropped her swords, eye wide and her entire body shaking in pure fear as Slade stood before her, looking down at her impassively.

"Is that anyway to talk to your dear old father?" Slade questioned darkly and Rose whimpered slightly as then man suddenly lashed out, grabbing her by her throat and lifting her off the floor with one arm. Grasping the man's wrist, Rose held on for dear life as Slade chuckled lightly in his throat. "It looks like you've forgotten your place since I've been away. A mistake I'll have to rectify." Slade mused while tossing Rose to the side effortlessly and the girl watched as he then turned towards the monitors, his back turned to her.

"F-father?" Rose started to ask while Slade turned his head to look down at her impassively. "I-Is that r-really you?" She asked in a whisper and Slade chuckled lightly while turning around to face her.

"Can't you tell?" Slade asked dangerously and Rose bit her lip before slowly standing to face the man.

"M-My father always s-said n-never to t-trust only m-my eyes. Only w-what I know for a f-fact is what I should b-believe." Rose stated and Slade looked at her for a moment before his eye softened ever so slightly.

"Good girl. It looks like you haven't forgotten your training after all." Slade mused and then cupped his chin for a moment, leaving himself deep in thought.

"How are you…?" Rose started to question only for Slade to raise a hand and then turn to look at her dangerously.

"There will be time for questions later, Rose… for now, we have a job to do." Slade stated and then turned and walked over to the monitors before watching several of them. "Go get ready, I'll be waiting for you." Slade ordered and Rose quickly grabbed her swords and ran towards her room, leaving Slade to narrow his eye on several screens showing the Titans and Tartarus…

(Titans Tower…)

"So wait, Rae's birthday is today, and she didn't even tell us?" Cyborg questioned while scratching his head with a frown. He was with the others in OPS, currently an ecstatic BB was telling them all the news he'd found in the Titans mainframe, namely, that it was Raven's birthday.

"I know right! You'd think that even a chick like Raven would be happy about her big day! Especially since it's her Eighteenth B-Day at that!" BB said excitedly and Donna frowned while crossing her arms.

"Although, doesn't anyone think it was weird that Raven just scared Dr. Light to death last night then instantly came back to the tower while leaving us to deal with him?" Kid-Flash asked while looking to the other Titans and Nightwing frowned deeply. He knew Raven very well, the only person he knew of that knew her better was Naruto, and that was saying something…

"Well, maybe she just doesn't like her birthday for one reason or another." Night mused aloud while Donna nodded her head in agreement with the teen.

"Maybe she has a reason not to tell any of us about her birthday." Donna replied and BB mocked her for a moment before crossing his arms.

"When does Raven need an excuse to act weird?" BB questioned and got looks from the others for the weird comment before ignoring the green jester once more.

"Either way, it is Raven's birthday and I for one am glad she's around." Night then said and the others grinned in agreement. "However, I'm still going to have to punish you for disobeying me and heading into the restricted files in the archives BB." Night then added with a frown and BB gaped at him for a moment before groaning light. Sighing, the green jester then grinned while rubbing the back of his neck.

"Yeah I know that, but c'mon dude! To think that today of all days is Raven's birthday is just so wild don't you think? I mean sure Raven can be creepy and temperamental at times, but without her all our butts would've been toast a ton of times!" BB said with a nod of his head and Cyborg grinned as he ducked to the side and started to dig around for something.

"Yeah and I know just the thing to make this day extra special for her!" Cyborg exclaimed before holding up what appeared to be a piñata… shaped like Beast-Boy… "A piñata shaped like BB!" He exclaimed and Kid-Flash and Donna grinned while cracking their knuckles, the original gaping at what his friend has either bought or created.

"Dude! That's like so mean Cy! Why would you make something that looks like me if your just going to hit it with a stick?" BB demanded with his arms crossed over his chest and Cyborg blinked for only a moment before smiling widely.

"What, I think it's a nice way to let our frustrations out on something… especially seeing as you're the one who always frustrates us. And I know Raven would love to smack you around… even if this thing only looks like you." Cy replied while pointing at Beast Boy accusingly and the green Changeling glared at his friend heatedly. However, Starfire then flew between the two and ducked into the refrigerator before throwing out pounds upon pounds of meat… blinking for a moment, the titans watched this spectacle before pushing Nightwing over to find out what was going on. Turning to glare at his team for only a second, Night then sighed as he turned back to where Starfire was.

"Uhh… Starfire, what are you doing?" Nightwing asked while looking at the alien and she grinned widely while kicking the door to the fridge closed and turning around to face him.

"I am making the traditional Tamaranian Throknar, The Crown of Meat for friend Raven's day of birth!" Starfire supplied and all of the titans stared at the girl while Nightwing coughed into one hand as the red haired alien then began to work her hands into the meat, attempting to make it into a crown…

"Oh… okay." Night then said while turning around and rubbed his chin for a moment. "Alright, Kid-Flash I want you and Donna to put up the decorations, there should be some down in the basement…" Night ordered and both Kid-Flash and Donna saluted before going off to find the decorations. "Cyborg, you work on Raven's cake." Night ordered and the Titanium teen grinned while rubbing his chin for a moment.

"Alright! I'll make my famous eight layer cake!" He said while lunging into the kitchen and grabbed an apron and chef's hat before getting to work. Blinking and shaking his head at this, Night then slapped his face with a light groan.

"Right…" He mumbled before turning around to Beast-Boy, who eagerly awaited his orders. "Beast-Boy, you have to figure out a way to keep Raven Busy for however long it'll take us to get all this ready… or just leave her alone until we need her…" Night started to order, only to stop as he remembered how Raven was… "Uh, Never mind that first thing, instead figure out a way to lure her into Ops when we're ready for her." Night ordered and Beast-Boy clicked his heels together and saluted.

"Aye aye captain!" He said before grinning and lunged off with a snicker, Nightwing shaking his head as he did so. However, the Green Changeling didn't stay gone as he then slid back into Ops and ran over to Night. "Whoa! Dude we almost forgot to get Nar down here for her big day!" BB said and Nightwing frowned and nodded his head slowly.

"Good point… Starfire." Night admitted and then turned around to the said alien, who was now beaming towards a crown made entirely of meat. Blinking when she heard her name, the Tamaranean turned towards the leader of the Titans and tilted her head to one side in confusion.

"Yes, what do you need Friend-Nightwing?" She asked and Nightwing inwardly wondered why Starfire had to look so cute when she was confused… Shaking that thought off the former-Boy-Wonder then crossed his arms over his chest.

"Do you know Naruto's number?" He asked and Starfire frowned as she put the crown of meat down and drummed her fingers on the kitchen-counter.

"Yes… at least I think I do. I once saw Raven dial the number and it allowed her to be speaking to him." Starfire admitted and Nightwing sighed to himself for a moment before smiling at Star patiently.

"Do you remember that number?" He asked and Starfire nodded her head. "Then can you please call Naruto and tell him we're planning a party for Raven?" Night asked and Starfire frowned before nodding her head with a bright smile. "Thanks Star." Night then said and Starfire flew over to a phone while Beast-Boy rushed back down the hall to get his own plan for luring Raven into Ops started…

(Jump City…)

Naruto sits with Jinx and Duela in the park, each eating some pizza they had gotten earlier, the blond shaking his head as Duela sighs happily while munching on her pizza. Surprisingly, she wasn't dressed like a clown, or even a villain for the moment, having decided on wearing a more normal choice of dress for the time being. That being said, Naruto couldn't help but stare at the girl intently even as he slowly munched on his pizza… why? Because without all the stuff that made her look like a clown or some other villain's daughter… she had dark crimson hair, and a pair of dark amethyst eyes… just like his mother had when she was that age.

"Stare too long Temp and people might start to get ideas." Jinx suddenly stated with a frown on her face and Naruto blinked before grinning nervously.

"Sorry, just never thought that Duela looked so much like mom without all the chemicals and such she uses to look like a clown twenty-four seven…" Naruto admitted and unfortunately perked Duela's interest.

"Really? Do you have a picture of her? Maybe we're long lost siblings!" Duela asked then exclaimed and Naruto frowned before reaching into his wallet and pulled out two before handing them over to the clown girl. Looking at Kushina, Duela narrowed her eyes before raising a brow when she saw that Naruto was indeed correct, if she was a little older, she might even be a dead-ringer for the deceased woman. "Weird… but why are her eyes Yellow-Gold in this picture, but dark-violet in this one?" Duela asked, Jinx snatching the pictures from her only to see that the clown girl was correct.

"Oh that, well… my mom technically died on the day I was first born…" Naruto admitted while taking a bite of his pizzan and Jinx gaped at the blond for a moment.

"But in this picture she's holding you when your like four!" The rosette exclaimed and Naruto nodded his head silently for a moment before holding up a finger as he swallowed his bite of pizza.

"Yeah. Well according to mom a traveling medic was in the village at the time and learned of my… condition in the village. Feeling that I would need a mothers love when I was growing up, he sacrificed his own life and used some of the Chakra from within me to revive her. Unfortunately, the medic died himself and from what mom told me, her eyes were that bright "Amber-Gold" color from that day onwards. She never figured out why either, only that they were that color, and it wasn't a Kekkei-Genkai like the Sharingan or Byakkugan." Naruto explained before taking another bite of his pizza Duela making an oh with her mouth.

"Oh so she was raised from the dead and her eyes changed." Duela noted with a nod of her head and shrugged her shoulders with a bored look. "Not like I haven't seen that or weirder before." She noted and Jinx grudgingly nodded her head, Naruto wondering what that was supposed to mean before deciding it didn't matter. "Yeah, after all I was once reanimated with a Lazarus Pit by my dad, Ra's al Ghul!" The insane girl then said with a wide grin and Jinx slapped her face and Naruto snickered.

Soon noticing neither teen believed her, Duela pouted before going back to her pizza and eating it with her two friends. Eating in silence for a moment, Naruto then took his pictures back and put them into his wallet while Jinx leaned back in her seat. Frowning for a moment she then stared at Naruto and he gave her a look. "You know Temp, I've been wondering something for a while now…" The girl started to say, Naruto raising a brow as she did.

"Oh really?" The blond teen questioned and Jinx nodded her head silently for a few moments.

"Yeah, you're supposed to be a Super-Powerful Ninja Warrior and even a Sage of some kind in your world right?" She asked and Naruto nodded his head, an amused smirk across his face as he wondered how people in his world would react to him being called that… "Then how come Batman captured you, you keep getting tired, and overall, it's almost like your weaker than you should be?" Jinx asked and Naruto mentally sighed for a moment, he'd actually been wondering when someone would ask him about this…

"Do you know why Superman holds back?" Naruto asked and saw the wide-eyed look that flew across Jinx's features at his serious expression.

"So he won't kill people because he has enough strength to break the planet into pieces if he's not careful…" She said with a visible shiver and Naruto nodded his head with a slight frown on his face.

"Correct. And I do the same thing though admittedly to a lesser extent. If I used my full strength I could easily break bones with single punches, and I really don't want to kill people, so I overcompensate for it. Thus why I seem so much weaker than I probably should. Your people are much too frail for me to go all out on, hell, even Starfire and Blackfire are too frail for me to use my full power against… Dani on the other hand seems to be the closest to being able to take me on at full strength without being turned into jelly, which is why I'm training her." Naruto explained then admitted and Duela whistled while Jinx plainly stared at the boy.

"So do you think you could fight Superman one on one then?" Duela asked and got a look as if he thought she were crazy, one which she got many times, in response.

"Hell no! That guy is ridiculously powerful! You'd have to be completely out of your mind to want to fight someone who can literally tear planets apart with his bare hands! I mean yeah I'm tough but I couldn't fight that guy and come out without being severely injured!" Naruto said to the girl loudly and Jinx breathed a sigh of relief before looking at the blond for a moment.

"So how much DO you hold back in fights?" Jinx questioned casually and Naruto frowned for a moment.

"I only use about ten to fifteen Percent of my full power whenever I fight people like Batman or The Titans. I used fifty against those fucking plants, and for the Shinobi Flunkies I used about… well, somewhere around sixty to seventy percent. Although with Batman he cheated cause he used that tranquilizer shit, and it knocked me out before I could actually try to beat him…" Naruto explained then grumbled out at the end as Jinx gaped towards him while he took another bight of his pizza and munched on it.

"Wow… so what about that Sage-Mode thing?" Jinx asked and Naruto rolled his eyes for a moment before giving her a look.

"That is a trade secret, doll." He responded with a smirk and Jinx pouted lightly before all three returned to the pizza. All was silent for a few moments, before Jinx finished her pizza and swallowed it with a sigh. Looking over to Naruto, the girl then stretched her arms and wrapped them behind her neck to lean back.

"So Temp, you don't really talk to any of us about yourself that much… how come?" Jinx noted while looking at her blond-haired leader and Naruto shrugged his shoulders and crossed his legs.

"Yeah well I've never really thought it'd be a good idea to do so before. If not because of factions of villains I know would try to use it against me, then because a majority of our team can't keep a secret to save their lives…" Naruto noted before looking to Duela, Jinx mentally agreeing while the out of disguise clown-girl munched happily on her pizza while humming a strange little tune to herself…

"Isn't that the same tune from Fooly Cooly?" Jinx asked the insane girl flatly and Duela grinned widely.

"Yep! I just love Haruhara Haruko! She rocks!" Duela exclaimed before staring at Naruto intently for a few moments.

"What?" Naruto asked and Duela grinned.

"Haruko and Naruto, your names sound similar!" Duela stated and Naruto gave the girl a flat look as Jinx snickered to herself.

"Yeah…" Naruto said flatly while Duela then reached back and pulled the Bass-Guitar she'd pilfered from… somewhere… "Honestly how does she do that?" Naruto wondered while scratching his head and Jinx let out a soft sigh.

"How does Harley-Quinn do that with her mallet?" She questioned in retort and Naruto blinked before conceding the rosettes point.

"Oh that's easy! Hammer Space!" Duela exclaimed with a raised arm holding up the blue bass into the air…

"Hammer Space?" Naruto questioned of Jinx and the girl reached up to pinch the bridge of her nose.

"It's supposed to be the empty pocket dimension behind a Cartoon Characters back where the pull all there stuff from…" Jinx explained with a frown before glaring at Duela as she started to strum on the strings of the bass. "And by the way Duela, Hammer-Space doesn't exist in the real world…" Jinx stated and Duela raised a brow before giving the rosette a flat look in response.

"Oh really?" She asked and then stood up, walked to the side and turned all around. "Nothing behind my back!" She said and slipped the guitar behind her back before turning once more, the guitar having vanished. "Presto!" She exclaimed with a grin and Naruto looked more than a little surprised while Jinx gaped.

"How in the high hell did you do that?" She demanded and Duela reached up and made a zipping motion over her lips, turned her hand as if locking something, and threw her hand back as if throwing a key away. _'Thanks for lending me that trick with Hammer Space Mr. Author dude! I've always wanted to do that!'_ Duela thought towards the "Author" of the supposedly fictional story she was a part of.

As he ate his pizza, Naruto watch an annoyed Jinx frisk Duela, idly enjoying the show he then blinked as his communicator started to beep. Reaching into his pants he pulled out the yellow device, while Jinx was checking behind Duela for some sort of short-range teleportation device or something similar. _'It's a good thing we're pretty far in the park or we might get arrested for this… heh!'_ Naruto thought and snickered at the idea of getting arrested for this, rather than the dozen other things they'd done… "Yo." Naruto said while activating the communicator and heard an annoyed Gizmo reply.

"Hey Temp… You got a call coming in from Titans Tower on the line. Want me to patch it through to your communicator?" The Tiny terror questioned and Naruto raised a brow, wondering why Raven would call him today of all days.

"Sure, Giz." Naruto finally said while looking back to Jinx and Duela, where the rosette was now actually removing a sizable portion of Duela's clothes to figure out what she did with the bass guitar… _'Ugh… and with Duela looking so much like my mom today… that is so not the image I needed in my head!'_ The blond thought to himself with a grimace while rubbing his face and then finally heard the link up on the communicator go through. "Hello?" Naruto asked while leaning into the receiver and blinked when he didn't hear Raven answer.

"Oh! I was right, this was the right number. Thank you for answering Friend Raven's Friend who is a boy." Starfire answered and Naruto blinked for a moment before placing an arm onto the back of his seat. _'Okay… since when does Starfire call me?'_ The blond had to wonder before voicing his confusion and ignoring whatever Jinx and Duela were doing, which was probably for the best at this point.

"Starfire… why are you calling me?" Naruto asked the girl with a frown and the alien princess chuckled nervously.

"Please forgive me, I know that we are not, as you would say, close, but I was hoping that you may wish to come to a surprise day of birth party we are planning for Friend Raven." Starfire replied and Naruto grimaced slightly, he knew of Raven's "Problem" with her birthday after all…

"I'm really not so sure that a birthday party is such a good idea Starfire." Naruto told the alien princess with a worried look across his face and Starfire blinked on her end of the line.

"Why is that?" She asked the blond haired teen in confusion and Naruto scratched his head for a moment.

"Lets just say she really doesn't like her birthday and leave it at that…" Naruto replied with a frown, seeing as he hated his birthday even more than Raven did, and that was actually saying something. Though in his defense, his mother died, twice if he was specific, on that day and it only held bad memories for him…

"That may be, but we are very glad that we have friend Raven around and wish to celebrate the day of her birth." Starfire replied happily and Naruto blinked before frowning as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yeah I'm glad she's alive too Starfire, but she really doesn't like her birthday. The best thing you could do is to let her be, and not bother her today." Naruto told the alien girl while looking over to see Jinx was sitting down again, an amused Duela fixing her clothes as his pale friends cheeks looked noticeably redder than normal. _'I don't want to know, I really don't want to know…'_ The blond thought to himself with a grimace, mentally willing any perverted images to burn away…

"But please Naruto, we wish for Friend-Raven's friend who is a boy to come to see her on her day of birth at her party of surprise." Starfire pleaded and Naruto sighed while reaching up to rub his face for a few moments. Drumming his finger onto his bicep for a moment, Naruto considered going with this idea, especially seeing as he was more than happy that Raven was alive…

"Alright… I'll come. But don't blame me when she gets pissed off cause you guys decided to throw her a surprise party. And when she does, which she will, I will blame you guys." Naruto finally conceded then stated with a frown and Starfire squealed with joy. Bringing the communicator away from his ear, Naruto cleared it with a finger and sighed before bringing it back to his ear.

"Oh thank you very, very much Naruto! I am most certain that if nothing else, Friend Raven would be most mirthful to see you on her day of birth!" Starfire said happily and the blond wondered why he had a bad feeling about this…

"Yeah, so when should I come around for the party?" Naruto asked the red haired girl and Starfire blinked on her end. Nearby, Jinx looked more than a little put-off by that, while Duela was amusing herself by staring at the clouds…

"Friend Nightwing, when should Naruto come to the party of surprise?" Starfire asked her friend on the other end of the line and Naruto shook his head as he awaited her answer… "Friend Nightwing says that we should be ready by Six-o'clock in the PM." Starfire replied and Naruto silently looked at a clock on the communicator and hummed to himself for a moment.

"Alright Star, I'll swing by around that time, but I feel I must reiterate in saying this is a bad idea." Naruto said to the girl with a slow shake of his head and Starfire thanked him before hanging up the phone. Sighing, Naruto closed his Communicator and stuck it back into his pocket before rubbing his face and looked to Jinx and Duela, the rosette looking at him flatly…

"So what next temp?" She questioned while trying not to sound bitter and Naruto wondered why she sounded so annoyed.

"Well… the Titans want me to come to a "Surprise Party" for Raven's Birthday tonight… which will end badly I'm sure. So until then we can do whatever." Naruto replied and Jinx thought for a moment before she wondered something to herself.

"Speaking of Birthday's when's yours Temp?" Jinx asked and Naruto gave her a look before sighing to himself.

"I'll be nineteen on October Tenth…" He admitted with a frown and Jinx stared at him for a few moments. "What?" The blond questioned of the pink haired girl and Jinx shook her head for a moment.

"Gizmo told me you were seventeen…" She admitted with a raised brow and Naruto smirked despite himself.

"Yeah well since I've never celebrated my birthday before Gizmo probably just guessed I was that old… and I just didn't care to correct him seeing as I really don't care about my birthday…" Naruto explained and Duela cocked her head to one side as she looked out at nothing.

"Why do you not celebrate your own birthday? I mean, cake and presents with you as the star of the show, that sounds like something you'd enjoy." She wondered while ticking off fingers at the list and Jinx scowled deeply while turning to the red head.

"In case you've forgotten Duela, he said his mother DIED on his birthday, twice!" Jinx growled out and Duela made an Oh with her mouth while Jinx let out a breath. "Seriously though Temp, how did you not go insane from that?" Jinx asked and Naruto scratched one cheek with a slight look. "Temp?" Jinx asked with narrowed eyes on the blond and Duela looked on with interest.

"Uhh… well let's just say you really REALLY don't wanna know and leave it at that." Naruto then said and Jinx decided it would be best to let it go, if he wanted to tell her he eventually would. Afterwards, the three sat in a comfortable silence only for Duela to hop up and lean over Jinx with a grin.

"Lets go see a movie!" She exclaimed and Naruto raised a brow.

"Got one in mind?" The blond asked and Duela nodded her head.

"Lets go see a comedy!" She stated and Naruto blinked while Jinx blinked before glaring at the redhead angrily.

"Hell no!" Jinx shouted, Duela pouting and glaring at her when she did. The girls then got into an argument about the movie with Naruto mentally groaning and closing his eyes, willing himself to fall asleep as Jinx argued with their crazy friend…

(Later…)

Raven sits in her room, the door is locked, her blinds closed, and the only light is from a bedside lamp. The violet haired girl was sitting cross-legged on her bed, a frown on her face as she glared down at a clock before her. The old wind up alarm clock slowly ticks around, soon landing on Six-O'Clock, the girl sighing as it does so. "Six PM. Just six more hours and it'll be over. Six more…" Raven said to herself while falling back on her bed, bringing the clock with her, only for the sound of someone knocking on her door to interrupt her thoughts.

The Knocking briefly startles the girl, causing her to quickly stand up and look around. "Hello?" Raven questions of the door, however no one answers and she then put her clock down before tiredly walking over to the door. Opening the door half way to peek out into the hall, Raven worriedly notes nothing is out there… Slowly she opened the door all the wall and made her way around the hall. _'There has to be a rational explanation for this… I hope…'_ Raven thought to herself as she slowly approached the OPS Center of the tower.

However, the tower is dark, everything is quite, something that was unusually with her home, and even worse, all was still everywhere around her… _'I've got a bad feeling about this…'_ Raven thought to herself while the door to OPS slowly opened to reveal a completely dark room… As she does the lights blaze on, a "Happy Birthday!" banner visible in the background, and all of the Titans jump up.

"Surprise!" They all cheer at once, Raven shrieking before fading out of existence, Naruto sighing for a moment while shaking his head.

"Um… Raven?" Cyborg asked while looking around for the pale girl.

"It is merely us, your friends, with warm wishes for the day of your birth…" Starfire added while looking around for the girl, Nightwing pinching the bridge of his nose while Naruto grunted from the side.

"I told you all this was a bad idea…" The blond said from the side where he was leaning into the counter of the Titans kitchen.

"Dude… we didn't think you were serious." BB admitted even as a familiar black portal opened behind him, Raven rising up with a scowl on her face.

"Oh really?" She asked flatly, BB yelping before ducking behind Cyborg as she crossed her arms. "And just how did you know it was my birthday?" Raven demanded before giving an accusing glance to Naruto who held up his hands.

"Hey don't look at me Kara-Chan, this was all their idea… and like I told them earlier, I blame them." Naruto stated and Raven heard no lies thus turned to glare at her teammates, BB grinning nervously as he stuck his head out from behind Cyborg.

"Um… 'member last night how you made that big deal about tomorrow? Well, we started wondering what tomorrow was, so we did some snooping." Beast-Boy started to explain only to get scathing glares from the other Titans. Grinning nervously once more, the teen rubbed the back of his neck before continuing. "Okay, _I_ did some snooping." He then admitted and Raven continued to stare at him ominously. "And I sorta found a restricted file in the off-limits area of the Titans' computer that kinda had your birthday on it." BB finished with a nervous chuckle and Starfire popped up in front of Raven with a wide smile on her face.

"And we have been preparing your celebration ever since!" The Tammeranian called out Cheerfully while BB slid over to stand next to his pale teammate.

"We put up tons of decorations." BB said while waving around the room and Raven's left eye visibly twitched. Cyborg then popped up at the side, wearing a chef's hat and holding a covered dish in hand.

"I baked my famous eight-layer cake with three kinds of frosting!" The Titanium teen says while unveiling the cake to all, eighteen candles placed onto the top of it with the thing being nearly half the size of a person with a multitude of different frostings… As he held it up, Naruto looked at the "Death by Sugar" as far as he was concerned with an annoyed glare and Starfire slid up next to her friend.

"And I have assembled for you a traditional Tamaranean throknar!" Starfire exclaimed while holding up something that vaguely looked like a crown resting on a pillow… "The crown of meat!" Starfire finished with a wide smile and Raven twitched even as Kid-Flash zipped over with one arm on her shoulder.

"Yeah, not to mention we even called you Boy-Friend over to make the day extra special for you." KF finished with a smirk, Raven narrowing her eyes before moving his arm off her shoulder as Nightwing and Donna looked to her worriedly.

"I hope this is okay. We just…" Night started to say uncertainly only for Raven to interrupt him.

"No. It's not." Raven stated icily while glaring at him and Donna, the amazon wondering why she could make hardened warriors shake with a look. "Look. I really appreciate what you're trying to do here…" Raven started to say while looking to the others, and then settled on Night while crossing her arms. "…but I'm not interested." She started before making her way towards the door, only for Starfire to get in her way.

"But…there will be music and the iced cream, and a strange game involving pins and the behind of a donkey." Star said while trying to convince her friend to give the party a chance and Raven twitched once more. However, Cy then came from the side with a grin and something put behind his back.

"Aw c'mon Rae…. We got a piñata shaped like Beast Boy." Cy said while dangling the item before Raven who blinked. "You know you want to smack it." He said and for a brief moment, she actually considered allowing the party, if for nothing else then so she could smash that thing into a million pieces and not feel bad about it… the almost evil look from Naruto onto the Piñata seemed to say he agreed, as did Donna and Kid-Flash's looks. However she then shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I said no." Raven said with conviction, Naruto pouting as he realized his chance to beat the piñata was taken from him. However the real BB then sidled up next to Raven with a grin on his face.

"Come on, Raven. I know you hate fun, but it's your birthday. It's special." BB tried to say and Raven felt her shoulders tense while she grit her teeth slightly. "You can't let this day end without…" BB started to finish only for Raven to whirl around on him her eyes glowing a fierce blood red.

"NO!" She shouted loudly, her powers flaring as the decorations, balloons, banner, and refreshments either melting, or exploding as she did so. Naruto however casually held up a hand, catching a bowel of potato chips as they flew into the air and smirked to himself.

"Nice, I was getting kinda hungry…" He noted quietly before taking one or two out and munching on them as he walked over to Raven. Taking hold of her arm he then looked to a wide-eyed Nightwing. "Yo, Bird-Brain do you mind if I take Kara-Chan out with me to clear her head?" Naruto questioned and Nightwing blinked before shaking his head slowly, the blond teen shouldering passed the others to lead Raven out the door.

"I told you a surprise party was a bad idea." Beast-Boy finally says as Naruto and Raven walk out of earshot, only to get whacked on the back of his head by Cyborg.

"Shut up B…" He started flatly and then sighed as he went to start the cleanup.

Meanwhile, down the hall, Raven is giving Naruto a look as he leads he towards the elevator of the Tower. "I want to be…" Raven started to say only for Naruto to put a chip in her mouth with a smirk across his face.

"Alone? Yeah well I know, but I think you can do with some fresh air than you can with being alone." Naruto stated and Raven gave him a look, even as she absently munched on the chip in her mouth, and then swallowed.

"Have something in mind?" She asked flatly and Naruto rubbed his chin for a moment before smirking lightly.

"How about a walk in the park." Naruto offered the girl and then saw Raven's annoyed look. "Or better yet, we could head out to the forest outside of Jump and enjoy the unspoiled splendors and solitude of nature." Naruto then mused aloud with a smirk and Raven blinked before crossing her arms.

"Fine…" She grumbled only to blush when Naruto placed a hand onto her hip and pulled her into his side. "Is this really necessary?" She asked him flatly and Naruto took a mock thoughtful look for a moment before nodding his head. "Then why are you bringing those chips?" Raven then asked him and a smirk crossed his face.

"Because I'm hungry of course." Naruto replied with a sly smirk across his face, Raven raising a brow before rolling her eyes. Leaning into Naruto's side as they walked out of the Tower, Raven decided this wasn't such a bad way to spend her least favorite day of the year…

(?)

Slade leaned back as he finished the last reel of footage of The Titans and Tartarus… The Titans tactics had remained almost the same, though the addition of Kid-Flash and Wondergirl would be a problem to deal with, well at least if he were still… normal. Though he paid more attention to the newly renamed Nightwing on the Titans Team for obvious reasons. _'It's about time he got a better name, and his skills have improved as well…'_ The man thought to himself for a moment before his eyes wandered over to the whole of Tartarus and its rather large crew.

Tartarus unlike The Titans, were more a mercenary group, something he himself was once a part of. Though clearly they hadn't managed to get their name out into the world in order for jobs to come in yet. _'Perhaps I could help with that…'_ Slade noted to himself before taking a look at the individual members of Tartarus starting off with "Dani Phantom" AKA Rei. She was going to be more of a problem than he liked to admit. She had power over fire, had super strength speed and agility, could fly, her body could become intangible or even transparent, some moderately high transformation abilities, high endurance, a natural ability to shape objects out of her energy, and of course a heightened heal factor.

'_Annoyingly powerful and only getting stronger with age… though her inexperience will be her downfall.'_ Slade noted before turning to look at Blackfire and mentally frowned. This girl was almost identical to Starfire in her skills, however her powers were more refined and thereby more potent, added to this was her experience in combat, making her by far a more deadly opponent than her little sister. _'This one merits further study…'_ Slade noted to himself before looking over most of the rest of Tartarus, most of which he had already been aware of thanks to files from the HIVE, such as Mammoth, Gizmo, Jinx, Seemore, Private-HIVE, Billy-Numerous, and even Kid-Wykkyd.

'_Wait a minute… I know her…'_ Slade suddenly thought while his eye twitched as he saw Duela on the screen. _'Ugh… why in god's name did she have to be on that team, of all people it had to be her…'_ The man inwardly grumbled as his eye twitched memories of a brief encounter with Duela echoing in the back of his mind. Getting back to it, Slade inwardly remembered that Duela had a plethora of gadgets and weapons from a portion of Gotham's villains.

All and all the man thought he'd need to get seriously drunk if he ever actually tried to fight against Duela again, especially since the girl was just that wacky and insane… Then, Slade came to the most interesting member of Tartarus, Red-X, AKA Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto. _'Someone who knows how to push Nightwing's buttons better than me…'_ Slade noted to himself while lightly drumming his fingers on the armrest of his chair.

Red-X was an odd one, he clearly had the power to kill off every Titan, yet chose not to and instead dated his enemy Raven. He also had no real interest in villainy, and seemed only to attack the Titans for the sake of humiliating them, though especially liked to do so to Nightwing. X also tended to use the features of his Suit over his natural abilities, though admittedly he would most likely kill anyone he hit with even the weakest of his natural attacks… _'A living contradiction that one… though, I do have a message for him as well as dear Raven.'_ Slade mused to himself as he then laced his fingers together while gazing at his screens intently.

"Such an interesting enemy the Titans have now…" Slade mused to himself while leaning into his right fist with a dark look in his cold slate grey eye.

"F-father?" Roses voice came from behind him and Slade swiveled his chair around, fingers laced together as he gazed at the girl coldly. He only idly noticed she'd switched the blue mask she used to wear for one oddly similar to the one he wore… which was strange… and that she seemed nearly terrified of him, though that wasn't so strange. "W-when should we begin?" Rose questioned quietly and Slade closed his eyes, and then took a thoughtful expression as he sat back.

A few mere seconds later, a bright red S shaped symbol formed on his brow, only to vanish as his eyes opened. "We attack now to lure out the Titans. I've learned all I needed to know about our enemies and their new abilities and allies since I've been away." Slade replied coldly while getting out of his chair and walked passed Rose. "Come dear, we have work to do." Slade then stated as he made his way out of the base. Blinking for only a moment, Rose then followed after her father warily, wondering what forces had brought the man back from the grave.

TBC…

AN: Sorry for the long wait, been working on my other stories recently and wasn't able to work on this one, but here's the next chapter. Until next time readers and reviewers, I have to say, Ciao!


	47. Birthmark Pt2

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

**Chapter 46**: **Birthmark Pt. 2**…

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

(Tartarus HQ…)

"So you're absolutely sure that it's not just her period or something?" Duela asked Gizmo as she and Jinx sat in the infirmary, Dani's skin having gone from pale-blue to a slight grayish color like Jinx's…

"Yeah I'm sure! If all this shit was her period, believe me we'd be able to tell!" Gizmo shouted at Duela, the red haired clown girl back in her normal Clownish form while Jinx sat beside of a conscious Dani.

"Ugh… I wish someone would just kill me now and get it over with…" Dani muttered, her voice horse and harsh, though Jinx noted she was also taller again. This time, Dani was up to a little over her chin in height, and considering she looked like and could easily pass as a twelve year old before, that was saying something!

"We're not going to kill you, Dani… though I wish I knew why you keep getting bigger…" Jinx stated, then admitted when Gizmo suddenly shot up, his eyes wide when he raised a hand with a wide grin.

"Eureka!" He exclaimed and got looks from the girls in the room. Blinking at the looks the Tiny-Terror crossed his arms over his chest with a scowl on his face. "What, I've always wanted to say that!" The bald-genius shouted at them and then muttered under his breath while Dani groaned, her hair turning white and her eyes turning red yet again.

"Just tell us what you figured out…" She pleaded and Gizmo nodded his head for a moment before clearing his throat.

"Alright, everyone knows how a Human develops over time. They go from infant, to child, to teen, to adult, to elder. Right?" Gizmo questioned and got nods from the girls as they gazed at him quietly. "Good then we're on the same page. Now then, how do Ghosts develop?" Gizmo questioned and got blank looks from the girls, basically saying that they didn't know. "Exactly! We don't know. What little I know is that the equivalent to a Baby for a Ghost is Raw-Ectoplasm!" Gizmo explained and then turned and started to type rapidly on a computer, creating a silhouette of Dani with her arms outstretched on the computer's screen.

"Now then, Dani is two thirds ghost, which means only a third of her is human. Now then, Dani, you said you've melted completely once before, correct?" Gizmo questioned and Dani shivered before nodding her head. "Alright, what if that was your equivalent to going through the first stage of Ghost development, and if that's the case, then your current stage might be the child-stage for Ghosts developing into what is probably a Teenage state for Ghosts." Gizmo reasoned while changing the Silhouette to show a green fluid inside of Dani.

"So wait, if that's the case why is it only happening now?" Jinx wondered aloud and Gizmo frowned for a moment before snapping his fingers.

"Due to their nature, Ghosts probably develop at a significantly reduced rate than humans, meaning a full grown ghost would probably be in its hundreds, while a teenage ghost could be a couple decades old. Since Dani is only a third human, her Biology must go by her Ghostly-Life-Cycle rather than a human one, unlike Danny-Phantom himself who clearly goes by his Human-Lifecycle, meaning she'll probably be alive long after we're all dead, and will most likely still be young and beautiful to boot…" Gizmo reasoned and Duela narrowed her eyes for a moment before nodding her head slowly.

"So basically, Dani's hit the stage in her Ghostly lifecycle where she'll grow into her teenaged form." Duela summarized and Gizmo nodded his head while Dani groaned lightly while rubbing her temples for a moment.

"So… what's with all the vomit?" Dani asked in a low rasp while grasping at her throat uncomfortably.

"Like I explained to Temp, your body is producing more Ectoplasm than it needs and is thus creating a runoff of residue in your throat and lungs. Thus as a direct result, your body is thereby compensating by having you release the excess waist in the form of "Vomit". Now if my theory is correct then the reason your producing too much power is because your body is adapting and changing into a more teenage frame." Gizmo explained and Dani sighed for a moment before leaning into Jinx, the rosette rubbing the girls hair before taking her hand away as it suddenly turned into fire.

"Great… my head hurts, I don't know my own body, my powers are acting weird, and to top it all off, my voice is changing…" Dani grumbled before grabbing a bucket and hurling into it as Jinx moved her bangs out of her face while her ponytail remained as flames for some reason. Moving back up when she had unloaded another batch of Ectoplasmic residue, Dani groaned in her throat in disgust. "Ugh… its like _**Evil**_-Puberty!" Dani complained loudly and the others decided not to comment on that while the young Ghostling girl rubbed her throat.

"So, do you even know how long this is going to last Giz?" Jinx asked and the Tiny Terror shrugged his shoulders with a frown.

"I can deduce the cause, but this is biology for a radically different species… its not like I can take a computer and look it up or something." Gizmo reminds and Jinx gives the tiny-terror that much before a look suddenly crosses Dani's features. "Shit, hit the deck!" Gizmo said quickly and everyone ducked as Dani sneezed and a jet of white flames flew from her lips. Groaning lightly, the girl then fell back as she let out a low groan and Gizmo huffed.

"However, given how quick she's growing thus far, I'll guess and say that this should only last a week, two tops…" Gizmo then mused aloud while Dani hiccupped and wrapped her arms around her waist.

"Then why are my eyes red?" She questioned and Gizmo gave her a flat look.

"How many times do I have to say I don't know before you'll listen snot-rag?" Gizmo demanded and Dani growled lowly while glaring at him furiously.

"Your so lucky I'm strapped down you damned midget!" Dani shot back, Gizmo blinking before his eyes took on a furious light.

"Oh yeah bitch! Bring it on!" Gizmo shouted back only for Jinx to snap her fingers, the Tiny-Terror yelping as his chair snapped under him and he fell to the ground.

"Enough fighting already." Jinx ordered and both glared at one another once more before turning from one another. "Now then, Dani, I'm going to get you something to eat, got any requests?" Jinx asked and Dani blinked before looking towards her feet.

"Mint Icecream… with chocolate chips?" She asked while poking her index fingers together and Jinx shook her head with a small smile before agreeing with the girl. Jinx then got up to head to the kitchen while Duela stayed behind for only a moment before snickering to herself as she walked out of the room as well to do only she knew what until she made her next appearance…

(Forest Outside Jump-City…)

Of the many things she had done in her life, sit in a forest to relax was not one of them, but she was actually starting to like it. Which is why she was currently reclining on a tree-branch, eyes closed, and a small smile on her lips. _'I really need to come out here more often…'_ Raven inwardly decided, her cloak, boots, and belt all left on the ground, more so she wouldn't damage any of them more than anything else. Her armor however was left as it was on her person, though she did inwardly wish Naruto had brought her out here when it was earlier.

Said blond was currently climbing trees, his way at least, while Raven opened an eye to see him in pants, black undershirt, and belt only with a smile on his face. He, unlike her, preferred less clothing more for movement than to keep his stuff from being destroyed. _'Not that I'm complaining…'_ Raven inwardly thought before closing her eye once more and letting off a contented sigh as she felt her eyes slowly closed and she started to breathe in and out lightly…

However, her light breathing is suddenly interrupted by a cough, the cough getting worse while she opens her eyes. Raven gasps as she looks all around as a low rumble sounds around her and the ground starts to shake. Suddenly, the entire forest is consumed in fire, the initial burst of smoke causing her to gag before clutching at her throat. Looking around as the initial burst passes, Raven can't see Naruto anywhere, instead she sees only the flames, roaring and burning all in their path while somehow leaving her and her perch unaffected.

"**What you have concealed, you shall become. You have no other choice. Your destiny will be fulfilled."** A deep gravily voice echoed from all around and Raven's eyes widened while some of the flames twisted around, flowing into the air. Raven watches on in muted terror as the flames soon form into a stylized S shape, four blood red eyes opening behind them. **"The portal must be opened!"** The same deep evil voice boomed while Raven shook her head before letting out a loud cry.

"NOOOOO!" As she let out the cry, a flash of light passed before her eyes, drawing her out of her nightmare as a voice reached her ears…

"Kara-Chan!" Naruto's voice suddenly came and Raven's eyes bolted open before looking around quickly. The forest was no longer on fire, all was as it should be, and save that she seemed to have fallen from her perch, now resting in Naruto's arms with her arms wrapped around his neck and letting out several panting breaths. "Jeez, don't scare me like that, Kara-Chan. If I wasn't as fast as I am, you could've been seriously hurt…" Naruto said with a relieved sigh and Raven let out a light shuddering breath before sitting up. "What happened?" Naruto asked and the violet-eyed girl shivered once more before looking down for a moment.

"N-Nothing…" She lied and Naruto stared for a moment, before deciding not to press the issue as he pulled her into a hug.

"You going to be okay?" He asked and Raven was silent this time, unsure of how she should answer. "C'mon, lets go someplace else." Naruto suggested, Raven mutely allowing him to pick her up and carry her away. Leaning her head into Naruto's shoulder, Raven did all she could to block out her vision, but a tiny twinge of fear still managed to worm its way into her, even in the safety of Naruto's arms.

"Where are we going?" Raven suddenly asked meekly, Naruto frowning at the tone before smiling warmly to the girl.

"Anywhere people can't find us." Naruto replied and Raven blinked for a moment before leaning her head back into his shoulder.

"I'd like that right now…" Raven admitted softly and Naruto smiled inwardly before looking around and stopped. Clicking his tongue, Naruto looked to Raven as she stared at nothing and then smirked slightly.

"Do you have a bathing suit?" He asked the violet-eyed girl in his arms, Raven blinking as he caught her off guard.

"Wha…?" Raven asked in reply and Naruto grinned slightly in response.

"I asked if you had a Bathing-Suit, Kara-Chan." He repeated and Raven raised a brow in question for a moment. "Well, I figure you don't want to get your clothes wet in the lake, so…" Naruto left hanging and Raven turned her heard, only to widen her eyes as she saw the said lake, the pale light of the moon giving it an almost ethereal glow…

"I didn't know there was a lake out here…" She whispered mostly to herself and Naruto chuckled lightly.

"Which is why I asked if you have a bathing suit." Naruto then supplied and Raven nodded his head before taping him on the shoulder lightly. Looking to his girlfriend with a raised brow, Naruto then tilted his head.

"Put me down." She ordered and Naruto did as bade, the dark-Titana then breathing out before holding out her arms. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" She stated and a black field formed around her for a moment before suddenly dispersing. Blinking, Naruto then whistled when he saw Raven in a simple black Bikini of all things. "You like it?" The girl asked uncertainly while turning slightly and looking down at herself and Naruto rolled his eyes for a moment.

"Of course I do. What's not to like?" Naruto replied, Raven releasing a relieved sighs before Naruto looked around. "Where'd your costume go?" He asked and Raven stretched out her arms for a moment before answering.

"I sent them to the rest of my clothes…" She replied in her usual monotone voice and Naruto slowly nodded his head.

"Nice. And by the way, did Starfire pick that out for you or something?" Naruto then asked and saw Raven blink before looking at him curiously.

"Why?" She asked softly and Naruto took a mock thoughtful expression.

"Because a Bikini just don't seem like your style, Kara-Chan." Naruto replied seriously, and the blush on Raven's cheeks confirmed his suspicion.

"Yeah… Starfire really needs to stop buying me clothes she'd wear…" Raven said mostly to herself before crossing her arms. "And you?" She asked and Naruto rolled his eyes, took off his shirt and pants, and then back flipped into the water in his boxers. Shaking her head, Raven walked forward and looked down into the water as Naruto came back up, his spiky locks matted down by the water. "So, you're going to wear your boxers?" She asked him simply and the blond haired Ex-Shinobi shrugged his shoulders.

"Yeah well, I mean it's not like I'm going to head all the way back to the base just for a pair of trunks." Naruto replied and then stretched his arms out while falling back into the water with a smile, Raven sitting on the bank and letting her legs get wet while she stared at the reflection of the moon. Seeing this, a slim frown crossed over Naruto's features before swimming over to her and placed his arms on the bank beside her.

"Is something bothering you?" The blond questioned and Raven looked to her hands before shaking her head.

"No… I mean… I'm fine, Naruto…" She finally said and Naruto could tell she was lying to him yet again, but decided not to press the issue; instead, he got out of the water and then moved around behind her and started to rub down on her shoulders. Feeling the tension and knots in her shoulders and back, the blond frowned before a smirk crossed his lips.

"Man your tense, Kara-Chan… you really need to relax more often." Naruto noted to himself as he inwardly snickered and started to mold his chakra. _'Lets see if Ero-Sennin was right…'_ He thought with a mental snicker before channeling Chakra to his hands, then forming his lightning / wind affinities together. The reaction to this from Raven was a wide-eyed gaping look, before suddenly becoming boneless as she nearly melted on the spot, a dopey smile on her face.

"H-how are you d-doing that?" Raven questioned with a light groan while Naruto snickered to himself.

"Some types of Elemental Chakra have slight healing properties when used at low levels. Fire can warm a person and help relieve tension when used at low levels, Wind swirls and thereby rubs and relaxes muscles easily, and Lightning causes this really nice tingling feeling when used at low levels. If you know enough about Chakra Shaping, Manipulation, and Chakra Flow its one of the easiest forms of Jutsu to use." Naruto explained while Raven swayed from side to side, still smiling to herself while her brain was in a haze…

"So since my primary expertise is in Chakra Shaping, Manipulation, and Chakra Flow, I'm using my lightning and wind affinities together on your shoulders. Ero-Sennin said it's the best combination ever unless you also have Fire, and cursed me out because he didn't have either affinity and only had Fire…" Naruto explained with a smirk on his face, Raven's only response was a moan as she fell forward, Naruto catching her around the stomach with one arm.

Picking up Raven as he did, Naruto walked over to a sturdy boulder and let Raven lean on it as he went back to his massage, his girlfriend nearly purring in delight. Stretching out like a cat, in a similar way to Jinx no less, Raven then crossed her arms and laid her head on them. "Why haven't you ever tried this before?" Raven asked the blond haired teen quietly and Naruto smirked while continuing his ministrations.

"You mean besides the fact you're always in that leotard of yours and this only works on skin to skin, or we're a bit too busy doing other things when your not…" Naruto reminded the girl and Raven merely cooed as he moved down her back and spine, the girl more relaxed now than after three secessions of meditating.

"Remind me to strip more often so you can do this…" Raven mumbled dumbly and Naruto blinked before instantly agreeing with her. _'Heh, Ero-Sennin, I know I called you a liar before, but you were right!'_ Naruto thought and could almost swear that he heard an "I told you so!" from the long deceased Sannin for a moment before shrugging it off as his mind playing tricks on him. Naruto then silently returned to treating his girlfriend to the message, leaving her as a boneless mass while he worked a knot out of her back and then sighed while looking up to the stars.

"I love being able to see the Stars for once…" Naruto noted and Raven tilted her eyes up and made a sound to the affirmative, most of her higher brain functions having already shut down. Shaking her head afterwards, Raven then opened her eyes and looked to the stars, a smile crossing her features.

"Back on Azarath, we could always see the stars at night… even with all the lights of our city on…" Raven noted and Naruto looked down to her before smiling slightly as he gazed up at the stars once more, then saw one shoot by.

"Same for me back home, but that's because we didn't have all the artificial lighting like you guys do here." Naruto replied and Raven nodded her head, well aware of Human's need for modern conveniences, though if given the chance she could live well without a majority of them… "So when do you think bird-brain will call?" Naruto suddenly wondered aloud and Raven took a thoughtful look for a brief moment.

"When its most inopportune." She replied and Naruto nodded in agreement with the girl before smirking mischievously. "I know that look…" Raven said only to stop talking and melt into a kiss from Naruto as he captured her lips, both staying silent before they heard her Titans-Communicator go off. Hearing it, Naruto sighed before moving his hands off of Raven, annoying her greatly. "I swear to Azar, I'm going to kill him!" Raven growled out and slowly got up before making her way over to her clothes and fished out her communicator. "What?" Raven snapped and Naruto crossed his arms behind his neck as he saw Raven scowl deeply.

"Something tells me her day off is now officially over…" Naruto mumbled out and saw Raven twitch before taking several deep breaths.

"Fine. I'll be there as soon as I can… Raven, Out…" She grumbled out bitterly before closing the communicator and held out her arms. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" She stated her costume forming back over her body while Naruto figured she transported her bathing suit back home. "Looks like relaxing in the forest will have to wait for another day…" Raven mused while Naruto frowned and then focused some Lightning and Wind Chakra, using it to dry himself off near instantly.

"Honestly Naruto, is there nothing you can't do with your Chakra?" Raven asked the blond with her arms crossed over her chest, Naruto taking a mock thoughtful look before grinning.

"When I think of something, I'll tell you." He replied with a grin, Raven rolling her eyes for a moment while Naruto cleared his throat. "So, would you mind if I came with you, Kara-Chan?" Naruto questioned and Raven gave him a look before taking a thoughtful expression.

"Your going to kill whatever villain attacked aren't you…" Raven stated flatly while Naruto popped his knuckles as his answer. "Fine." She allowed while Naruto grinned and started to get dressed…

(Jump-City…)

The Titans find themselves walking deep inside of a building, soon coming down below street level, Cyborg confidently walking forward. The interior of the underground room is odd however, pistons pumping to the left and right, the floor made up of a series of catwalks, and levels of piping below that. "So, who's the bad guy du jour? Gizmo? Mad Mod? Killer Moth?" Cyborg listed and got a look from BB at the last bad-guy he listed as the Green Jester had gotten to know Killer-Moth, and he wasn't such a bad guy really… insane yes, bad, well… yeah he was bad but…

"The report simply stated there was an intruder." Starfire cut in for the others and Kid-Flash smirked his usually arrogant smile.

"Well, whoever it is, we're gonna totally kick their…" He started to say only to bump into a wide-eyed Nightwing as he stared forward.

"No." The horrified voice of Nightwing whispered while looking towards a shadowed figure. Following their leaders gaze, the other Titans gaped in astonishment, Beast-Boy gasping in surprise, while Kid-Flash and Donna, both of which looked at the "new" villain warily. The man was leaning back into a pillar, one booted foot placed on a raised platform while the other was perched upon the railing before him, his arms crossed over his chest.

"It's been a long time, hasn't it, Titans? A month? A year? A millennium?" The man noted calmly, coldly, his voice an endless monotone, Kid-Flash shivering slightly at the icy tone. "Far too long for my tastes, anyway. I was beginning to think I'd never see your smiling faces again." The man commented while turning to face them, one cold grey eye piercing the shadows that covered his upper torso. Slowly, the older Titans managed to come out of their stupors, confused and disturbed by the madman's reappearance.

"You…how did you survive?" Cyborg questioned while looking towards the man and he simply remained silent. However, this brought about a change in BB as he snarled towards him, glaring heatedly and clenching his fists.

"Terra took you down. Way down!" BB stated while pointing towards the shadowed man as KF and Donna wondered whom the man was.

"Slade." Nightwing hissed and KF gaped while Donna turned and took a stance, both having heard of that villain from the others before. "I don't know where you've been, but you shouldn't have come back." Night stated while pulling his bo-staff from behind his back and twirled it into a stance. "I'm still ready." Nightwing declared and Slade merely shook his head before turning and walking into the light, Nightwing's eyes widening as he saw a slight change to Slade…

Now, the madman wore a bandoleer made from bullets, what seemed to be an old fashioned broadsword strapped to his back as well as his usual bo-staff, a Semi-Automatic Riffle is gripped in his left hand and leaned against his shoulders, and a hand-gun is holstered at his right hip. "That's precious, Robin." The man noted coldly while a strange almost S shaped symbol flared to life on his forehead. "But I didn't come back for you." The man uttered coldly before holding his right hand forward, fire gathering at his palm before the man unleashed a feral yell, a fireball flying towards the Titans.

Moving quickly the teens duck out of the way, Starfire grabbing Nightwing to get him out of the way, Donna following her while Kid-Flash quickly sped out of the way of the fire, while Cyborg ran ahead of the blast and jumped over towards the churning pistons. Landing with a grunt while slowly getting back to his feet, looking up, Cyborg widened his eyes upon seeing Slade hold out his arms. "Ever have one of those days where you just feel happy to be alive?" Slade questioned as he conjured a fireball into his right hand and then threw it towards Beast-Boy.

The Green-Changling's eyes widen before he quickly changed shapes and flew out of the way, then returned to human form to fall to the ground next to Cyborg, his eyes wide. "Dude!" The changling exclaimed in shock while Slade moved into a spin in the air before landing on one of the railings of the catwalks.

"Yeah! Since when can Slade do that?" The Titanium Teen demanded while Slade suddenly jumped up, landing on top of the railing of the catwalk. Chuckling in his throat, the man then took a high spinning leap into the air before coming down to the floor and landing in a crouch as The Titans regrouped.

"Not sure, but he won't be doing it for long. Titans! Go! Nightwing ordered his team and they quickly rushed into action. Beast-Boy quickly changed into a velociraptor and lunged forward, however Starfire and Cyborg unleashed a Blitz of Starbolts and Sonic-Blasts onto the madman. However, Slade mentally scoffed before conjuring a solid wall of fire to stop the blasts, and then vaulted into the air and back to his platform. The show of power left both Starfire and Cyborg looking on in shock.

Narrowing his eyes, Nightwing then throws several of his disks forward, the weapons slamming into the wall of fire and freezing it over. Soon it also rose up to freeze over Slade himself, the ice crawling up before covering the madman's head. However, it was all for naught as Slade effortlessly shattered the ice that had confined him and then cracked the knuckles of his right hand. Leaping back to the ground, Slade finds Donna coming at him, swinging her fists towards him wildly. Narrowly dodging the Amazon's attacks, Slade is then attacked by Beast-Boy in his Velociraptor form as it rammed into him from the side.

Using his momentum to flip back to his feet, the master-manipulator narrowed his eyes while BB screeched towards him. However this was clearly a distraction as Starfire then came at Slade from the side, hurling star-bolt after star-bolt at the madman. Grunting lightly, Slade quickly throws up his arms to conjure another shield, the force of her attack still managing to push him back a good distance. Quickly regaining his balance, Slade then tosses a Fireball up at Starfire, the Tameranian Princess quickly holding her hands out to make a small barrier with her Starbolts, however is quickly overpowered and knocked out of the sky.

Growling, Cyborg then grabs hold of one of the pistons in the building and rips it free of its moorings. Narrowing his eyes, Cyborg swings the massive bat towards Slade, the Villain narrowing his eyes. Quickly creating a small yet intense layer of fire over his body, Slade allows it to burn through the piston, while he crossed his arms behind his back. Gaping at the spectacle, Cyborg Stared at Slade completely flabbergasted as only one thing came to mind…

"Whoa!" He said and Slade scoffed while turning to the Titanium Teen.

""Whoa"? That's it? No clever comment?" Slade questioned while gazing towards Cyborg with a cold gaze. "I was looking forward to that." The man admitted and Cyborg growled while dropping the remains of the piston and lunging at Slade. Throwing a quick punch at the man he narrowed his eyes as the villain effortlessly ducked under it and raised his hand with his fingers positioned as if to flick something. Raising a brow, as Slade moved his hand before him, Cyborgs eyes widened as a spark of fire flew from the man's fingers a second before he was flicked. Although the amount of force and heat behind that "Flick" was enough to send the Titanium teen flying back before landing in a heap with a groan.

However at that moment, Kid-Flash made his move, moving quickly to slam a fist into Slade's face and move out of the way at the same time. Stumbling back from the force of the hit, Slade was then hit again, this time from behind and knocked to the ground while the cocky Speedster stopped before him. "C'mon man, you have to be faster than that." KF noted and Slade threw a fireball at him, only for him to quickly move out of the way and behind Slade. Rolling back into a crouch, Slade then flipped back and landed behind Kid-Flash, only for him to move out of the way as Slade tried to grab hold of him.

"I really hate Super-Speed…" Slade muttered under his breath while Kid-Flash slid into a crouch and then came at him running once more. Forming another fireball into his right hand, Slade mentally frowned as KF then turned and started to run around him. Raising a brow, Slade then gasped as he gripped his throat, the air suddenly growing thinner and thinner.

"Your fire trick is nice and all, but without it you won't be so tough, so a little vacuum should take care of it!" Kid-Flash noted with a smirk and Slade fell down to one knee for a moment before lifting the arm with the Riffle and narrowing his single eye… The man fired a second later, the bullet screamed through the air and nailed Kid-Flash, tearing through his right knee in midstep, sending the speedster flying forward with a scream, skidding along the ground before slamming into a piston back-first.

"Bart!" Night cried out while running to his friend with Donna flying his way as well, however Slade then got back to his feet and took several deep breaths.

"And you're all but useless without your legs." Slade stated coldly while Kid-Flash gripped at his injured knee and tried to get up, only to fall back down. As he watched this, Slade aimed his weapon at the speedster once more. "You could be more than just a little problem to me in the future…" Slade noted while BB flew overhead as a hawk, only to swoop down at the man and pulls the weapon from Slades grip before flying off with it. Narrowing his eyes, Slade then quickly did several jumps and flips up the facility, soon landing on a high catwalk, The Green Titan following him while dropping the gun from the height.

Reverting to human form and landing on the catwalk, BB then transformed into a Triceratops and lunged at Slade. Scoffing at the attack, Slade kneels down and touches his right knuckles onto the ground, instantly sending traces of fire across its width and towards the Green Changeling. Seconds later the section that BB was on collapses due to the fire weakening it, the teen falls down, changing into his human shape for a moment before then turning into a Vampire Bat and flying away from the falling debris.

Meanwhile with Kid-Flash, Night was looking at his friends torn up knee with a grimace, shards of bone visible through the skin. Turning to where Slade stood confidently, the former Boy-Wonder narrowed his eyes. Looking to Wonder-Girl, Night saw a furious look in her eyes as well. "Donna, go!" Night ordered and the dark-haired girl nodded before taking off and lunging at the man, a deep scowl on her face. Flying towards Slade Donna watched as he pulled his handgun out and took aim at her before firing off several shots.

Donna merely raised her arms and used her bangles to deflect the bullets before ramming into Slade. Gritting her teeth she then turned to the side, slamming through a wall before turning up and then came down with Slade, through the roof where she let him fall to the ground. Flying down towards where Slade had been sent, Donna gasped as he reached out of the dust and grasped her throat. "Impressive. However I expected as much from an Amazonian." Slade noted coldly before twisting on his heel and throwing Donna to the side, the girl flipping in the air to stop herself, only to scream in pain when Slade hurled a ball of fire into her, slamming her back into a wall where she fell down, singed and smoking lightly.

Seeing his other friend fall, Nightwing narrows his eyes before looking down at Kid-Flash, the speedster gives him a weak grin and a nod before crawling away as Nightwing runs at Slade, twirling his bo-staff as he does. Roaring out, Night jumped up and swings his staff down at the man, only for him to slide back and out of the way. "Catch me if you can, Nightwing." Slade remarked coldly before flipping back and hopping up before disappearing into a veritable forest of turning gears.

'_Honestly, what is with him and turning gears…?'_ Nightwing wondered to himself before following after the madman, jumping up onto the catwalk and soon landing on a slowly turning Gear. Looking around, Nightwing then spots Slade rising on a gear, his own staff in hand. Narrowing his sole eye, Slade feels fire flow along his staff while Nightwing twists into a stance. Unleashing a savage yell, Slade jumps into the air and brings his staff down on Nightwing's, their two staffs slamming together audibly. Narrowing his eyes, Nightwing pushes back on Slade's staff while flipping out of the way of a swing.

Landing on a tuning gear, Nightwing walks backwards on it while Slade walks forward. Still fighting one another with their staffs, Nightwing growls while putting all of his strength into his strikes. However it is clearly all for naught, as soon enough, Slade growls low in his throat, swinging his flaming staff and burning Nightwing's own in half. Eyeing the smoldering half of his weapon for only a moment, Nightwing then looks back at Slade, the villain still holding his own staff.

"Take my word for it, Nightwing. You shouldn't play with fire." Slade states darkly before suddenly twisting into a flaming roundhouse kick, sending Nightwing glowing and smoking down to land in front of a distant horizontally mounted gear. "It really has been nice seeing all of you again." Slade noted mockingly while then jumping down passed the gears and reached down to grab Nightwing by his hair and drag him back to the main room. Looking down into the room, Slade then threw Night down to the floor, close to where Cyborg lay groaning in pain.

"Now I need only wait for…" Slade started to say only for a swirling object to slam into him and rip and grind through him, and the wall behind him. Groaning, Nightwing looked to where the attack came from and saw Raven and a smirking Naruto dressed the same as he'd been earlier, the grey-utility belt around his waist the only addition to his arsenal. Raven however looked shocked and fearful as she noticed the symbol glowing brightly on Slade's brow.

"I think that's more than enough out of you Candy-Corn-Face…" Naruto noted while brushing off his hands and got a look from Raven. "Yeah yeah, you go check on your friends while I deal with Candy-Corn face for you Kara-Chan…" Naruto offered flippantly while making his way forward, grimacing as he saw the condition of Donna and Kid-Flash. "Yikes… and here I thought I was harsh on them as Red-X…" The Teen mumbled quietly then reached up and pulled off his bucket-hat.

"Here green-bean…" Naruto says while tossing the bucket-hat over to Beast-Boy, the green teen looking at him strangely as he grins towards him. "Hold that for me, will ya?" He asked with a grin before looking up as Slade pulled himself back to his feet with a light groan and looked down at him.

"Ah… Uzumaki… Namikaze Naruto." Slade noted while a hole in his stomach and armor sealed shut, Naruto stopping and narrowing his eyes as it did. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you in person." Slade then said while flipping over the railing and landed in a low crouch, reaching back and unsheathing the broadsword he'd been carrying on his back while Naruto frowned. Reaching into his belt, Naruto then pulled out a pair of Kunai from his belt, held one in either hand and then looked up and glared up at Slade.

"Alright so… how exactly do you know me?" Naruto questioned while staring at Slade and the man narrowed his slate grey eyes. Behind Naruto, Raven made he way over to Donna and healed her, allowing the Amazonian to awake from her slight concussion.

"Ouch… and I though Diana could hit…" Donna mumbled and Raven shook her head before looking over to Kid-Flash, who was still laid out on the ground.

"C'mon, I might need your help with him…" Raven stated and Donna nodded her head while following her over to Kid-Flash, Slade mentally chuckling as he watched the girl silently.

"Yo, Candy-Corn-Face!" Naruto suddenly called, drawing Slade's attention back to himself, a frown on the blond's face. "I asked you a question buddy!" Naruto reminded darkly and Slade cross his arms while looking down at the blond haired Ex-Shinobi.

"You mean besides the fact my dear daughter has been keeping a VERY detailed file on you, Tartarus, and the Titans?" Slade questioned in reply and saw a scowl cross Naruto's features while BB blinked.

"So wait, does he mean The Ravager is his actual daughter?" BB asked while scratching his head and Cyborg grunted

"Well that certainly explains the family resemblance…" Cyborg grunted out while Raven ordered Donna to pop Kid-Flashes leg back into place.

"This is really going to hurt, but please bear with it." Raven asked and Kid-Flash nodded while Donna bit her lower lip before doing as told, Kid-Flash screaming in pain as Donna did as told. Wincing, Raven then held her glowing hands over his wounded leg and closed her eyes, concentrating on pulling the shattered pieces of his kneecap back into place more than trying to heal the wound completely…

Meanwhile, Naruto and Slade glare at one another for a moment before Naruto swings his two Kunai and twirls them in his hands. "Alright, Candy-Corn-Face, ready for a lesson in pain?" Naruto asked the older man and Slade chuckled lightly before reaching back to remove his Broadsword from his back and held it in his right hand, his hand-gun in his left hand.

"More than ready. And I believe it's time you and The Titans learned why I was once known and feared as Deathstroke The Terminator…" Slade replied coolly, Naruto rolling his eyes as he twirled his Kunai in hand before gripping them like he would the hilt of one of his normal swords…

"Well, well, well, a battle of blades… that actually sounds like fun for once!" Naruto mused with a grin before holding his Kunai at his sides and closing his eyes. "But seeing as I don't want to call out The Kusanagi right now, and my own Ninjatou are back home I'll just have to settle for using this neat little trick I picked up from a Samurai…" Naruto mused aloud, a grin on his face as he flowed his Chakra through his Kunai, instantly causing his Chakra to form from the weapons as two Ninjatou length beams of blue energy…

"Wicked Dude! Its like he's using a Lightsaber!" BB suddenly says while nearly drooling, Naruto rolling his eyes as he then looked up at Slade for a moment before grinning and making a "C'mon" motion. Narrowing his eye and stepping up onto the railing of the Catwalk he was on, Slade then roared out while jumping into the air and bringing his sword down towards Naruto. Smirking, Naruto took a few steps back and then twirled his twin "Chakra-Sabers" in his hands for a moment.

"Alright Candy-Corn-Face, lets dance!" Naruto said before lashing out swinging his sabers at Slade, the one eyed man mentally cursing as he quickly jetted back with his fire abilities. _'That technique wasn't in Rose's files… then again, I don't think I should be too surprised he'd been holding this one back. Those blades are made out of raw energy, not metal, you can't block a blade that's insubstantial like that… meaning those are strictly used for killing an opponent, and I'm his target.'_ Sliding to a halt at that thought and noting a surprised look on Naruto's face, Slade then fired his gun at the blond haired teen. Blinking for a moment, Naruto then held up one hand to make a half Handsign and smirked.

"**One-Thousand Blades Jutsu!"** He exclaims while dozens of blades of wind flow around his body, slicing the bullets into pieces before the blond then crouched down and launched himself forward. Swinging his Chakra-Sabers at Slade, the one-eyed man twists and turns to evade having his head lopped off by the blond before lashing out with his broadsword in a high swing. Moving his arms up, Naruto smirked while blocking the blade with the Kunai portion of his twin Chakra-Sabers.

"C'mon, you can't be this weak." Naruto says with a shake of his head before moving back, causing Slade's sword to fall forward while he then lunged forward and kneed the madman in the chin. Stumbling back for a moment, Slade looked back to the blond only for a Round-House Kick to connect with his face. Moving into a roll, Slade rolled out of the way as Naruto swung both Chakra-Sabers, carving an X out of the ground. Grunting, Slade then flipped back to his feet and tossed his Handgun to the side, the weapon clearly useless to him.

"You want more, fine, then there's no more need for me to hold back…" Slade uttered darkly while narrowing his sole eye, flames roaring to life over his body, and down the length of his blade. Whistling lightly, Naruto twirled his twin Chakra-Sabers before flipping the one in his left hand into a reverse grip and ducking into a low stance. Roaring out, Slade then launched himself forward, flames trailing behind him as he swung his blade at Naruto. The blond absently noted that the heat of the blade was by far hotter than even one of Sasuke's Katon Jutsu.

'_Better make it a priority not get hit by one of these attacks…'_ The blond muses inwardly while forming a Chakra-String onto the Kunai in his left hand and flips back and into the air. Rearing his left arm back, Naruto then throws the blade, Chakra-Blade and all towards Slade. Widening his sole eye, Slade quickly rolled out of the way of the attack while Naruto moved his hand to the side, the blade following his orders and spinning towards the one eyed man from the side.

'_I can see why Rose was so interested in this one… he has so many interesting skills at his disposal.'_ Slade notes to himself while flipping over the blade and concentrates a ball of fire into his left hand. The one-eyed man then hurls a burst of fire straight for Naruto, the blond merely rolling his eyes as he calls his Chakra-Saber back to his hand with the Chakra-String attached to it and rolls out of the way of the flames. Not letting up, Slade quickly launches himself towards Naruto, forming an after-image of flames to shoot towards the blond as he suddenly stops.

Whistling lightly, Naruto evaded the image while sliding to a stop and narrowed his eyes onto the man. _'This guy has even more control over Fire than anyone in the Elemental Nations, at least without some kind of Kekkei-Genkai like the Mizukage…'_ Naruto noted to himself with a thin frown, his eyes narrowing on Slade as he suddenly slams his fists into the ground, a jet of flames sliding towards the blond. _'Nice… I want to try that!'_ Naruto couldn't help but think to himself while moving out of the way of the flames and flipped up into the air before twirling his Sabers in hand for a moment. Naruto then smirked as he slashed both in an X shape, causing a burst of X shaped energy to flow off of them and towards Slade…

"**Kougenjin! (Mirage Blade!)"** The blond said with a smirk while Slade fired two blasts of fire from his feet to rise up into the air out of the way of the attack. Watching the attack, Slade saw it slice clean through the wall behind him, and then continue for a good while before finally dissipating. _'Note to self, never let that hit me…'_ Slade thought to himself before flipping in the air to land on a Catwalk, Naruto grinning as he jumped up, only to move with lightning fast speed towards the man.

Cursing silently, Slade quickly formed a wall of fire around his body, Naruto sliding to a stop as it formed. Lunging out of the flames, Slade came swinging at the blond haired youth. Ducking down to evade the fire-sword, Naruto then channeled his wind-Chakra and created a quick burst of wind, reeling his arm in as he did, Naruto created a vacuum out of the air, Slade's sole eye widening as the flames that had been protecting him died out. The blond then smirked before he suddenly blurred into motion and jumped into a kick to Slade's chin, throwing him up into the air where Naruto twisted into an upwards Roundhouse Kick, knocking Slade into the ceiling head first.

"Dudes, we were getting our assess handed back to us on a silver platter by Slade earlier, right?" BB asked while helping Nightwing over to Raven, the Titans leader grunting for a moment before replying.

"Yes…" He said with an angry hiss and BB looked back to where Slade was now head first in the ceiling, literally, before Naruto grabbed his ankles and ripped him out, only to flip over the man and kick him in the back, sending him flying back down into the ground where he slammed into it hard enough to cause a small tremor and explosion of dust and dirt…

"Then how come Nar is tearing Slade a new one so easily?" BB asked and Nightwing twitched violently while glaring at the green-jester, only for Cyborg to chuckle and answer the green furred titan.

"Because BB, Nar happens to be a Super-Ninja with enough power to take on big-league Super-Heroes and villains but doesn't do so because his Girlfriend lives here in Jump-City and he doesn't want to leave her." Cy offered and Raven nodded her head in agreement while continuing her work on Kid-Flashes leg, she had to be meticulous in this case, which meant Naruto had to keep Slade busy or she could mess up, thus crippling Kid-Flash for life…

"Okay… then when did he learn that awesome sword thing? I mean, with those and his blond hair he is starting to look like Zero!" BB then asked with a grin and Cyborg shrugged his shoulders before looking back to where Naruto was landing on the ground in a low crouch, a smirk on his features while Slade lay in a dust cloud. Slowly, Slade got back up and glared towards Naruto, the blond tilting his head as he saw the man brush off his arms as if nothing had happened.

"Impressive Uzumaki-San, however, you should know that your going to have to do better than that if you want to stop me." Slade stated coldly before crouching down and unleashing his fire from his feet, jetting towards the blond and swinging his flaming sword at him. Moving to the side to evade the attack Naruto then lifted his sabers up, slicing through Slade's flame-sword before twisting into a kick to Slade's face. The masked-madman stumbled back from the blow, only for Naruto then lunge forward and ram his elbow into his gut, then flip back into a kick to Slade's chin, knocking him off his feet and into the air.

"Shut up Candy-Corn-Face, I'm really getting sick of hearing you talk." Naruto stated while sliding under Slade and slammed his feet into the man's back, sending him flying up into the air. Twisting around, Naruto came back out on his feet and twirled his blades in hand before jumping upwards. Frowning to himself, Naruto slammed his hands into Slade's spine, thus slamming the man upwards before he then swung both of his blades, cutting the man in half and falling back to the ground. Narrowing his eyes, Naruto noticed the lack of blood and frowned deeply as a result.

"Dude?" BB called out while Nightwing looked at Naruto incredulously, even given he'd done the same thing to Orochimaru but then again he could regenerate! Seeing the looks from them Naruto scowled deeply before he held up a finger and looked towards them with a slight glare.

"Before someone starts on some rant or heaven forbid a lecture about me not killing, this fucker isn't even bleeding!" Naruto stated, Starfire, Donna and Nightwing all noticing and frowning when they saw that he was right, and given the size of the wound that shouldn't be possible. "Also, I've pounded my fists and feet into him with enough force to pulverize bones, he shouldn't have been standing." Naruto added after that while crossing his arms, his Chakra-Sabers beam-blades harmlessly flowing through his body. Best part about them was that since it was HIS chakra powering them, that they couldn't hurt him unlike that stupid wind version of Danzo's!

"Also, his armor should be cracked, broken, and in pieces as well, however as you've seen that isn't the case." Naruto continued with a scowl and Cyborg nodded his head, knowing the limits to even the strongest Metals, and Naruto's strength could definitely reach those levels. "And lastly, this fucker is practically saturated in Demonic-Energy, so unless he was a demon in life before, something is seriously up." Naruto finished and Donna started to put two and two together as she realized what he was saying. "So shut up and watch for a moment, he's definitely not down…" Naruto stated flatly while gazing towards Slade, the Titans not understanding what he meant until they heard the man chuckle lightly…

"_**Ah, so you figured it out did you? Intelligent as well as fierce, I can respect that Uzumaki-San."**_ Slade's voice echoed out hauntingly, a low demonic rumble accompanying it this time, before Slade's body suddenly twitched, then his arms moved upwards.

"Holy shit! Slade's a Zombie! I knew it!" BB shouted while pointing towards the body, his friends all giving him an annoyed look while Slade's head snapped back into place and his eye flared open. Moving around for a moment, his upper torso then got up, its arms acting as legs to hold it up.

"Naruto was right, there is no blood from any of his wounds…" Nightwing noted to himself with a frown and Naruto nodded his head at the side.

"Yeah, and check this out. His armor is self-healing as well." Naruto stated while motioning to Slade, where cracks in his armor were indeed repairing themselves and leaving him in prime condition to continue.

"Yes, it's quite useful wouldn't you say Uzumaki-San?" Slade questioned and Naruto merely scowled while Slade suddenly started moving, using his arms he somehow walked over to his legs before pushing his severed torso against his severed legs. Flames then suddenly roared to life between the two sections, before both slid back together and Slade sat up, the long gash that was once his midriff sealing shut while he dusted his arms off as if this were a common occurrence.

"So you're immortal or something like it right?" Naruto asked the one-eyed man with a feeling of deja'vu, while also looking towards Slade dully, the masked madman nodding his head only once and causing the blond to grimace visibly while rubbing his face. "Aww Man not another fucking immortal… that's going to make this fight even more annoying…" He grumbled aloud and the Titans looked at him incredulously, Raven merely shaking her head as she knew he was talking about Orochimaru, Madara, and other "Villains" of the like back in his world.

"You've actually fought immortals before?" Cyborg demanded and got a bland look from Naruto.

"Three actually… but that's not the point and right now, I need to unleash some misplaced aggression on Candy-Corn-Face!" Naruto stated while making his way towards Slade, the man merely narrowing his eye before flowing fire into the hilt of his sword, creating a fluid-blade made out of fire.

"Sadly, I don't feel inclined to allow you to have your way any longer." Slade stated before lunging at Naruto, the blond haired ex-shinobi humming a tune to himself as he came to a stop and stepped to the side to evade Slade's blade. Looking to the man with one eye, Naruto then smirked while twisting around and slicing him through his midriff and kicking him away. Watching the man slowly start to get up, Naruto's smirk turned into an amused grin while twirling his Chakra-Sabers in hand.

"Oh yeah, now this is so going to be fun, a sparring partner I can go all out on without worrying about his health!" Naruto muses aloud, forming a Chakra-String on both of his Chakra-Sabers and then hurling them towards Slade. Seeing the weapons coming, Slade ducked to the side, only for Naruto to control them with the Chakra-Strings, causing them to spin as they flew towards the one eyed man. Widening his sole eye, Slade was cut into three pieces by the two weapons, only for him to quickly heal from the damage while Naruto called his blades back to his hands.

"Heh! Now then, Candy-Corn-Face lets see just how many pieces I can cut you down to, before you finally stop regenerating!" Naruto says before lunging at Slade, the masked-madman swinging his sword at the blond only for him to flip over the attack and lop off his arms from behind. Twisting around, Naruto then cut Slade in half at his midriff, twisted under to slice the remains of his torso in half, and then lopped off the pieces of his head from his neck…

"Dude! That was so, sick! Yet strangely awesome…" BB suddenly noted while Naruto flipped away from Slade, the man twitching before reforming his body once more, a light grunt escaping his throat as he did.

"That is beginning to get very annoying…" Slade noted dully and Naruto shrugged with a smirk before then launching himself at Slade once more. The man quickly formed a fireball in his hand to counter, slamming it into Naruto's stomach and sending him flying back. Flipping in midair, Naruto slid back along the ground before moving down and slowing himself into a crouch. "What does it take to actually kill this fucker?" Naruto wondered aloud while moving back, Nightwing looking at the blond incredulously.

"Is he enjoying this?" Nightwing wondered aloud, Naruto suddenly launching himself towards Slade and swinging his sabers to cut off the man's arms. Seeing this, and remembering Naruto's earlier words, Cyborg chuckled for a moment while shaking his head, the said blond kicking Slade to the ground with a deep frown.

"He said 'Misplaced Aggression' earlier Night, he means he's venting out all of his frustrations out on Slade… and boy does it look like he's had a ton of built up aggression lately." Cyborg noted mostly to himself and BB winced before looking to the other Titans curiously.

"What do you dudes think pissed him off?" The green changeling wondered and Cyborg grimaced to himself.

"Being turned into a vicious psychotic monster and then fighting that freaky snake guy…" Cy offered and Nightwing frowned for a moment before wincing as well as he remembered something else to piss off the blond.

"Raven being kidnapped and him unleashing hell upon a troop of Slade bots and a group of enemy Ninja…" He offered as well, BB and Cy nodding their heads while Raven sighed to herself before deciding the voice her opinion.

"Or maybe it has to do with the fact you guys interrupted us when we were having fun? And I asked him if he was going to kill the villain who attacked when he wanted to come with me and he said he would…" Raven mused aloud and saw her teammates gape at the girl as she finally finished working on Kid-Flashes leg and Donna helped him up. "Alright, I managed to move all the bones back into place, but I'd still recommend getting him to a doctor as soon as possible, his leg should heal right but it doesn't hurt to be careful." Raven stated and Nightwing nodded his head before looking to where Naruto was watching as Slade's body popped its bones back into place with several disturbing crunches and snaps.

"Right, Raven, you Beast-Boy and Cyborg hang back on the off chance Naruto needs any help, me and the others were of very little help here… and are the most heavily injured. We'll go and get Kid-Flash to a hospital for his leg." Nightwing suggested and then groaned as Starfire helped him to his feet, his ribs protesting the treatment. "And Raven, guys… be careful…" Night added, Raven nodding her head while Starfire and the others left, Cy and BB hanging back only to hear Naruto chuckle.

"Man Candy-Corn-Face, you really don't know when to quit do you?" Naruto noted to himself while Slade clenched his fists, forming another burst of fire into them and lifted them up to slam into Naruto's chin. The blond teen was sent flying back, only to flip in midair and made contact with the far wall. Kicking off of the wall and nearing Slade once more the teen lashed out at the one eyed man once more, cutting his head off first and then forming a half-hand-seal with one hand.

"**One-Thousand Blades Justu!"** The blond cried while the hundreds of blades of wind started to rip and shred Slade's body to bits and pieces, his severed hand flying to the side while Naruto flipped over the remains.

"Dude, I really doubt Nar's going to need our help anytime soon…" BB suddenly mumbled with both Raven and Cyborg agreeing while gazing towards where Naruto was looking down at the mass of armor, cloth, and bone that had once been Slade.

"I wonder if you can get up from being turned into paste…" Naruto wondered aloud for a moment only to blink as Slade's remains started to reform, slowly moving back together, the master-schemer slowly stumbling for a moment as he tried to regain his sense of balance.

"Well shit… what do I have to do, destroy every last molecule of your being before you'll finally stay down?" Naruto wondered aloud before shrugging his shoulders, a grin forming on his face as Lightning started to arch down his arms. "Well either way, it looks like your up for another couple rounds, so c'mon Candy-Corn-Face! This party is getting crazy!" Naruto cried while twirling his blades in hand and Slade made a mental note not to piss the blond off after he got his true flesh and blood back… it wouldn't be good for him in any sense of the word…

"Sadly, I still have a message I need to deliver, and so I must end this little game of yours." Slade stated coldly and Naruto gave the man a look, half amused and half questioning.

"Really? And how exactly do you plan on getting passed me? You can barely touch me Candy-Corn-Face. I mean yeah, you might be able to wear me out, after about a day or two of non-stop fighting, but that's not looking too likely." Naruto mused aloud and Slade mentally concurred with the blond, as it was he was sadly outmatched physically, Naruto's powers over Wind and Lightning rivaled his of fire, and he was on a very limited schedule… which only left him with his ace in the hole, something his current employers thought he'd need…

"Oh that will be very simple, Uzumaki-San…" Slade mused before lunging forward and ducked under a swing from Naruto's twin Chakra-Sabers before quickly grabbing his wrists. Slade then quickly released Naruto's wrists and slammed his hands into his stomach, pushing as much of the demonic energy inside of him into the blond as he possibly could. The effect of which was Naruto's eyes widening, then being sent flying back into a wall, only for them to turn blood red as a familiar foul Chakra started to flow freely from within him.

"What the hell?" Cyborg wondered while tapping his ear and started to scan the strange energy readings he was getting off of the blond.

"Dude, is Nar okay?" Beast-Boy wondered aloud, only to gape as Naruto dropped his sabers, his canines lengthening and his whisker marks deepening on his face.

"Oh no…" Raven whispered as Naruto suddenly growled low in his throat his eyes wide and now glowing blood red, his nails lengthening into sharp claws while his pupils turned into thin slits.

"Now then… since you'll be a bit preoccupied with trying to stop your… tenant, I can finally pass along my little message." Slade said to himself while Naruto gripped his head, red energy forming around him, some of the Chakra condensing into bone like plates like it had for The Beast, and even forming a crimson red skull shaped mask. Chuckling as Naruto fought with his "Tennant" Slade got up and looked over to Raven, BB and Cy quickly moving to protect her.

"There's no way we're letting you get anywhere near to Rae dude!" BB stated while Cyborg aimed his sonic-cannon at the man, Slade raising a brow as he walked towards them. Narrowing his eyes, Cyborg fired a blast from his cannon into Slade, only for the man to shrug it off and continue forward. Unleashing more blasts did nothing but yield a similar effect. BB then turned into a wolf and lunged at Slade, only for the man to bat him to the side while getting closer to Raven. Firing another blast into Slade's chest, Cyborg widened his eyes when he saw a hole through the man seal shut.

Narrowing his sole eye, the man then formed a fireball into his hand and slammed it into Cyborgs stomach. The Titanium Teen was lifted off of the ground and sent flying away by the blast, leaving a wide-eyed Raven to stare at him. "Hello birthday girl. Ready for your present?" Slade questioned coldly, Raven's eyes widening before she quickly forms her familiar black energy into her hand and slams it into Slade's chest, pushing him back and lifting him up, causing him to slam into a wall above the machines. Flying up to survey the damage, Raven manages to sigh in relief upon seeing nothing but smoke…

"I have a message for you." Slade suddenly states while floating out of the smoke and towards the girl. Raven prepares to attack him again, only for him to grab her arm and clench down on it, Raven gritting her teeth as blinding pain surges through her body. Watching on coldly, Slade waits for only a moment more before releasing Raven causing her to fall down onto a gear wheel. Groaning lightly, Raven slowly gets up and checks over herself, only to see the armor on her right arm has been burned away, a red S shaped symbol now glowing on her forearm…

"It has begun." Slade suddenly says in a cold, calm tone, his fiery red aura and sparks of energy flowing over his form as he floats upwards. The room then begins to shake, Slade forcing smoke and debris to slam into things around the room. Cyborg narrowly evades some of it before rushing towards the exit, more explosions tearing apart the building. BB is soon to follow his friend, running as the catwalks that make up the floor start to buckle, lava and flames rising up from beneath them. More explosions rock the building, a massive gear falling onto the catwalk Naruto is situated on, throwing him forward and onto a sloping downwards plane.

Still watching on in a mix of horror and shock, the sight of Naruto slowly sliding down towards the lava causes her to finally find her voice. "STOP!" The girl exclaims while black energy flows from her body, flowing over everything around her to literally stop everything. From Cyborg running madly, to BB in mid-transformation, and finally, Naruto on a catwalk, gripping his head tightly. Gasping in shock for a moment Raven then wraps her arms around her body before spotting the levitating Slade, arms spread wide and his head elevated…

"How did I…?" Raven started to question only for a familiar voice to choose that moment to interrupt her.

"You might be able to stop time, Birthday girl, but you can't stop me." Slade notes as his body flares red for a moment, then his eye peers down at the girl as he crosses his arms behind his back. "You can't stop any of it, really." Slade notes coldly while Raven slowly backs away from the man, eyes wide in fear. "I have to say, Raven, when I found out the truth, I was very impressed." Slade notes to himself while slowly "Walking" towards Raven, gesturing rubble out of the way as he does.

"All this time, I had no idea. The power lurking inside you. The glorious destiny that awaits." Slade noted mostly to himself before cupping his chin as he came closer to the girl, a thoughtful look in his eye. "It's always the quiet ones, isn't it?" Slade muses to himself while Raven clasps her hands to her head, trying desperately to awaken from the Nightmare she's suddenly found herself in. Shaking her head, Raven then turns and runs, hoping to find some place safe from Slade.

"But honestly, did you think you could just blow out the candles and wish it all away?" Slade questions coldly, slowly following after Raven as she makes her way up a beam, towards it's elevated end. "Today is the day it begins." Slade states flatly, his cold eye staring at Raven intently as he corners her and leans into her face. "It _is_ going to happen. And no matter what you wish…" Slade states while Raven turns away from him. "… no matter where you go, no matter how you squirm…" Slade continues, his cold eye unchanging as he glares at her. "…there is nothing you can do to stop it." He states and Raven quickly turns to face him, her eyes flaring white as she passes through the wall behind her as her soul-self.

Flying away from where Slade had been, Raven soon spots Naruto down below and flies down to him. Landing next to him, Raven places a hand onto the blond haired teen's chest, energy flowing from her hands and into the blond haired youth. Her energy flows over the blond haired teen, causing him to awaken with a gasp, then groan as he holds his head with one hand and gazes at Raven with one eye open.

"K-Kara-Chan?" He asks only for Raven to form her energy around him and herself, bringing them both into a dome of energy that then vanished, Slade raising a brow for a moment before chuckling as he watched on silently, then decided to give chase to the two…

(Streets of Jump…)

Raven's Soul-Self rises up out of the ground, soon ejecting Naruto onto the street, a cathedral at the end of the block while Naruto groans in pain. Raven soon forms out of her soul-self as well, looking over herself for only a moment before moving over to Naruto. "Naruto? Are you alright?" She asks the blond and he gives a pained grin before grunting as he tries to get up.

"**Sh-shit… I think Candy-Corn-Face… somehow managed to overload my Chakra network with Demonic-Chakra…"** Naruto replied while placing a hand to his head, Raven idly noting the crimson mask formed over half of his face, the eye it covered somehow looking more sinister than the one that remained uncovered… Looking around, Naruto noticed all the people and animals were frozen in place. **"How in the…?"** Naruto started to ask before grimacing as his Chakra flared again, scorching the ground beneath him as it did.

"Naruto, you need to get your power under control." Raven suddenly said while sitting next to the blond and he grunted before noticing the red mark on her wrist.

"**So… this has something to do… with your old man?"** Naruto questioned and Raven went silent, clasping a hand onto her wrist while Naruto slowly gets back to his feet and frowns as he struggles to keep his balance. _'What the hell is Kyuubi doing… no better question, why is this overload affecting me so harshly?'_ The blond wondered before remembering he hadn't had an overload like this since before the necklace he'd gotten from Tsunade was destroyed…

"I never wanted this day to come. And when it did, I just wanted it to stop." Raven said to herself before letting out a sigh and looking around. "I guess I got my wish." She noted dryly and Naruto nodded his head for a moment before grimacing as he reached to the mask on his face.

"**Aw shit… is this fucking thing going to form every time the Damn Kyuubi's Chakra starts acting up?"** Naruto had to wonder to himself, though Raven surmised it might not be because of Kyuubi's Chakra, instead being something about Naruto himself… but she also decided not to voice her opinion on the matter. **"In any case, this is one hell of a birthday Kara-Chan, and I thought mine was bad…"** Naruto noted and Raven gave a weak smile before both looked up and saw Slade land nearby.

"Hello again." Slade noted crisply and Naruto frowned while glaring towards the one-eyed man heatedly as he came closer to them.

"**As if we didn't have enough problems…"** Naruto mumbles under his breath while Slade starts to march forward, arms crossed behind his back.

"I have a message for you… and I _will_ deliver it, whether you like it or not." The man states flatly, a cold look in his eye while Raven looks to Naruto, fear giving way to Rage as she then forms her usual black energy and rips a sewer pipe out of the ground to coil it around the masked madman. "Skies will burn." Slade utters while flaring his fire to burn through it. "Flesh will become stone." Slade continues while Raven picks up everything she can and hurls it towards the one-eyed man.

"The sun will set on your world…" Slade states even as several of the boxes slam into him, only for him to continue forward. "…never to rise again." Slade states before exploding into a burst of flames, Naruto and Raven looking around for the man, only for him to fling a blast of Fire into Naruto from behind and grasp Raven by her upper arms. Gritting her teeth, Raven feels the same pain as before, before Slade finally releases her, her upper arms now bearing the same marks as her wrists. Quickly covering them, Raven looks up to Slade as he crosses his arms behind his back.

"Time won't wait forever. You can't run away from who you are." Slade states only for a swirling ball of energy to slam into him from the side and send him flying through a building. Looking to where it came from, Raven saw a truly pissed off Naruto kick some rubble from his body, his mask three-fourths complete and both of his eyes now looking more sinister than ever.

"**I've heard you spout enough shit for one day, Candy-Corn-Face!"** Naruto roared out furiously while marching over to Raven, Slade making his way out of the hole in the building, his ribs visible through his torn armor.

"You are… very persistant… even when your own power is fighting against you… you manage to come out on top." Slade noted and Naruto snorted while glaring at the man, only for an idea came to him, a wide crooked grin forming on his face as it did.

"**Kara-Chan… I'll buy you some time, but I need you to get as far away from me as you possibly can!"** Naruto suddenly ordered and Raven would've objected only to feel her heart stop as he looked at her with one of his sinister eyes. The eye was blood red, the slit pitch black and deep, as if it was part of a pit, worse still was that the sclera, the white of his eye, was also a deep obsidian black and the skin covered by his mask shadowed heavily… **"I said go!"** Naruto ordered while turning back towards Slade as Raven formed her Soul-Self and flew away, a deep scowl across the blonds face.

"So, what do you plan to do to me this time? More dismemberment? Behead me? Cut me in half? Or perhaps you'll try and kill me with all your witty quips…" Slade questioned dryly and Naruto grinned towards the man darkly.

"**Oh that's simple… I'm just going to give back what you gave!"** The blond replies while lunging forward and grabbing Slade by his neck. Closing his eyes, Naruto uses a Shunshin, pulling himself and Slade out of Jump-City and into the desert just to be on the safe side. **"So here it is Candy-Corn-Face! All the power you pumped into me, right back in your face!"** The blond says darkly as a dome of red energy forms around the two, Naruto pulling as much of the Demonic-Chakra to a single point inside of him as he possibly can.

Narrowing his eye onto the blond Slade forms a fireball in both of his hands, only for Naruto to give a wicked grin, as his lips turn black and he unleashes all of the Demonic-Chakra at once. A second later a massive explosion surges from both of them, the land crumbles as a quake rocks the very earth beneath them, the energy expands outwards, crimson energy ripping apart land and throwing dirt and rock too and fro. Soon enough the explosion dies down and a mushroom cloud rises up into the air, easily visible from Jump-City…

In the city, Raven notices the explosion and turns towards the dust cloud for a moment. Biting her lip, she considers going towards it, only to shake her head and fly away, remembering what Naruto told her, and just how serious that sole eye of his had looked to her…

Back at the epicenter of the blast, Naruto groans lightly while slowly pushing himself up. Looking to his hands, he smirks when he sees he's dispersed the excess Demonic-Chakra from himself. _**"Truly impressive, I commend you ability to get out of any situation, Uzumaki-San."**_ Slade's half-demonic voice came and Naruto cursed while turning around, then watched on as the one-eyed man's arm rose out of the ground. Growling lightly, Naruto then pushed himself up and watched as Slade pulled himself out of the ground, his mask half melted away.

"Kami-Sama… you really are a monster aren't you." Naruto whispered mostly to himself upon seeing the visage of a skull beneath Slade's mask, only for it to heal over in a matter of seconds. Cracking his neck afterwards, Slade then crossed his arms behind his back while Naruto scowled deeply, lightning flowing over his form as he did.

"Now, now, there's no need to call each other names." Slade noted coldly while Naruto crouched down while throwing his arms to his sides, lightning arching from his limbs and flowing over his form.

"I've cut you to pieces, crushed you, broken you in half, and even blown you to bits… so what does it take to fucking kill you!" Naruto snarled while glaring at Slade heatedly, the one-eyed man merely staring at the blond.

"Nothing you can do can truly destroy what is already dead." Slade stated coldly and Naruto blinked before he realized what that meant.

"Doesn't mean I can't try!" The blond roared while crouching down then lunged at Slade, forming a Rasengan into his hand and slamming it into, and then through Slade's guts, only for the man to move one-step back, with Naruto's arm now pierced through his midriff…

"_**Try as much as you like… no matter what you do to me… my master won't allow me to die…"**_ Slade hissed out while dematerializing into a burst of fire, Naruto cursing as he looked around for the one eyed man. _**"Now… if you'll excuse me, I need to pay a visit to dear Raven… I still have a message for her…"**_ Slade's ominous voice echoed out and Naruto slammed his foot into the ground with a scowl.

"Dammit! I knew I should've tagged Kara-Chan with a Hiraishin seal!" The blond said to himself before using the Shunshin to return to Jump-City, hoping he could find Raven before Slade managed to…

Raven was hiding in a chapel of all places, while she was never very religious, for obvious reasons, she truly hoped someone was looking out for her for once… However when she heard an explosion just as she was sent to the floor, Raven grimaced and turned to see a newly reformed Slade walking towards her. "It's just you and me now, kid." Slade noted while Raven quickly turned and bolted for the rear exit, Slade silently following after her. Coming to the rear-exit, Raven throws open the door to an abandoned alley while Slade throws a blast of fire after her.

Rushing out of the way, Raven then rushes down the alley, Slade following her with his left hand still ablaze. "You're making this much more difficult than this needs to be." The man states coldly while throwing the fireball he'd formed in his left hand, creating a barrier of flames to block Raven's path. "The message must be delivered." Slade states coldly while Raven almost unconsciously forms into her Soul-Self to flow through the flames, reforming into herself once passed them. Grunting, Slade then forms a fireball into both hands and jets after the girl, following her like a man possessed.

Flying around, and passed buildings, Raven only half notices that Slade is matching her move for move. Looking around for anyway to escape, Raven dives down towards a busy street, yet once more, Slade follows her. Feeling more and more frightened, Raven hurls several cars at the masked madman, however he merely dodges one of them, then smashes the next two in half with his fists. Widening her eyes Raven quickly flew away from the madman while Slade narrowed his eyes and started to rub his hands together for a moment.

Lashing out, Slade threw his hands towards Raven, long tendrils forming before flaming hands reached for the girl. Cursing lightly, Raven quickly moved out of the way of the hands, ducking and dodging them as Slade continued his single-minded pursuit of her. Turning around, Raven forms black energy around her hands and fires a hail of obsidian bullets towards them like a machine gun. Sadly, the attack has no affect whatsoever and Raven turns and picks up her speed in order to evade them. Seeing a narrow alleyway up ahead, Raven moves between the buildings, the two hands dissipating as they impact with the buildings, only for Slade to continue his pursuit.

Looking to either side, an idea comes to Raven as she hurries forward, putting on the speed only to turn once clear of them. Seeing Slade oncoming, Raven throws her hands to either side and concentrates on the two buildings. Black energy crawls its way over the two buildings while Slade merely continues to fly closer and closer to Raven. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" She exclaims before throwing her hands inwards, the two buildings slamming together on top of Slade. Breathing out and bowing her head, Raven briefly wonders just how much damage she just caused, only to widen her eyes as the upper levels of the building suddenly explode outwards. Slade immerges from the smoke and with a low growl tackles into Raven, slamming into her and plowing her into a tall circular observatory like building.

As the smoke clears from their impact, Raven quickly hurries away from Slade, while the undead madman slowly rises up and continues after her. Following her closely Slade reaches out and grips a fistful of the girls cloak in one hand. "What you have concealed, you shall become!" The man states darkly while ripping the cloak from Raven, the girl falling down and showing that her leotard is now torn from her neck down all the way to her belt. However, just like her arms, scarlet runes have started to appear on her back, Raven turning to look at Slade as he glares down at her.

"You have no other choice." He states and Raven's eyes flare white while she turns and rises back to her feet.

"No!" She exclaims while charging at the man, obsidian energy flowing around her form, swinging one hand at him only for him to grip it and her power to dissipate in a mere instant.

"The message _will_ be delivered." Slade states coldly and Raven flings her other arm at the man only for him to catch it as well. "Your destiny shall be fulfilled." Slade hisses in a low venomous tone while Raven looks at him in horror only to unleash a series of torture groans as she rears her head back, white light flowing out of her eyes as the S mark on Slade's forehead forms overtop the gemstone on her own. As this happens, more runes start to appear on her body, her armor burning away and disintegrating along with her leotard, soon leaving her in the equivalent of ragged and tattered halter top and briefs with her belt askew on her hips…

However, this is not the only change as the moon and sun seem to set and rise numerous times, Raven's hair lengthening and growing to near waist length while Slade watches on coldly. Seconds later, the Undead Madman releases Raven, causing her to fall to her knees and wraps her arms around herself. Looking down to her arms, she then unfolds them and is horrified to see the runs now almost completely encompass her form. Looking away from that and her now completely ruined outfit, Raven then gazes out over Jump-City, her eyes widening at what she sees before her…

The sky is red as blood, the city is a deserted wasteland, everything has been completely destroyed and decimated, Titans Tower stands askew in the distance, molten lava has replaced the water of the bay, bellow her, four-eyed ravens caw and fly out into the night, statues of her friends, almost like ghoulish gargoyles, disturbing creatures with long thin arms and misshapen faces holding onto them, almost appearing to be trying to drag them below…

"No…" Raven whispers with wide eyes while slowly getting back to her feet and Slade comes up from behind her and leans his head close to her ear.

"Yes. Look at it. Drink it in." Slade orders darkly while gazing out at the completely ruined world below them. "Behold the world you are destined to create." Slade states while in the distance a shadow rises up, antlers on either side of its head and four brightly glowing red eyes. The shadow then roars loudly while a second one slowly shakes itself while getting up, it also in shadow showing a beast, its ears both long like a rabbit, and nine thin tails flowing behind it as it screeches loudly into the air…

"No!" Raven states while clasping her hands to the sides of her head. "I won't do it! This is just a vision. This can't be real!" The girl exclaims while Slade reaches for her upper arms and grasps them tightly.

"This _is_ the future." He states while leaning over her shoulder once more. "Your future. It began the day you were born, and nothing can stop it. This will come to pass. I will make sure of it. You're going to destroy the world, Raven." Slade whispers while raising his head back up. "It's written all over your face." He states simply while Raven's eyes suddenly blaze a bright white.

"_NOOOOOOOOOO!_" The girl exclaims loudly, her Soul-Self flowing out of her body and into the sky, flashes of light illuminating everything around her. The sky and world around her is suddenly returned to normal while her Soul-Self disintegrates in the air, waves of energy restarting time for the city. As it ends Raven suddenly falls forward, slumped with Slade still grasping her arms.

"We'll be in touch." Slade notes quietly while releasing the Titana, causing her to plummet off of the building. "Oh…and happy birthday." Slade notes coldly while Raven plummets towards the ground below, only for a yellow flash to catch her before she could become street-pizza. Groaning lightly, Naruto looks up towards where Slade was, only to narrow his eyes when he sees the man is missing. _'Bastard… I swear I'll get you for this.'_ The blond thinks to himself before looking to the unconscious girl in his arms and stands up to look towards Titans tower…

Looking down when he hears a slight groan, Naruto smiles softly when he sees Raven open her eyes. "Lets get you home, Kara-Chan." The blond states before both vanish in a swirl of leaves…

(Titans Tower…)

1:00 AM, Raven is before a mirror on her wall, staring at her reflection. Mostly however, the girl is gazing at her hair, wondering if she should even bother to cut it. She is currently dressed once more in a repaired outfit. A long blue cloak with two gold jewel encrusted broaches to hold it down, a sleeveless black leotard, thigh length black boots, black leather waist armor, black leather armor / bicep length fingerless gloves over her forearms and wrists with gem encrusted broaches on the backs of her hands, and of course her classic gem-incrusted chain-belt hanging askew on her hips with the gold tassel falling down one hip.

'_It's not like it'll stay short for long with all this happening now… but its just too much trouble for me to take care of…'_ Raven thinks to herself before silently looking to her hands, gazing at the unmarked grey skin before sighing. Just as she's about to reach for a pair of scissors, a loud knocking comes from her door. _'Not again…'_ The violet-eyed girl thinks to herself with a sigh as she walks over to the door and slowly slides it open. Looking around while coming out of her room, Raven notices a trail of arrows on the ground at her side and raises a brow.

Following the arrows, Raven soon comes to the Titans OPS Center and mentally sighs. Opening the door, she's surprised when streamers go off, and sees a newly repaired bannor with the words "Happy **UN**Birthday" on it. Blinking she then looks farther down to see her friends, Cyborg holding a small and repaired cake, Beast-Boy with a party hat on his head, and Kid-Flash to the side on some crutches with a weak grin. Blinking for a moment, she then watches BB nervously step forward.

"Um… surprise." BB offers timidly while Raven then sees a soft smile on Cy's features.

"Look, we know you don't want a party. But after… today…" The Titanium teen started only for Starfire to finish for him.

"We hoped you might reconsider." Starfire stated and Raven then turned when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her and saw a smiling Naruto's face.

"This one, you can blame on me." Naruto says with a grin and Raven looks from her boyfriend, to Beast-Boy as he slides up towards her.

"Yeah, you may not like your birthday, but we're all glad you were born!" BB states with a grin, Raven blinking as she look from him to Naruto, then to her other friends in the Titans and around at everything around her…

"We're going to need icecream." Raven finally says and Starfire laughs to herself happily, BB grinning widely.

"C'mon right up!" BB says while ducking to the kitchen portion of ops, Cyborg grinning to himself.

"I'll cut the cake!" The Metal Man states with a grin only for Donna to follow after him with a slight frown.

"No I will, you made it and I should contribute to this party somehow." Donna states while Starfire claps her hands together happily.

"And I shall fetch the Throknar!" She exclaims before flying off and Nightwing walks up to Raven and Naruto.

"Uh, you two sure you're okay? I heard what happened to you Naruto, did Slade…?" Night started to ask and Naruto held up a hand with a smirk across his face, even as BB rushed passed him with a couple gallons of icecream, Starfire right behind the green furry teen.

"I'm fine, besides, it's nothing a little R&R with Kara-Chan here couldn't fix, I'm sure." Naruto replies and Night raises a brow before nodding his head slowly and then took a serious look.

"I promise you both, we will find Slade, we'll figure out how he did what he did, and we'll bring him down." Night then states before walking to the side to join the rest of his friends, Kid-Flash sighing as Donna helps him over to a table they'd set up with chairs around him.

"Man, I so wish my leg wasn't busted…" He grumbled aloud and allowed his head to fall forward, Donna rolling her eyes as she helped the speedster. Meanwhile, Naruto and Raven stayed in their position for a moment, only for Raven to give the blond an amused look.

"Happy "UN" Birthday?" She questioned and a nervous grin crossed over Naruto's features for a moment.

"Well… it's not technically your birthday… besides you like that book, don't you?" Naruto questioned of the girl and Raven merely smirked up at him.

"Yeah, just surprised you'd think of that." She replied softly and then looked to her friends with Naruto spotting BB gorging himself on Icecream while the others wait for them to join.

"C'mon, lets go party while we still can, the fighting's over for now." Naruto states while moving towards the table, wrapping his arms behind his head while Raven glances down at her hands and lowers her eyes. A pair of glowing scarlet runes suddenly forming over the palms of her hands…

"Maybe for now… but this was only just the beginning" Raven whispered before walking after Naruto silently…

(?)

Slade stands in an underground cavern, looking up towards a wall as a ring of fire soon forms around his feet. "The first task is complete, my masters… the message has been sent. The inscriptions are in place." Slade states while kneeling down as an S shaped symbol appears on the wall, four eyes opening around it, while a flaming portal to the side shows Kyuubi's bloodthirsty eyes. "She knows what she must do. The Prophecy will be fulfilled." Slade utters coldly while looking towards the S shaped seal for a moment and mentally narrowed his eyes.

"**Then the world of mortals shall soon be ended."** Trigon's voice booms out while Slade keeps his head low, his sole eye gazing up towards the demon. **"You may leave us, prepare yourself for the second task that is to come, my servant."** Trigon ordered and Slade bit back a growl as he turned into flames and disappeared into nothingness, leaving Trigon and Kyuubi to their own devices.

"**He he heh… All goes as according to our plan."** The voice of The Kyuubi noted, a wide evil grin across his face while Trigon nodded.

"**Yes. Human emotions are just too predictable."** Trigon noted mostly to himself with Kyuubi nodding in agreement with its partner.

"**Soon we shall both be free, and this world will know our full wrath!"** Kyuubi declares while grinning darkly and Trigon is silent for a moment before the scene in the flames change, showing the two demons their day of reckoning…

"**Indeed Kyuubi, very soon, our time shall have arrived, and the mortal world shall finally end!"** Trigon stated while Kyuubi grinned once more…

(?)

Slade reappears within Ravager's base. Shaking his head for a moment he walks to the main portion of the base and stops. He crosses his arms behind his back as he stands before a wall of monitors, gazing at them coldly while Ravager walks into the room and kneels behind him. "Did you get them?" Slade questions coldly, not bothering to turn to his only daughter and she raises her head to look at his back.

"Yes father." She replies while reaching to her belt, only to then hold up what looks like roughly a dozen gold rings, each one inscribed with familiar scarlet runes.

"And their… previous owners?" Slade questions even while turning his head slightly to look at his daughter with his sole remaining eye. Ravager merely smirks while moving the rings to one hand, then unsheathes one of her blades to show dried blood along its length.

"All were dealt with as your wished father." Ravager replied and Slade chuckled lightly while turning and walking down to Ravager.

"Excellent work my dear." He complimented and reached to one of the rings before looking at it for a moment. "Rings of Azar, taken from the last of Trigon's cult here in Jump-City. Now with his followers out of the way, I won't have to worry about them interfering." Slade muses while slipping one of the rings onto his left ring finger and Ravager looked at the remaining rings.

"What about the rest of them?" She questions and Slade tilts his head to her for only a moment before answering.

"Keep one. But the rest are a… gift, for some allies you'll need." Slade replies while crossing his arms behind his back.

"Father… if it is not too much trouble to answer, why didn't you go after the rings yourself?" Ravager questions as Slade walks away from her, the man stopping at a chair before rubbing his chin.

"It's actually quite simple Rose. Should I have gone after the rings, Trigon's followers would've alerted their master that I was plotting against him. And, until I'm able to break free of him, I cannot allow him to see any deceit in my actions." Slade replies with a wave of his hand, then sat in the chair and swivels it around to look at the monitors on the wall once more.

"I see… thank you for enlightening me father. But, who should I give the remaining ten rings too?" Ravager questions of her father and the man mentally smirked while bringing up images of Tartarus.

"Little Raven will protect her friends… but, what of Naruto's? His team will be of use against Trigon in the coming battle." Slade replies and Ravager nods her head slowly before bowing to her father.

"I see. And I will not fail you father." Ravager states before moving back into the shadows, Slade turning to where she had been and allowing his single eye to soften.

"Such a good girl… though I never wanted this life for you, it seems you've made your choice on the matter." Slade says to himself before turning back to his monitors and starts bringing up anything he can on Trigon… "You and The Kyuubi have your plans at the ready… And I have mine." Slade says to no one as he studies all he can…

TBC…


	48. Survival Training PT 1

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

**Chapter 47**: **The Quest Side-Story: Survival Trai****ning PT. 1**…

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

(Jump-City…)

It had been a couple days since Raven's birthday, and unfortunately there was seemingly no sign of the masked-madman. Currently however, a familiar man in a Bat costume is kneeling down at the scene of a murder. "I sure wish Zatana was here, this kind of thing is more her specialty." A man in a red costume known as The Flash notes to himself while looking around, Batman silently picking up a long silver hair from the floor and narrowing his eyes onto it for a moment. "Why are we here again?" The Flash wondered aloud while scratching his head and got a flat look from Batman.

"I mean I know why we're here, but isn't Jump-City more Titans territory?" The Flash questions while looking to Batman, the Dark-Knight silently placing the silver hair into a case before stowing it into his belt.

"It is, but Dr. Fate wanted us to check up on some of the old members of The Cult of Skath in Jump-City for a connection to the recent happenings in Jump…" Batman replied and Flash grimaced before looking to the side where a man was headless, a hand sliced off as well.

"You mean how Deathstroke came back from the grave right?" The Flash questioned and saw Batman visibly tense; Batman had never liked leaving a master assassin like Deathstroke to the Titans, it had actually been Green-Lantern's idea originally, more or less as a way to toughen them up. Batman had remained silent about it, but he generally disliked the thought of them trying to face him on their own, although they had proven their metal in the end…

"Exactly." Batman replied while checking around in drawers and boxes for any sign of The Ring of Azar…

"Which also explains ol' headless over there…" The Flash noted while Batman walked over to the body and scowled deeply. Kneeling down beside of it, he then started checking the body for any other, less noticeable wounds and narrowed his eyes. None, it had been one strike, one blow, and the man was instantly down, he hadn't retaliated or anything, it was a clean kill… whomever did it was skilled.

"He didn't even know what hit him, the assassin came in quickly and killed him in one move. Looks like she also took his hand, which probably means he had a Ring of Azar if what Dr. Fate told us about them is true." Batman noted and The Flash blinked for a moment before staring at the Dark-Knight.

"And how do you know it's a girl who did this?" The Flash questioned and Batman turned to give him a look.

"I know." He replies cryptically while standing up and then crossed his arms.

"So how come no one's noticed this guy was killed yet? I know this town is big an' all, but people in Gotham are noticed sooner than this." The Flash noted while looking around, the home being depressing, as it was dark, dank, and looked like something out of a horror flick.

"John Doe here was a notable recluse, he'd disappear for days on end on a fairly common basis. Besides that, seven other murders in town are being investigated." Batman replies before reaching up and hitting the side of his mask, activating the "Detective Mode" of his mask's lenses while looking around.

"And how do those murders involve this exactly?" Flash questioned and for a moment Batman mentally wished he had a more astute partner, or at least someone who didn't ask so many questions.

"Each of the murders was a known member of The Order of Skath." Batman replied cryptically and the gears in The Flash's head started to turn before a frown crossed his features.

"Meaning that someone out there is targeting the members of the Cult specifically." The Flash realized and Batman silently nodded his head before walking around and narrowed his eyes on a wall. "So then we don't have to worry about these guys bringing about the Apocalypse or anything… right?" The Flash questioned while Batman walked to the wall and followed his Detective Vision over to a panel and pressed down on it, stepping back as the wall suddenly rose up into the ceiling.

"No… it's not good. The Ring of Azar for each member is notably missing." Batman finally replied before walking down a long flight of stairs, The Flash following suit behind him.

"So someone isn't killing them, well they are, but they're doing so to take their rings? Rather than stop them from bringing about the Apocalypse." The Flash guessed and Batman nodded his head mutely while they wandered down. "I don't get it, what's so special about these rings that someone would kill for them?" The Flash asked and Batman frowned while crossing his arms over his chest.

"A Ring of Azar, they were originally forged by the same order who imprisoned Trigon eons ago as a way of protecting themselves from his demonic power. The Rings were eventually collected by the Order of Skath as a means of keeping anyone from using them against Trigon. Over the centuries, they were passed down the familial lines of the Order from father to son or mother to daughter. Their true purpose lost to time." Batman explained and The Flash's head snapped over to the Dark-Knight.

"Whoa, wait, Trigon? You mean as in Trigon The Terrible? THAT Trigon?" The Flash demanded and Batman nodded his head mutely, a scowl on his face. "What the… I mean, how is he a part of this, I thought this cult worshiped some "Skath" thing." The Flash noted and Batman nodded his head silently before answering.

"The Order of Skath use the name to protect the true name of their master, Trigon The Terrible, an extradimensional Demon with the power and cruelty to destroy whole worlds." Batman replied and The Flash grimaced before frowning as he crossed his arms.

"Yeah, and Big-Blue is weak against Magic and the like… Trigon could literally crush him." The Flash noted and Batman remained silent as they came to the bottom of the stairs, Batman narrowing his eyes while The Flash grimaced. "Oh this can't be good…" The Flash realized as he saw a strange room covered head to toe in glowing blood red runes and seals of some kind.

"No, it's not. I'll have Dr. Fate bring in Jason Blood to study these symbols to determine their purpose. But if my hunch is correct its necromancy of some kind…" Batman says while turning away from the room, The Flash nodding his head as he follows behind the Dark-Knight.

"So what's our next move?" Flash questioned and Batman frowned in thought for a few moments before mentally sighing.

"I'm heading back to the Watchtower to run a few tests to see if I can find a match to a hair I found. You head to the Tower and locate Raven, Dr. Fate wants to talk to her." Batman replies and The Flash stares at the man for a moment.

"Why don't you just come with, I'm sure Titans-Tower has…" He starts to ask only for Batman to interrupt him.

"Batman to Watchtower, one to beam up…" Batman states flatly before vanishing in a flash of light, leaving The Flash to stand there confused. Blinking for a moment and then raising a brow, The Flash wonders why Batman wouldn't want to go to Titans-Tower before grimacing slightly.

"Oh right, the issues with Nightwing…" He mumbles to himself before sighing and zipping off towards Titans-Tower, he needed to check on Kid-Flash anyways…

(Titans-Tower…)

Nightwing frowns as he pulls a couple uniforms from his closet and lays them, and an array of his gadgets out on his bed. Looking around, he soon finds a black backpack and places it onto his bed as well. Folding his uniforms and stowing them into the backpack, he then starts to put his gadgets in as well. Reaching to the side, Nightwing then fastens his belt around his waist and walks to his bedside table, where a couple extra masks and his bo-staff await. As he does, the door to his room opens and the rest of the Titans walk in, though Donna has to help Kid-Flash inside.

"Nightwing, you are leaving us?" Starfire questions while Night reaches to the side and grasps his Bo-staff and collapses it before stowing it into his backpack as well.

"I have too." The former Boy-Wonder states and BB rolls his eyes while crossing his arms over his chest.

"Dude, you got your butt kicked, it happens." BB reminds and Raven glances over to the green jester.

"Happens to some of us more than others." She notes and BB twitches while giving the grey-skinned girl an annoyed look. Shaking his head after a moment, BB then looks back to Nightwing while waving slightly.

"Anyways, it doesn't mean you have to quit." BB states while Nightwing slings his backpack over his right shoulder.

"Yes. We will soon locate this Katarou… and then it will be you who is kicking the butt!" Starfire offered with a bright smile only for Nightwing to frown.

"I'm not quitting the team." Night stresses to the girl and the rest of his friends before sighing softly and looking to the side. "But my fight with Katarou showed me how much I still have to learn about martial arts." Nightwing explains while flashes of his fight with the man late the night before pass before his minds eye.

"No problem. I can help you train." Cy states while taking a quick martial-arts stance. "I got a new computer-simulated fight sequence in the gym." Cy offers while taking several more poses, Nightwing merely walking passed him.

"Or how about you and me spar, I am an Amazonian warrior after all." Donna offers and yet again Night passes her before sighing as he stops before his door.

"I've already trained with the best and apparently it wasn't enough." Night states simply before then turning around to face his team. "There's only one person who can help me." Night tells them and Starfire walks up to their leader.

"You wish to learn from this True Master of whom the villain spoke?" Starfire questions of her friend with a curious tone and Nightwing narrowed his eyes for a moment before exhaling.

"I'm not coming back until I find him." Nightwing states and Cyborg moves up beside of Starfire and gives the spiky-haired teen an incredulous look.

"WHAT? Aw, come on, man! How do you know this True Master is even a good guy? How are you gonna find him? Do you even know where you're going?" Cyborg demands while moving his arms around animatedly and Nightwing mentally rolls his eyes before answering.

"I'm not sure." Nightwing starts to say while Raven crosses her arms and sits down on Nightwing's bed.

"Sounds like a plan." Raven notes sarcastically and gets a look from Night before he sighs and inwardly admits she has a point, but this is something he feels he must do.

"According to legend, the True Master lives in the mountains on the other side of the world, and can be found only by the most serious of students." Nightwing explains with a serious tone, only for BB to wave a hand to get his attention.

"I'm in!" BB states with a grin, getting snickers from Kid-Flash and an eye-roll from Donna. "When do we leave? What should I pack? Will I need shots? This is gonna be so cool!" BB says with a grin, only to blink as Nightwing turns around and walks out of the room.

"I have to go alone." The Boy-Wonder states flatly while the door to his room seals shut, Cy exhaling and scratching his head.

"In the immortal words of Red-X… That guy takes himself _way_ too seriously." Cy notes, instantly getting nods of agreement from the rest of the team while Raven suppresses a smirk before crossing her legs.

"Now we're down two members until Nightwing returns, and Kid-Flash fully heals from his injury." Raven notes and Cy frowns deeply while crossing his arms over his chest.

"Hey, you're giving me daily treatments to help fix my leg…" Kid-Flash reminds the girl and Raven sighs for a moment before rubbing her temples.

"My treatments will help you heal, but it'll still take at least a month for your knee to be back to full strength. And even then you might want to be careful with it." Raven replies, Kid-Flash shrugging his shoulders while Cyborg starts to drum his metallic fingers on his right bicep.

"Yeah, that is problem. Not to mention with Slade out there we really need all the help we can get around here. Not Night running off for some training on the other side of the damn planet…" Cyborg grumbles out and walks out of the room as well, Donna and Kid-Flash following after him. Looking to one another for a moment, Starfire, Raven, and Beast-Boy then followed after their temporary leader and the rest of the team into the Ops Center.

"Got any ideas dude?" BB suddenly questions while Cyborg sits down before a computer terminal and starts to look up Honorary Titans.

"Maybe we can call in a few Honorary Titans until Night gets back and Kid-Flash heals up, that way we won't be down any members while Slade's out there. There's strength in numbers after all…" Cy replies while looking around on the computer only for Raven to float down next to him, hands on her hips.

"Why are we calling in someone from out of town when we all know someone who can literally cut Slade into pieces whose here in Jump-City?" Raven asked flatly and Cyborg blinked for a moment before a look of realization crossed his features.

"Right… Naruto…" He said and BB decided to add something to the equation.

"He has those powers of his and he's a killer Ninja!" BB offered and Donna clicked her tongue for a moment before adding something as well.

"He's proven he can match if not best, Nightwing in both armed and unarmed combat." She supplied thoughtfully and Kid-Flash grinned for a moment.

"He's as fast as I am when he wants to be." KF noted while Starfire smiled and folded her hands together.

"And he truly wishes to protect friend Raven!" Starfire noted with a smile, Cyborg rubbing his chin for a moment before nodding his head.

"Alright, I'll bite… but how exactly to we gonna get Nar to agree to this, encase any of y'all have forgotten, even though he's obviously done so before now, he really doesn't like playing the Hero." Cy reminds before his human eye takes a hint of realization before rubbing his chin thoughtfully and leaning back in his seat.

"Dude, Nar used to be a Ninja, just hire him and he'd help." BB reminds and Cyborg rolls his human eye before giving the green furred teen an annoyed look.

"Oh, and where the hell do you expect us to get the money to hire Nar? He's probably more expensive than all of Tartarus combined…" Cy noted with a grumble and BB frowned in thought before they all stopped when someone cleared his throat. Looking to the door to Ops, the Titans blinked when they saw The Flash himself leaning into the doorframe with a smirk.

"Hey, Titans. Just came by to tell Raven that Dr. Fate wants to talk to her. But what's all this about needing money?" Flash questioned before zipping over to Bart and frowning when he saw him needing a crutch and cast over his knee. "Damn, I see Deathstroak hasn't changed much… still an evil bastard." Flash noted and Raven raised a brow before her eyes suddenly flared.

"Wait, The JLU were aware of Slade the whole time?" Raven demanded and saw Flash grimace before grinning nervously.

"Uh… maybe." He replied and Cyborg crossed his arms over his chest.

"And y'all didn't do anything about him, why?" Cy questioned in a strained tone and Flash rubbed the back of his neck.

"Ask Bats about that, though I think it has something to do with staying out of you guys way or something like that…" The Flash admitted and Cy mumbled something under his breath while The Flash heard a noise from his ear-bud. "Yeah." He replies while placing a hand to his ear and BB looks over to Cyborg.

"Dude, why don't we have really small communicators like that?" The green teen questions and gets an annoyed glare from Cyborg as his answer.

"Right, wait your what…?" Flash questioned only to step back as three flashes of light appeared in the center of the room, Batman was one of them, followed by Dr. Fate, and finally, a man wit dark red hair with a white streak in it, a brown jacket with a black sweater, brown slacks, black shoes, pale skin, and cold dark eyes. "Yo, Bman. Doc Fate. Mr. Blood." Flash offers and gets a nod of acknowledgement from Dr. Fate before he walks over to Raven, the red haired man crossing his arms behind his back as he follows.

"I finished analyzing that hair I found at the murder scene earlier Flash…" Batman says while walking over to the computer Cy was sitting at and gives him a look, Cyborg getting up quickly and allowing Batman to sit down. "I found a match in the databanks…" Batman continued before a picture of Ravager appeared on the Titans screen.

"The Ravager?" Cyborg questions while scratching his head and Batman nods before crossing his arms.

"Also known as Deathstokes Daughter, she's an assassin who was trained by Deathstroke himself, after his death she took up his business, now it looks like she's killing off members of the Order of Skath for Rings of Azar." Batman supplies while Raven's eyes widen before a scowl crosses her features.

"What would she or Slade need with several Rings of Azar? One is enough to ward off even my more dangerous attacks… well if they can somehow get it near me at least…" Raven noted mostly to herself and Dr. Fate decided to answer for Batman.

"We're not sure, but for the moment we clearly need to be on high alert. Whatever it is that Deathstroke has planned, I somehow doubt it's in the interests of our enemy." Dr. Fate replies while deciding to omit Trigon's name for Raven's sake, and then looks over to said girl. "Now then miss Raven, we should adjourn and speak of any new findings we might have made." Dr. Fate insists and the violet-haired girl slowly nods her head in agreement.

"Jason, you come as well, I wish to know what you've found, and you are more well versed in this particular area of the Supernatural." Dr. Fate notes and Jason smirks slightly before turning stone serious as he, Dr. Fate, and Raven walk out of Ops. Frowning while working on the computer, Batman then turns his head over to Cyborg with a thin frown.

"Now then, hiring anyone to take over for Nightwing will be unnecessary, the JLU was called in to investigate a murder case, we'll watch Jump City until the case is solved. The rest of you should rest, especially since Kid-Flash is injured and Raven is Slade's primary target." Batman states and Cyborg looks like he wants to argue, only for The Flash to move over to his side, one arm over the Titanium Teen's shoulders.

"Trust me Cy, you really don't want to argue with Bats." The Flash warns while Cyborg looks to the red clothed speedster before reluctantly nodding his head, he was well aware of the few who did argue with Batman ending up looking like fools…

"Dude! If the JLU are going to be in charge, what are we going to do?" BB questions of Cyborg and the metal man frown in thought while walking out of OPS. Blinking, BB follows after Cyborg walking behind the Titanium Teen silently waiting for his answer. Cyborg himself considers their options, training was an option but Kid-Flash was out of commission and couldn't join in to build teamwork…

"Man I don't know, this whole thing is really starting to get crazy." Cy replies with a shrug of his shoulders, BB scratching his head as he follows behind his metal plated friend. However, a second later an idea comes to BB's mind and he grins up at his titanium friend.

"So if we're not doing anything… can I go visit my girlfriend?" BB asks with a raised brow in Cy's direction, the Titantium teen giving his friend a look before smirking slightly.

"Alright man, why don't you just call her Kitten for once?" Cy questioned with an amused look on his face while BB gaped at Cy. "What? I may not be Night but I do have an IQ of 210 as well as a cybernetic brain, and besides all that… I read your journal." Cy explained with a smirk before shrugging while BB stared at him then blinked incredulously.

"DUDE! Your not supposed to read my stuff and invade my privacy like that Cy!" BB exclaimed and Cyborg shrugged his shoulders.

"And you invading Raven's privacy to invade her room several times now is any different… how?" Cyborg questioned of the green furred teen flatly, BB blinking before giving a nervous grin.

"Oh right… er, but I've never read Rae's diary or anything!" The green furred teen reminds and Cyborg nods his head slowly.

"Only cause she doesn't have one…" He replies with a frown and BB sputters while walking with his friend. "Anyways B, besides all that I'm fine with you going out to see Kitten, I have no beef with her really, that's all Star and Night, they really know how to hold a grudge…" Cy said with a shake of his head before crossing his arms over his chest and giving a look to his green friend. "So get going before I change my mind." Cyborg orders, causing BB to blink for a second before grinning widely and zipping off, and leaving Cyborg to shake his head with a smirk as he goes…

(Tartarus HQ…)

Danielle "Phantom" Fenton/Masters was not having a good day, first of all, her body's recent quirks had reached their zenith and she was starting to get a glimpse of her true Ghostly self for the first time. Her hair is still white and her ponytail made of white fire, her skin however is the same shade of grey as Raven, Jinx, or Ember the Rocker Ghost, her eyes have dark rings around them with a black tear like curl from her right eye, her lips have turned a green color as if she was wearing lipstick, and finally eyes now glowed with a ghostly green light, however her pupils have turned red.

"I now officially hate my life…" Dani decided, wearing a simple medical gown since all her clothes were too small for her larger frame. Another annoyance for her is that her body has started to act oddly, she would phase into intangibility, turn invisible, and even start changing shapes at random times, it was only thanks to Gizmo Ghost Proofing the infirmary that she hadn't somehow destroyed herself. The worst part being that currently she has a hole in her chest like a "Hollow" from that weird Bleach Anime she watched with Kid-Wykkyd once…

"And how exactly do you hate your life now any more than when you hated it the other day…?" Gizmo demanded of the girl while poking a stick through the hole in the middle of her torso with a smirk, Dani scowling as he did so.

"Stop that half-pint! It's not fucking funny!" The Ghostling girl exclaimed furiously, her hair rising slightly and Gizmo throwing the stick away and whistling to himself innocently.

"Man could you please stop antagonizing her, it's hard enough to study her biology without her being pissed off…" Seemore says with a shake of his head, Gizmo smirking while Dani twitched lightly before turning her head a full 360 degrees to glare at the now gaping Cyclops.

"Don't talk about me like I'm some kind of damn lab-rat, One-Eye!" The girl shouted while at the side, Duela snickered into one hand, even while videotaping the event, mostly because some people at "" wanted to see the equivalent to Ghost-Puberty and were willing to pay top-dollar for it, but also because she just loved to do random ass things like this.

"Sorry Dani, but it's kind of hard not too with you being another species and all…" Seemore reminds and Dani gives the boy a glare, a low rumbling growl reverberating from deep in her throat.

"Seemore, shut your trap before she decides to possess you and make you think you're a pretty school girl…" Gizmo warns and the Cyclops gulps upon seeing a sinister looking smirk cross Dani's features. _'Why did Giz have to give her that idea?'_ Seemore wondered to himself while Dani then looked around and a frown crossed her features.

"Where's Sensei?" She asked Gizmo and the Tiny-Terror frowned while crossing his arms over his chest.

"Same place he's been since he fought with Slade." Gizmo replies and Dani frowns to herself while drumming her fingers on the bed.

"You mean in his room staring at that S shaped symbol?" Dani questions with a raised brow and Gizmo nods his head silently. "Jeez, I never thought I'd see the day Sensei would take something so seriously." Dani admits with a worried look crossing her features as she looks back to Gizmo.

"Oi, his girlfriend is involved, what do you expect?" Gizmo reminds and Dani nods her head, knowing that when Raven was in trouble, her Sensei would usually go a little nuts…

Said boy is currently sitting in his room and typing on his computer, searching for the S-shaped symbol on the net. _'Kara-Chan said it's called the "Mark of Skath" it's got to have some kind of meaning to it…'_ The blond thinks to himself while checking several links, only to scowl when none of them tell him anything he didn't already know. _'Oi… what I need is Kara-Chan's books, and she's got to know more than she's telling…'_ The blond thinks to himself while crossing his arms over his chest, then looked to the side as someone knocked on his door.

"Come on in…" He allows while glaring to his side, narrowing his eyes onto the S-Shaped symbol dangerously. As he does, Jinx enters into his room, poking her head in first before walking inside and staring at him silently.

"Temp, you do realize that staring at that isn't going to help, right?" Jinx questions while walking over to her friend and Naruto silently nods his head, a frown across his features. "Then why are you glaring at it like that?" The rosette questions while scratching her head with a confused look on her face.

"Because I really, really don't like it… not only did that Slade freak become immortal after getting it burned onto his forehead, but Kara-Chan got a series of fucking runes practically seared onto her body with it also on her forehead." The blond replies with a deep scowl across his face and Jinx sighs before rubbing her temples, and then sits down on his bed.

"It's known as The Mark of Skath, it's used by the "Order of Skath" as their symbol." Jinx states and Naruto blinked before turning to look at her with a raised brow. "Cult 101 at the HIVE…" She states with a smirk and Naruto shakes his head for a moment before crossing his arms.

"Got anything else on them?" Naruto questions and Jinx nods her head and sighs.

"The Order of Skath is also known as The "Church of Blood" to which our old Head-Master Brother-Blood was the leader. However, since he's in prison in Steel City he's been unable to do anything with them. The Order worships a demonic entity known as "Skath" whose true name is Trigon the Terrible, an extra-dimensional demon whose known for his cruelty and power." The girl replied while a deep scowl crossed Naruto's features as several things finally started to make sense.

"So this has to do with Kara-Chan's old man… and thereby the prophecy of her birth…" Naruto mused to himself while leaning back in his seat, Jinx blinking in confusion at that last tidbit of information.

"Prophecy?" Jinx questions of Naruto and he frowns while remaining silent. Sighing as she realizes that Naruto won't be telling her anything, Jinx then leaned into one fist while staring at the blond. "So, what now?" Jinx asks and Naruto crosses his arms, closes his eyes, and leans back in his seat for a moment.

'_Dani's still sick so I can't train her in using the Samura-Saber techniques I learned… Giz is probably working on yet another new version of my suit… Kid-Wykkyd went to visit his cousin Cheryl "Heather" Mason in "Silent Hill" for some reason…'_ The blond inwardly mused while wondering why Kid had to visit his cousin, the only thing he knew was that Kid got a letter about his uncle dying and he'd left before even asking if he could… _'Not that it matters, Kid does deserve a vacation, he's the only guy on this team I can count on in stealth, though I gotta admit he is a little weird…'_ The blond mused to himself while drumming his fingers on his left bicep.

'_Duela is out of her mind and I really don't want to spend too much time with her. Blackfire is out and about right now, I've really got to wonder where she goes when she's not here at HQ… meh, so long as she isn't getting arrested it doesn't matter. Seemore is too fascinated by Dani to do anything. Private is too military to relax. Billy is… well… he's Billy. And Mammoth is out gorging himself again… man we need work, everyone is becoming way too lax.'_ The blond couldn't help but think to himself while tapping one foot on the ground.

'_I wonder what Kara-Chan is up too? But I do really need to spend more time with my team… then again most of them are off doing their own things… I guess I could do something with Jinx. Lets see… what to do…'_ The blond continued to think to himself while Jinx watched him from his bed with a bored look on her face. _'No movies I want to see, no reason to go out to eat, nothing to steal… training? Maybe, but what kind of training could we do? Wait… Survival Training maybe? Yeah, and Kara-Chan needs some as well, besides that she did seem to like the forest the other day…'_ Naruto thought to himself as a smirk slowly crossed over his face.

"Hey Jinx, did they teach you Wilderness Survival in the HIVE?" Naruto questions with a raised brow and gets a look from Jinx as his response.

"In the year you were there, did you ever see a class like that?" She asked him flatly and Naruto shrugged his shoulders as his response. "Exactly. Neither The Headmistress nor Brother-Blood saw any reason to give us a course that is taught by most scouts." Jinx explains and Naruto raised a brow before rolling his eyes with a smirk across his lips. "Why'd you want to know Temp?" Jinx then questioned and Naruto grinned towards her for a moment.

"How would you like to go with me, and possibly Kara-Chan, into the forest for a little survival training then?" Naruto questioned of the rosette and Jinx mentally grimaced while considering her options. On one hand, she really did want to spend more time with Naruto, especially since they barely did anymore. But on the other, she didn't like the idea of hanging around the couple in the middle of the forest. However, she and Raven had called a Truce, of sorts, so maybe they could be in one another's presence for that time without being at one another's throats… besides Naruto would be too close for either of them to attack the other without looking foolish…

"Alright I'll be civil, but you still have to convince Raven it's a good idea to spend a few days in the woods alone with you and me…" Jinx reminds with a frown on her face and Naruto nodded his head while stretching his arms out.

"Yeah I know, but that shouldn't take too long." The blond replies while getting up and then made his way to his door. "By the way Jinx, you really should stop sitting on my bed, and why are you wearing black again today?" Naruto questioned with an amused look on his face as he ducked out of the room, leaving Jinx to blink before growling as she saw his mirror was still in the same spot it'd been the last time he'd done that…

"WHY THE HELL DOES HE EVEN HAVE THAT THERE ANYWAYS!" The rosette demanded loudly before falling back on the bed with her arms crossed and a scowl on her face. Sighing, the deciding to pack up for the trip, Jinx then got up and glared at the mirror for a moment. "If I wasn't sure that my powers would go nuts for seven years, I'd so smash you…" She told the mirror before walking out of the room and making her way to her own to pack up…

(Titans Tower…)

Raven sits in a dark conference room that had seen very little use over the years; mainly because of the fact none of the other Titans were really all that official and even inductions came at a sedate pace. _'We really need to figure out some better use for most of the rooms in the Tower, half of them just collect dust…'_ The violet-eyed girl thought to herself while shifting uncomfortably in her seat. Across from her is Dr. Fate, nearby and with his eyes closed and fingers laced together is Jason Blood.

"Please Raven, try and calm down, this isn't an interrogation." Dr. Fate reminds and the girl glances over towards Jason Blood for a moment before shifting uncomfortably once more. While not well known, Jason was an expert in demons, their magic, rituals, and all other things dealing with them. In fact, much like Naruto himself, Jason even has a Demon sealed inside of himself, however this was done by Merlin himself, it was a punishment from the wizard onto the man, back when Jason betrayed the kingdom of Camelot to Morgan La'Fey.

"I believe she is slightly uncomfortable because of my presence, not because of fear." Jason suddenly states while opening a sharp dark eye and gazing over to the violet-eyed girl, causing her to shiver once more. Upon seeing this, Dr. Fate mentally sighed, he knew Jason was intimidating, but he'd never thought Raven of all people would be affected by the man, then again he was as stoic as Batman himself and Raven seemed to be "Coming out of her shell" thanks to her boyfriend…

"Ah, I see… but do not fret Raven, Jason is only here because he is the only one I felt could help us with this situation." Dr. Fate tries to placate but Raven still looks to the scarlet haired man uncomfortably. _'Perhaps it's more Etrigan she's uncomfortable with and not Jason himself…'_ Dr. Fate wondered to himself before shaking his head slightly and crossing his arms. "Jason, what have you discovered?" Dr. Fate then questions of the scarlet haired man and he exhales a breath with a deep frown on his face.

"The seals and runes Batman and Flash located in the basement of the first Member of The Order of Scath were indeed Necromantic runes. However, rather than resurrecting them, the runes would transfer the life force of the deceased members to an as of yet… unknown location. As such, it is possible any suicides in the area are also Members of The Order." Jason replies and Raven blinks before frowning for a moment and thinking over her own exceptional knowledge of magic.

"If these runes transfer Life Force then the only purpose they serve is to help open the portal to Trigon's realm. Their primarily dark souls and The Gem of Evil would be all that would be needed to open the door and allow him entry into our world." Raven muses aloud and a frown crosses Jason's features.

"That is most troubling news… this warrants further investigation I'm afraid." Dr. Fate muses aloud while Jason nods his head silently then looks over to Raven for a moment.

"I hear you have a collection of books on Demonic runes and ritualistic magic correct from your home world of Azarath correct?" Jason asks flatly and Raven blinks for a moment before slowly nodding her head. "Good, I would like to see them if it is not too much trouble." Jason requests of the girl and Raven nods her head slowly, giving her accent to the scarlet haired man. "Excellent. That should be all I'll need, the JLU have requested that I remain in Jump-City for the time being and continue my research." Jason then states and Raven looks over to Dr. fate for an explanation.

"Myself and several members of the league felt that only Jason could do this without a bias… as you well know Zatana and others… in the league believe we should outright destroy you to prevent the apocalypse from coming to pass." Dr. Fate reminds and Raven visibly grimaces before rubbing her arms.

"Zauriel actually offered to help protect you however, something of a surprise considering his heritage." Jason suddenly offered and saw Raven flinch, the idea of being remotely close to an actual Angel from Heaven, given her demonic heritage, not really helping calm her down…

"Uh… I don't think that would be such a good idea, if my anger got out of control around him, I'd most likely attack to kill without question…" Raven replied and Dr. Fate nodded his head in agreement, the disputes between heaven and hell were the things of legends after all.

"Very well, but for the moment I feel you need to rest. The JLU shall be taking charge of Jump-City until further notice. Your JCPD called us when several murders took place in town after they felt it best to have people more experienced with psychotic and murderous villains. No offence meant to you and the Titans of course." Dr. Fate said while trying not to sound too arrogant and Raven merely shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't have a problem with you or the JLU being in town, Nightwing is the one who has an inferiority complex… at least when he's around Batman." The girl replies and Dr. Fate allows an amused chuckle to echo out, Jason merely smirking as everyone was well aware of Nightwing and his problems with The Dark Knight.

"Indeed… and it seems your boyfriend is here and entertaining The Flash with a race downstairs…" Dr. Fate starts then finishes while placing a hand to the side of his helmeted head; Raven groaning lightly before looking over to Jason.

"Go and see what he wants, you can show me to your books afterwards." Jason states while waving her away, Raven nodding even as she forms a shadow then reaches up and pulls her away, leaving Jason alone with Dr. Fate.

"So then, what do you make of her Jason?" Dr. Fate then questions of his current partner while standing up and the stoic man sighs softly.

"Bit quiet, has great wisdom even for one so young, seems to have a problem making friends or expressing herself for obvious reasons, and needs to learn a few things about controlling her demonic heritage…" He notes with a slight frown and Dr. Fate nods his head in agreement with the scarlet haired man. "But… at least more level headed than most Half-Demons I know." Jason then finishes and Dr. Fate chuckles to himself as he leaves the room to make his way to OPS.

(Below…)

Naruto really had to wonder how he got into this situation. He'd come to Titans-Tower to talk to Raven, only for The Flash to meet him at the door. He'd said something about Raven talking to Dr. Fate and a guy called "Jason Blood" and then asked how fast he was… after that was kind of a blur, and then he suddenly finds himself racing The Flash around Titans-Tower… "C'mon, you gotta keep up Blondie!" The older man dressed primarily in red and yellow cried while Naruto slid to a halt.

'_Oi, and I thought I was fast; this guy is running circles around me…!'_ The blond muses to himself, not acknowledging the smirk across his face as he narrows his eyes on The Flash. Pushing Chakra down into his legs, Naruto then launched himself forward and directly at The Flash. Said red-clothed man quickly dodging to the side but Naruto twisted around and slapped a hand to his back. As he does Naruto channels his Chakra to his hand, pressing it down into the cloth that The Flash is wearing and staining it in the shape of a seal…

'_Heh heh heh… now the fun really begins!'_ The blond thinks to himself while The Flash zips away once more. Smirking lightly the blond then uses his Hiraishin no Jutsu and vanishes in a yellow flash, appearing behind The Flash and bringing his foot down on top of him from behind. However The Flash then zipped off with a grin, running across the water of the lake only for Naruto to appear before him and kick him in the face. Skidding back, The Flash flips back to his feet with a surprised look before narrowing his eyes as Naruto lands on the water, a smirk on his face as he stands on top of it.

"Man, the Ninja from your world learn some really wild things don't they?" The Flash questions, Naruto shrugging his shoulders with a smirk as he does so.

"What can I say, we've had several hundred years to figure out how to do even the most wild of things with Chakra." Naruto replies and The Flash nods his head, only for both to turn when Raven materializes with a frown on her face.

"Mind telling me what your doing here Naruto?" Raven questions flatly and the said blond grins nervously while rubbing the back of his neck.

"Sorry Kara-Chan, but red here wanted to see how fast I am…" Naruto says while motioning to The Flash, said hero blinking before shrugging his shoulders.

"Yeah, and I've got to admit he's got some good speed on him, not quite in my league, but still…" The Flash muses aloud and gets a look from Naruto, only for the blond to turn back to Raven when she clears her throat.

"So exactly what are you doing here anyways Naruto?" Raven questions of the blond flatly while floating out over the water to him, Naruto blinking for a moment before snapping his fingers.

"Right. I came to ask if you wanted to come with me and a friend out on a trip to the forest for some light Survival Training." Naruto replies and Raven raises a brow before frowning for a moment. There was only two people Naruto would bring with him other than her. First was of course his current "Apprentice" Dani, and the other was Jinx, his best friend.

"Please tell me your talking about Dani…" Raven asked the blond haired teen and Naruto shook his head. "Ugh… do we have to bring her?" Raven asked while meaning Jinx since they couldn't name her in front of a hero like The Flash.

"I kind of need to spend more time with my friends too Kara-Chan, but with Dani sick and being watched by several of them, Kid off to visit his cousin, and well… you know how the others are…" Naruto replies and Raven nods her head in agreement, well aware of how Billy, Private, Duela, and even Blackfire were…

'_But do I really want to go out into a forest with Naruto for "Survival Training"? Especially with Jinx around…'_ Raven wondered to herself while crossing her arms over her chest and frowning lightly. Truthfully, her and Jinx did have a truce of sorts running, but having a truce to not antagonize one another, and actively liking one another were two different things. Sure, she could sympathize with Jinx in her lack of control over her powers and even causing mass damage and even death if she lost control. But, that didn't mean that she wanted to spend any long periods of time with the rosette.

On the other hand however, she REALLY didn't want Jinx spending extended periods of time alone with Naruto. While she knew Naruto would cut off an arm before cheating on her, having felt those pains himself, she couldn't help the feeling of jealousy she got, and wondered why nothing ever blew up when she felt jealous… oh wait she usually attacked whatever made her jealous… Shaking off that thought, Raven thought over her options before letting out a soft sigh.

"Fine… how long till we leave?" Raven asks flatly and Naruto takes a moment to consider that.

"I'll come by and get you in twenty minutes. How's that?" The blond haired teen asks and Raven nods her ascent the blond grinning as she does. "Cool, and before I forget pack light, and I'll see you then Kara-Chan." The blond then states with a smile while performing a Shunshin and vanishing in a swirl of wind, literally creating a miniature tornado that vanished as soon as he was gone.

"That was new…" Raven noted while The Flash wondered how the Ninja from Naruto's world could do all those neat tricks. _'Especially running on water without having to be as fast as me, that would be really useful…'_ The man couldn't help but think to himself while remembering a few times he'd accidentally fallen underwater and had some minor trouble getting back to his feet from sinking too fast…

(Tartarus HQ…)

Dani sighed while walking around the HQ, while not exactly better she was more than well enough to where she didn't have to stay in bed all day. That, and bed-sores really hurt… Rubbing her sore neck Dani wandered around then looked to her chest and sighed happily. _'Thank you Kami-Sama for that stupid hole being gone!'_ The girl thought to herself before stopping and blinked. _'Kami-Sama? Where did that come from?'_ She wondered before rubbing her temples and inwardly thinking she spends way too much time around her sensei to be healthy.

'_Eh, at least it's better than acting like Duela…'_ She admitted to herself, while her partner in crime and her got along it was clearly a relationship similar to that of Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn in that Dani could stand and work with Duela and is even her friend at times, only she got on her nerves very, very easily. Stopping at a bathroom, Dani then walked inside and checked her features, breathing a relieved sigh to see her pupils had changed back to being black, rather than the menacing blood red they had been before.

'_Well at least I don't have pointed ears like my "Dad"…'_ Dani inwardly grumbled while referring to Vlad Masters / Plasmius rather than Danny Fenton / Phantom for once. Spotting the black tear shaped mark from her right eye did however cause her brow to raise as she traced a finger along its length. _'Weird… it's just like one of Ember's marks…'_ Dani noted to herself, referring to one of her many Ghostly friends in the Ghost-Zone as unlike her "Bio-Dad" Danny, she didn't shove every ghost she saw into a cramped little thermos.

'_Now what did she say those meant again… c'mon, I know it was important… oh right! Ember said a Ghost with Tear shaped marks usually experienced something so bad that it stained them in that shape. Ember's "Birth" as a Ghost is what caused her markings to appear, so maybe something about mine did as well…'_ Dani thought in recollection before shaking her head and turning around, crossing her arms over her now noticeably expanded bust.

'_Eh, I'm a teenager, that comes with it and I'm really not complaining!'_ The girl muses to herself, glad for one thing that since her biology was mostly Ghostly in nature, she didn't have the problem of a Menstrual Cycle. That tidbit had garnered her more than a little animosity from some of the other girls in Tartarus, but it wasn't her fault she was two thirds ghost now was it? The only drawback she saw was that she DID have to deal with the whole rapid aging thing once every so often, like what was currently happening to her… yeah, which in and of itself was really not fun…

"Well, take the good with the bad." Dani mused before stopping outside of Gizmo's workshop and then turned her head to look inside. Inside she saw Gizmo writing something on a notepad while working on something near the back of the room. _'What the hell is that?'_ The Ghostling Girl wondered before turning invisible and intangible and moving through the wall and into the room to see what was going on. However, she almost wished she hadn't when she saw the almost disturbing machine Gizmo was now working on…

It was pure ivory white in color and clearly hollowed out like a helmet, with two soulless black eyes with a black X over both of the eyes that formed under them like tear marks, its head was designed like a skull with sharp jagged teeth, it had a long series of spinal-plates falling from the base of it's "skull" while two strange gauntlet like apparatus were hanging beside the strange head, the gauntlets topped off with more of the spinal-plates which were all connected to a series of wires which lead over to a computer terminal at the side.

"Alright now, lets see Inferred on!" Gizmo suddenly exclaimed while at the computer and pressed a button, the eyes of the helmet flaring to life to turn a blood red in color, the X over the eyes turning a slightly darker scarlet color while the edges of the teeth also gave an insidious glow that silhouetted the white skulls teeth. Shivering despite herself, Dani continued to watch as Gizmo then took hold of a joystick and started to move it around, her eyes widening as the skull started to move around.

"Yeah, good mobility, but still needs a few tweaks, response time is also a little laggy…" Gizmo noted to himself while jotting something down on his note pad and then checked the screen at his side which was showing him an inferred version of the room. "Yeah that looks good… now for the next setting…" Gizmo mused while turning the Inferred of the masks vision settings off and turned on Night-vision, the eyes turning a ghostly neon green color as he did so.

"The change is still too lagging, need to figure out a way to speed it up…" Gizmo noted to himself with a frown while jotting something down at his side and then checked the screen. "Otherwise, Night-Vision is more than ready to go!" The tiny-terror exclaims while Dani slowly floats upwards on the off chance Gizmo might activate an Ultraviolet setting, which would be able to see her. "Alright next up, ultraviolet setting." Gizmo says with a nod of his head and Dani inwardly thanks herself for moving when she had the chance and looking down as the Tiny-Terror made a few more notes.

"Alright vision settings are good. Now for the other systems…" Gizmo says while pressing a few switches and Dani's eyes widened as the Skull suddenly moved its jaws. _'Kami-Sama!'_ She thought to herself with wide eyes as a low synthetic moan / groan sound echoed out of the skull's open jaws. _'That is the single most disturbing thing I have ever seen slash heard…'_ The girl thought to herself while staring at the skull as it's jaw rose up and down, a metallic grate of some kind on the inside of the sharp teeth.

"Yeah, sounds okay, but now for a better test…" Gizmo says to himself while walking over to the helmet and reached into it from the hollowed out portion on the underside of it. Feeling around he then pulled a small microphone out and held it towards his lips with a grin. "My name is X, Red-X." The Tiny-Terror says into the mic causing a deep synthetic voice to come out of the skull with its jaws moving as well, masking Gizmo's voice with it's own and causing a shiver to run the length of Dani's spine.

'_Damn, and I thought the moan slash groan it made was creepy…'_ Dani thought to herself while Gizmo replaced the mic into the strange skull like helm. "Yeah, sounds good, now lets check out the rebreather…" He says to himself while prying open the "jaws" of the helm and started checking the strange grate like device on the inside of it. _'Okay I've seen enough, I am so out of here…'_ The Ghostling Girl thinks to herself while flying out of Gizmo's Work-Shop / Lab and shivers for a moment when she's out of earshot of the tiny-terror.

"If that is the incomplete version of Sensei's new suit I really don't want to know what it'll look like when it's finally finished… it's creepy to me and I'm two-thirds ghost…" The Ghostling girl grumbles to herself only to yelp loudly as her powers killed themselves, causing her to fall to the ground flat on her face. Twitching for a moment, the ghostling girl then looked up with her eyes narrowed and burning a bright crimson red… "I HATE ECTO-PUBERTY!" She shouts loudly while growling low in her throat, Naruto passing her while whistling to himself as she does.

Ignoring his student's plight, mostly because Gizmo had told her not to wander off, and heading back to his room, Naruto saw Jinx with a backpack sitting beside his door. "So, what's the word Temp?" Jinx questions with a raised brow, her head resting against her open palms as she stared up at him dully for a moment.

"Kara-Chan agreed, so I'm getting my stuff ready then going to get her in about a little bit so get ready. We'll meet back up out front and then head to the forest on the outskirts of town." Naruto replies while walking into his room, Jinx nodding her head with a sigh while also wondering what "Survival Training" with someone like Naruto was going to be like…

(Jump-City…)

Beast-Boy and Kitten were walking through the park near the center of town while BB explained what was happening in the tower. "Yeah, so now we have Batman, The Flash, Dr. Fate, and Jason-Blood. I kind of wish Superman were around just so I could meet him… or maybe even Vixen since we have similar abilities." BB continued while walking beside of Kitten, the blond haired girl raising a brow at that last tidbit.

"Should I start to feel jealous of Vixen, Beasty?" Kitten asked the green furred teen with a raised brow and BB nearly yelped in alarm.

"N-No! Of course not! Its just she can use all the powers of animals like I can, only without shape shifting as well!" BB says quickly with wide eyes, Kitten snickering into one hand as he does so. She was somewhat aware that her father threatened him not to break her heart, but honestly, didn't all fathers make that threat? But then again, with Killer Moth, a Villain from Gotham no less, that was more than just a threat…

"Chill Beasty, I was only kidding." Kitten finally said, allowing the green furred teen to relax and exhale a quick breath.

"Dude, please don't scare me like that… I think I almost had a hear tattack…" BB mumbles under his breath while Kitten rolls her eyes for a moment, then decides it's about time to change the subject back to what she had originally been listening too.

"So anyways, the JLU are coming in and stealing you guys work from you all or what?" She asked him curiously, half to tease him about not "working", and half to find out if it was true so she could hold off on any excursions as Pink-X. While she'd kept a lower profile than the usual villains, she had continued her escapades as the masked thief.

"Nah, they're just keeping an eye on the place till Night gets back. I think. But then they also have a case in town with some recent murders or something." BB replies with a wave of his hand, believing she was asking so she could tell her father to keep a lower than normal profile. Hey, it's not like Killer Moth did anything truly villainous recently, in fact, he hadn't heard from him since the plant invasion. "Oh yeah, and like I said before Batman's in town." BB added as an afterthought, causing Kitten to grimace for a moment.

"Yikes… now he's definitely someone from Gotham I never wanted to see again. Though the last time I saw him I was still just a little girl…" Kitten said aloud and BB blinked before his head snapped over to Kitten.

"Dude, you actually met Batman? Like, why didn't you ever tell me about that before?" BB questioned and Kitten rubbed her temples for a moment as she remembered how they had "Met" back when she was still little… Shaking her head, Kitten walked over to the side and sat down on a bench, Beast-Boy following closely behind her and looking to her expectantly.

"It's more of a sort of I met him… it was back when Daddy first escaped from Gotham." Kitten admits and sees the eager look that's formed on Beast-Boys face. _'Well… he did tell me his "origin" so I guess it's only fair…'_ Kitten mused to herself before taking a breath and leaning back on the bench.

"I've told you how my mom abandoned me right?" Kitten questioned and BB slowly nodded his head with a grimace. "Well I was like… well… I think I was about five years old at the time. Dad was in Arkham after the accident that turned him into a Mothman, and I started to develop my clearly inhuman traits around that time." Kitten began while letting out a sigh and crossed her arms over her chest. "Mom didn't even leave a name for me when she dropped me off, so they called me Kitten, a name I liked, and the orphanage decided to let my surname be that of whomever adopted me." Kitten continued and BB had to wonder how her mother could've been such a royal bitch…

"So anyways, mom sends dad a letter about what she did and he goes ballistic. Apparently dad never knew he had any kids, and really didn't like that I was in an orphanage in Gotham of all places." Kitten starts to explain to the green furred teen only for BB to stop her where she was.

"Whoa, wait, your parents weren't married?" BB questions of the blond haired girl with a shocked expression and Kitten snorts. _'Obviously Beasty isn't aware that not every family is like they are on TV…'_ Kitten muses to herself for a moment before shaking her head and answering the green furred teen.

"My dad married? Not likely even before the Mothman thing Beasty…" Kitten explained with a frown, having long forgotten the woman, but knew her type fairly well. "Anyways, Daddy literally tore his way out of Arkham… I think he even stuck some random and unlucky guard to the roof and left him to die…" Kitten started only to trail off, BB looking at her, clearly more green than usual. "Er, anyways he then tore his way through Gotham, hitting every orphanage he could find in search for me." Kitten continued when BB interrupted her once more.

"Dude, how'd he know which kid was going to be his?" BB questioned and Kitten rolled her eyes and gave him a look.

"Beasty, mom told him quite clearly I wasn't normal, and in dads eyes, that meant I had to physically look strange. He also asked about mom, and when a man who can bite clean through metal, bend steel with his bare hands, and stick you to a roof to die, asks you something, your going to answer him. Thus, finding someone like me back then was easy. This was before the Meta-Human problem started; I think I was actually one of the earliest Meta-Human." Kitten admits and Beast-Boy makes an Oh with his mouth before motioning for her to continue her story.

"Alright, so daddy tore across Gotham looking for me, and of course, Batman got involved." Kitten continued before placing her elbows on her knees and propping her head on her hands. "Daddy had to dodge the Bat while looking for me. He used his friends in Gotham's Underworld to hide, but never said he was looking for his daughter. Daddy was paranoid some of them would try to kidnap me or something like that… anyways. Daddy eventually found the right orphanage and found me, and then took me out of the orphanage." Kitten continued as an amused smile crossed her lips as she remembered that day, week actually, quite clearly.

"Yeah, after that, I somehow convinced Daddy I wanted this and that. So, Daddy took me all over town to give me whatever I wanted. I think he was trying to compensate for never being there for me… anyways, as he's taking me everywhere; Batman is still chasing us all over Gotham. And so Daddy decides he'll need to call some help to escape, thus called on ol' Skull-Face to help us escape." Kitten said with a grin and BB blinked for a moment before giving Kitten a strange look.

"Skull-Face…? Isn't that what Harley calls Red-X?" BB questions and Kitten blinks and then mentally sighs to herself.

"Not X, Beasty, it was a mercenary called "The Phantasm" I called him Skull-Face because he wore an eerie skull mask with a hood and cloak… kind of like a Grim-Reaper." Kitten explained and BB made an Oh with his mouth while Kitten inwardly snickered. "Anyways, Skull-Face helped us get to the outskirts of town to escape when Batman shows up again, Daddy bolted with me while The Phantasm held Batman off for us to get away. So I never met Batman, I did see him a lot though…" Kitten finished while looking over to Beast-Boy, said teen blinking for a moment before frowning.

"So why didn't he ever come looking for you guys? I mean, he's chased The Joker, Poison Ivy, and a lot of his other villains all over the planet, so why not come looking for your dad?" BB wondered aloud while rubbing his chin in thought and Kitten shrugged her shoulders.

"Who knows what Batman thinks, I wonder if even Nightwing knows what's going on in his head…" Kitten says with a look and BB nods his head in agreement, wondering if anyone did know what went on in Batman's head… Quickly deciding that didn't matter, BB then crossed his arms behind his head and gave his girlfriend a look.

"So what do you want to do now?" BB asks and Kitten considers their options since the JLU were taking over on the hero front…

"Beasty, we've got all the time in the world with the JLU doing your job for you guys. Lets just walk around and find something to do while we still can." Kitten says while grabbing Beast-Boy's wrist and then drags him behind her as she makes her way out of the park with the green teen.

(Titans-Tower…)

Raven sighs while putting a few things into a backpack, much like Nightwing had earlier in the day. It wasn't that she didn't have more; it was more because Naruto said to pack light. Also, she could just use her powers to materialize nearly anything she needed later anyways. Looking to a clock to the side, she then slung one of the straps over her shoulder before frowning as she looked down at herself. "Should I change my clothes?" She wondered mostly to herself, then remembered she still hadn't gone shopping for anything besides that one outfit Starfire got for her…

'_Note to self, go shopping sometime soon…'_ She noted inwardly with a slight blush before sighing as she walked out of the room. Jason-Blood was back in the seldom-used conference room, having basically turned it into his research area as he sifted through a plethora of books and tombs to find the answers to whatever was going on in Jump-City lately. Walking down the hall, Raven twitched as Cyborg came from behind and walked beside of her.

"Going somewhere Rae?" He asked her curiously and Raven gave the Titanium teen a slight look as he walked beside her.

"Me and Naruto are going on the equivalent of a camping trip, though he calls it survival exercises… so I'm guessing its more like training to survive in the wild with how he can be." Raven replies with a shrug, Cyborg blinking for a moment before giving her a look.

"Rae, are you sure you should be going out with Slade out and about?" Cyborg questioned of the younger girl and Raven mentally frowned before giving him an annoyed look.

"Naruto can clearly defend himself, and if need be, I'm sure he can hold off Slade long enough for me to call the rest of you." Raven replies and Cyborg blinks, only inwardly agreeing with her as he's seen what a pissed off Naruto could do. And, if his hunch was correct, he was certain Naruto had more tricks up his sleeves than anyone was actually aware…

"C'mon Rae… BB going out with his girl is one thing, but your gonna be gone for who knows how long! What if we need to protect the city? I can't do it with just Kid-Flash, Wondergirl, Starfire, Beast-Boy, and myself! Yeah I could try, but your one of the best members on the team!" Cyborg exclaims while following behind Raven, who has a backpack on under her cloak and an annoyed look on her face.

"And the JLU basically said to leave the hero work to them… thus that doesn't matter." Raven reminds, having already shown Jason Blood to her room, and by proxy her books, so he could continue his research. The man was clearly very well versed in magic, for obvious reasons, as he'd only found a few books in her collection, that he didn't already have. _'I'm really going to have to ask about seeing his… I might find a few interesting ones…'_ Raven muses to herself inwardly while continuing to walk through the halls of the tower and towards the elevator.

"Yeah, but…" Cy tries to say only for Raven to give him an annoyed look.

"But nothing. I'm going out, Naruto will be with me so I'll be safe, and while I hate to admit it… I could really do with some more exercise…" The violet haired girl replies while continuing on her trek, looking down at herself with a frown as she went, and also leaving Cyborg standing alone in the hallway. Sighing as soon as he sees Raven enter the elevator, Cyborg then rubs his face with one hand while turning around to head back to OPS.

"BB has a girl, Rae has Nar… why is it that everyone in the tower is suddenly getting into a relationship?" Cy wondered to himself while entering into OPS, stopping when he sees The Flash and Dr. Fate standing to either side of Batman as he looks at a picture of The Ravager. Sitting on the sofa is Kid-Flash, Donna, and Starfire, all three wondering what the older heroes had figured out. Sighing mentally, Cyborg walks to the side and sits on a smaller sofa to the side of the room and looks over to the older heroes as they work.

"So it's really her then…" The Flash muses and Batman nods his head silently.

"The International Assassin and Spy, Deathstroke's Daughter AKA Rose Wilson, AKA The Ravager. Powers include enhances strength, speed, agility, and intelligence. She's our prime suspect and most likely the culprit since the silver hair I found on the scene matches her own. I'll know for sure once I get a DNA match done on it." Batman replies with a dark frown across his face, the picture showing Ravager with her swords drawn into a wide double-bladed stance.

"Whoa, you guys know her real name?" Cyborg demands incredulously and Batman silently nods his head while not turning around.

"As well as her father's real name. He's Slade Wilson, AKA Deathstroke The Terminator, a super assassin with a military background and the ability to regenerate from even fatal wounds as well as enhanced strength, speed, agility, and intelligence." Batman replies as if it were the simplest thing in the world and Cy palms his face for a moment. _'And to think of all the nights Rob sat staring at a picture or mask of Slade wondering who he really was… and they already know…'_ The Titanium teen thinks to himself while Kid-Flash looks from the picture to the older heroes.

"Are you sure its Rose, I mean, she really isn't all that bad…" He tries to say, getting looks from his friends in the Titans, while The Flash pinches the bridge of his nose for a moment.

"I know you're her friend Bart, but this isn't the time for that kind of thinking. She's a trained assassin, and notably insane. Not only that, but B-Man here says she used two Rings of Azar to catch Raven once, and the only people who've been murdered thus far HAD rings of Azar. Thus, if anyone knew where these other guys were, it'd be her." The Flash reminds and Kid-Flash mumbles something under his breath.

"She only got that way cause of her dad." It was Donna who heard the mumble and she wisely chose not to mention it to the older heroes, as her friend seemed to be having enough of a bad day as it was.

"Besides that, she's attacked your team a great number of times already." Dr. Fate reminds the red haired boy simply and Starfire nods her head.

"Yes. Our first encounter with her was when she sent the Slade Robot to attack us during Friend Raven's date. It is unknown what else she had a hand in however I believe she may have also influenced my sister's attack on the city afterwards. And she was also the one who did the hiring of the Ninja to kidnap Friend-Raven which led to our ultimately capturing of them." Starfire replies, The Flash wondering if she came with subtitles while Dr. Fate nodded his head.

"Exactly. Even if she is an old friend of yours Bart, she's also a villain and a dangerous one at that. We cannot allow ourselves to be swayed by our personal feelings when the lives and safety of others is at stake." Dr. Fate reminds and Kid-Flash mumbles something to himself while Batman reaches to the side and takes a disk from the Titans computer and slips it into his utility belt.

"I think I have everything we'll need." Batman states simply while standing up before he, The Flash, and Dr. Fate walking around to stand behind the Titans sofa. "Further monitoring of the city will be done from the Watchtower. Jason Blood will remain with you to conduct more on the scene research and for Raven's own safety as she is Deathstroke's primary target. So until further notice, The Teen Titans are to stand down and take this time to train and rest." Batman adds while standing beside of Dr. Fate and The Flash behind the Titans Sofa. Reaching a hand up, Batman then touches the side of his ear and waits for a small noise.

"Watchtower this is Batman, three to beam up." The Dark-Knight states before the three older heroes vanish in a shimmer of light, thus leaving the remaining three Titans alone in the Common Room…

"So, what now?" Kid-Flash questions of Cyborg and the half-machine man rubbed his face for a moment before leaning his forehead into his hands.

"I honestly don't know man. The JLU is getting involved, Rae went out with Nar, BB's out with his girl, and now we have all the free-time in the world…" Cyborg replies and then leans back in his seat while Donna stands up and brushes off her arms.

"Well I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm training for the next time I meet that Deathstroke person." Donna states simply and makes her way out of OPS and deeper into the tower, leaving Kid-Flash, Star, and Cyborg alone.

"I believe I shall do the cooking, would either of you wish to do the taste of testing friends?" Starfire questions of the boys and Kid-Flash's eyes widen before he quickly tries to think of an excuse not to eat her cooking.

"Uh, Sorry Star, I'm gonna have to pass on that. I've got… exercise to do! Yeah, can't let myself grow too weak while I'm healing up!" The red haired speedster states while grabbing his crutches and slowly waddles his way out of the room, giving Cy the perfect excuse to escape as well.

"Yeah and Kid-Flash is going to need someone to help him around the tower." Cyborg says while lunging back to his feet and hurries to help Kid-Flash, leaving Starfire alone to frown to herself, crossing her arms over her chest as she does.

"If they do not wish to have some of my cooking they need only say so… I would not force them…" Starfire says to herself before remembering the one time she shoved some of her food down Beast-Boys throat… "Er… perhaps I was a bit too forceful in the past… as well as too eager." Starfire mused to herself with a slight grimace before sighing and floating over to the kitchen, at least hoping to prepare herself some kind of a meal… though admittedly she wasn't a great cook even by Tameranian standards…

(?)

Yamata no Orochimaru, was actually quite enjoying his stay in this odd new world. For one thing, this world had a plethora of knowledge eons beyond any they had back in The Elemental Nations. Another plus, for him at least, was the many homeless dregs that tended to live on the streets, since they provided him an ample supply of test subjects for experimentation, with little likelihood of them being missed. Finally, and most importantly, in his opinion at least, no one knew who "Orochimaru" truly was in this world.

Which in turn meant no one was looking to kill, maim, or destroy him utterly… yet at least. Mentally chuckling at that thought, Orochimaru walked into a Library with a mental grin. Another plus about this world was that most libraries didn't have a restricted section, and those that did were almost painfully simple for him to break into. Passing by a window, Orochimaru also liked the fact no one knew what he looked like in this world, his many Jutsu to alter his physical appearance helping that.

Currently he was a fairly tanned man, his now black hair was long again but slicked back into a long ponytail, his height and build were now identical to his original form, a little Chakra-Manipulation to his muscles and bones having sped up the process greatly, and of course purple tribal Tattoos now surrounded his yellow snake like eyes. He is currently wearing a pair of black pants with a thin purple rope tied around his waist in the place of a belt, black boots, a grey T-shirt with a long sleeved black undershirt. All and all, he now resembled his appearance from when he posed as an Oto-Jounin during the Chunin Exams in Konoha.

"Back to the books yet again mister Hojo?" The librarian at the front desk questions with her brow quirked upwards and Orochimaru grins toothily.

Yamata no Hojo was an alias he was using in this world on the off chance Naruto or that Haruno Girl came looking for him. Yamata was due to it being his real Surname, though admittedly no one knew it beyond him and the long dead Sandaime. His using the name Hojo was a bit more complicated, and he really didn't think a long drawn out explanation was needed for it. He'd heard that the name belonged to a scientist similar in actions to himself, though admittedly with even less scruples than him, and decided that the name fit with him.

"I'm quite fine miss. Just doing a little more research for my experiments." Orochimaru offered to the girl curtly, using Chakra to change his voice to a much higher tone, the woman mutely nodding her head while he walked passed her. Orochimaru mentally chuckled to himself as he did this. His Soul-Transfer Jutsu not only took his soul with it, but also his Chakra, compounding it with that of his victims. In Sasuke's case he took a large chunk of his Chakra upon leaving him.

Chuckling darkly, Orochimaru walked among the many books in the library before pulling a few out. Putting them into the crook of his arm, Orochimaru walked over to a desk and sat down. He fingered his right eye for a moment, a small frown crossing over his features. The one thing he hadn't been able to replicate was his fang earring, only because it'd been made from a very large Snake's fang, and it wasn't even that it was something sentimental to him, he just liked to keep his general appearance the same from Body to Body.

Shaking his head, Orochimaru decided it didn't matter for the moment while sitting down with his books. Orochimaru knew this world had no Jutsu, but what it did have was a vast array of genetic augmentation and engineering. _'And with my knowledge of genetics from our own world, creating a way for these humans to use Chakra shouldn't be too hard…'_ Orochimaru mused to himself, having long ago studied the ins and outs of the bodies and general genetic structure of chakra wielders from his world.

'_In fact, that's how I learned how to become a "Bijuu" myself.'_ Orochimaru mused darkly an insidious smirk crossing his lips as he continued to look over the information in the books, nearly absorbing it. His ability to change into the "Yamata-No-Orochi" wasn't an illusion of any kind, as he proved during his fight with Naruto in that form; he was actually and truly turning himself into a true Yamata no Orochi. He'd found a method to become a Bijuu while experimenting in his earlier days, his first use of the technique had been when he fought in the Third-Great-Shinobi-War… after he had, he'd also become more snake like, as well as more vicious and cruel.

'_Although I truly believe little Naruto-Kun will eventually learn the secret as well.'_ Orochimaru couldn't help but think to himself while looking over his books, three at a time no less. In his mind, Naruto was his only true equal, not in sheer power as Naruto and Madara were both beyond him. No Naruto was more like his equal and his opposite. They both had wanted to become Hokage, they both betrayed their village, they both had a Wind-Affinity, they both used swords, they both practically absorbed Jutsu, they were both in a Team Seven, and finally, both of them were just too stubborn to die…

'_Yes, me and Naruto-Kun are just so very much alike…'_ Orochimaru mused to himself while continuing to look over the books, his stray thoughts not bothering him. The only thing different between him and Naruto, which was that Naruto kept most of his morals somewhat intact. Sure he'd very clearly bent them a great deal, but he still had them. In truth, Orochimaru could respect that about Naruto. He had an iron clad will; he never gave up or gave in, something Orochimaru admired as he had that same quality.

If Orochimaru had stayed in Konoha longer, he was certain he'd have taken Naruto as his apprentice. Not like Anko, true she was a good apprentice, but her affinity wasn't for wind and all he could teach her was his Taijutsu and Snake-Ninjutsu. With Naruto, he could literally teach him all he knew; every Jutsu and technique would easily have been his save only for his Doton Ninjutsu. This was why Orochimaru was certain; no he was more than certain that soon enough, Naruto himself would become a Bijuu like he himself had become, so long ago…

'_And then, Naruto-Kun, the fun will truly begin… for what fun would this new world be if I didn't have someone to spar with on occasion…?'_ Orochimaru wondered to himself, and then shook his head while making a mental note to catch some runaway Meta-Humans for testing. Their unique genetic structure would prove invaluable to his research. Namely how to recreate Chakra Users, and then ultimately in trying to find a way to become immortal, truly immortal, like the Bijuu of Legend had been, not like those pathetic shards of the Juubi… no, he would become a true immortal!

TBC…


	49. Survival Training PT 2

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

**Chapter 48**: **The Quest Side-Story: Survival Training Pt. 2**…

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

(Forest Outside Jump-City, Day 1…)

Naruto, Jinx, and Raven all appeared in the forest, Naruto's hand on either girl's shoulder. Removing his hands from them, the blond then inhaled a breath before sighing, a strange smile on his face. "He seems… strangely relaxed." Jinx noted mostly to herself while seeing the serene look across Naruto's features, wind blowing through his hair.

"He's a sage, and his people practically live as a part of nature. For him, this is more comfortable than any modern home could ever be." Raven reminded the rosette with a frown across her face, having realized that herself when they last came out into the forest. Upon learning that tidbit, Jinx had to inwardly admit it was nice in the forest. Stretching out her arms, she then watched as Naruto simply stood there for a moment before breathing out a sigh.

"So we're here. What's next, Temp?" Jinx questioned with a quirked eyebrow and Naruto opened his eyes and turned to look at them with a smirk.

"Since you've already got physical training, I'll have a clone teach you some things in tracking, scouting, and overall wilderness survival skills." Naruto says while making a Shadow-Clone at his side that grinned towards Jinx, the rosette pouting slightly at being given to a clone for training.

"What about her then?" Jinx questioned while pointing a finger towards Raven, the violet tressed girl narrowing her eyes onto the rosette. At first Naruto merely turned back towards the horizon while looking out at the vast forest before him.

"Another clone will help Kara-Chan train physically since she has no physical skills what so ever." Naruto replies with a wave of his hand and gets a look from both girls as he makes the second clone without looking to either of them.

"Then what are you going to be doing?" Raven suddenly questions and Naruto crosses his arms behind his neck and closes his eyes.

"This trip is for all of us to work on developing our skills. For you Jinx its learning about wilderness survival since you didn't learn any in the HIVE. For Kara-Chan it's more about her getting some physical training since she is sadly under trained in that department. As for me, I'm going to be training a little mentally, mostly because I want to figure out how I do that Bone Armor thing recently." Naruto replies before walking away from the two girls and his clones. "Just don't do anything I wouldn't do boys and we should be fine for the week…" Naruto orders while walking away, the clones crossing their arms, frowning deeply as he walks off.

"I hate it when the Boss leaves us to do all the grunt work." One of the clones noted while crossing his arms over his chest and the other nodded his head with a frown. However the frown then turned into a sly look as he looked at Raven and Jinx, then back to his partner with a grin.

"But on the bright side, we're the ones who get to spend time with two babes for once!" The other clone noted with a grin and his partner smirked while nodding his head in agreement. However, Raven then cleared her throat to get their attention, Jinx raising a brow at the clone's strange mannerisms…

"Are you two done yet?" Raven questioned of the clones with a flat tone, hoping to get this ridiculous trip over and done with as soon as possible. While she did enjoy Naruto's company, his clones somehow had an exaggerated version of his personality, exaggerated to the point that they more closely acted like his old Dobe Self than the Naruto she was with… and that was like being around Beast-Boy, whom she truly disliked being around for extended periods of time…

"Uh… yeah!" One clone said while walking over to Jinx and squatted down. "First lesson Jinx, I'll show you how to set up camp." The clone states while Jinx looks to Raven for a moment before going over to the clone. Raven merely rolled her eyes in response, dropping her backpack and cloak before looking to the other clone. Seeing it had a raised brow, Raven mentally sighed before explaining.

"We're training right?" She asked and the clone nodded his head. "I don't want to tear my cloak or lose my belt." She explains and the clone makes an Oh with its mouth before grinning widely.

"Well okay then Kara-Chan, first things first, we'll start off with a light jog for a while." The clone states before jogging off, Raven groaning lightly before following after the blond haired youth. Oddly, Brave seemed to enjoy this idea of Naruto's, but then again, Brave was the one who was known to be stronger physically than any of Raven's other emotions, even Rage… er, "Passion" wasn't as strong as Bravery…

Back with Naruto, he had gone fairly deep into the forest, and now he sat upon a cliff, facing a steep drop to a valley below. Sighing for a moment, the blond then looked out over the forest, a sense of peace flowing through him. _'I never did like artificial crap all that much… nature is my preference even though I still use technology to an extreme extent in the form of the various forms of the X-Suit…'_ Naruto mused to himself while the wind blew through the spikes of his hair and his eyes closed with a wry smile.

"Now to get to work, it was only after I first encountered my Inner Demon that the bone armor started forming… So maybe if I can find him in my head he'll be able to tell me how to do it consciously." Naruto mused while taking a deep breath and then placed his hands over his knees. Clearing his mind, Naruto felt as he somehow become practically weightless, and soon enough, he saw a bright light…

(With Raven…)

Raven found she really didn't like training with Naruto that much, admittedly, she needed it considering she was tired only after the first ten minutes of jogging… but honestly, she just didn't like training. "How much farther are we going to be jogging?" Raven suddenly questioned while leaning into the side of a tree, the clone sighing to himself before walking over to the girl and crouched down with a smirk on his face.

"You are seriously out of shape, Kara-Chan…" The Clone noted while Raven gave him a scathing look. "Hey, don't give me that look. It's the truth." The clone states while pointing at Raven and the girl crosses her arms over her chest. "Listen, I know you have your powers for fighting villains and such. But lets face it, whenever you don't have access to them your in a significant amount of danger with only your friends or me to save, and it's been proven on several occasions, that that won't always be enough to keep you safe." The clone explained to the violet-haired girl simply and Raven mumbles under her breath for a moment before breathing out a sigh.

"Fine, then what do you suggest we do about it then?" Raven asks the clone with a frown and the clone hums in thought for a moment.

"Well, first of all we need to work on your building up both your muscles and your stamina, then we'll worry about you actually learning how to fight." The blond-haired clone replies thoughtfully while tapping his foot. Hearing this plan, Raven raised a brow in his direction while giving him a look.

"I thought my stamina was pretty good when we…" She started to retort only for the clone to quickly cover her mouth with an amused look on his face.

"That kind of stamina really doesn't count in this kind of situation… besides that, Lust and Passion help you on that front." The clone reminded the girl with a smirk and she blinked before looking to the side as he then crossed his arms. "Now then lets get back to actually training and stop all this useless talking." The Clone muses aloud while Raven could only sigh tiredly before pushing herself back up to her feet. Crossing her arms and giving the clone a look, the violet-eyed girl made a mental note to get back at Naruto for this in some way…

"Alright… then what do we do first?" Raven questions of the clone and her grins towards her, a shiver running down the length of Raven's spine as he does so. _'I've got a bad feeling about that look…'_ She couldn't help but think while staring at the clone…

(With Jinx…)

Jinx found herself following Naruto's clone through the forest. Unlike Raven however, Jinx found this was actually… well… fun. "Alright, this first lesson I'll teach you is simple. You're going to learn how to follow tracks by following The Boss's to him." The Clone states and Jinx nods her head while he gets down and motions her down. "Alright, first of all, look for anything out of place around us." The clone orders and the rosette raised a brow while looking at the blond clone.

"What exactly should I look for?" She asked seeing as scouting wasn't something they taught in the HIVE.

"Broken branches on the ground or in the trees, footprints, scraps of cloth, or anything that doesn't seem normal in a forest." The clone replies with a thoughtful look on his face and Jinx nodded her head before quickly scanning the area while the clone leaned back into a tree and watched her. Jinx looked around for a moment, trying to spot anything that was out of place. _'Alright, looks like having a "dad" like Snake is finally going to pay off…'_ Jinx reasoned to herself while crouching down like he had taught her when she was little.

While he'd never taught her anything even close to Scouting, Snake was actually some kind of a secret agent in the military for the longest time… though now he was thankfully retired. Thus Snake HAD taught her quite a bit about infiltration, which in turn helped her with her criminal career, as well as other things, which might help her a little here. She sometimes wondered about why he taught her anything like he did, but then again back then she was a street kid. And of course he also once said that if she was going to steal anything, he didn't want her getting caught. A small smile actually crossed her lips as she looked for anything while not disturbing her surroundings.

Licking her lips, Jinx narrowed her eyes upon seeing a footprint to the side. Following it, Jinx started on her trek with the clone following behind her. Looking at the print, Jinx instantly knew it wasn't Raven's or her own as the style of the sole was noticeably different to her platforms or Raven's own boots. Noticing several broken twigs on the ground that went over to the side, Jinx followed those as well.

"Don't forget, you can also use your other senses besides sight. Touch, try to feel the vibrations of the ground to determine if anything is in your general area. Smell, odd scents like perfume or anything else shouldn't be out her, even if it's a flowery scent if it's not natural to this region it could lead you to your target. Sound, remember to listen for any strange noises as well as they are your best bet when tracking someone." The Clone of Naruto continued and Jinx wondered if the blond haired teen was going to become some kind of teacher in the future.

Shaking her head of those thoughts, Jinx focused more on the here and now and closed her eyes. Listening to the forest around her she heard several birds chirping and singing causing a smile to cross her features. _'If nothing else, I think this might be a fairly relaxing trip…'_ The girl mused to herself before opening her eyes while making her way along the trail left by the foot prints so she could find the original Naruto and move on to the next part of her survival training…

(With Naruto…)

The blond suddenly opened his eyes and found himself completely encased in darkness… "What the hell?" He wondered to himself before his eyes suddenly widened as an eerie feeling started to fill him. Looking all around, the Darkness swirled and shifted, soon revealing a massive structure, a flight of stairs leading up the front of it. Frowning to himself, Naruto walked forward and started on his way up the structure, only to stop as torches of blue flame seemed to form beside of him. Shaking his head for a moment, Naruto started back up the strange, almost temple like structure.

Continuing upwards, Naruto noticed as more of the strange torches lit along his way to the top. Suppressing a shiver that ran up and down the length of his spine, Naruto soon reached the top of the structure and found an old fashioned shrine upon the very top of it beside another long upwards leading staircase. "What is this place?" Naruto couldn't help but wonder while walking towards the shrine when a pair of eyes opened up behind him. Stopping at the shrine, Naruto looked it over for a moment before opening the doors, only to stop at a series of words…

"Will alone cannot carry one through life… power alone is meaningless without something to protect… it takes something more to truly live and grow." The words seemed to echo in Naruto's mind, a vision of someone briefly flashing in his minds eye. Shaking lightly in fear, the blond haired boy slowly turned around to see a familiar shadowed figure standing behind him. The man silhouetted in darkness completely, save only for those familiar eyes… "You…" The blond haired boy whispered with wide eyes while slowly backing away as the man walked into the light to stand before the blond haired boy.

He was Naruto's height with the typical build of a Shinobi, pale skin and purple painted finger and toe nails, his long raven colored locks held back in a thin ponytail while his bangs were parted to frame his face, however, his crimson red eyes were quite clearly that of the Sharingan, his features almost mirroring Sasuke's own save for the deep stress lines beneath his eyes. The man was dressed in a familiar high-collared black cloak with red clouds, a black Konohagakure headband with a slash through it over his forehead; a pair of black Shinobi-Pants, white stirrups overtop his black Shinobi Sandals that reached up over his calves.

"Hello Naruto-Kun… it's been a while…" The man noted quietly, the low tone of his voice causing a shiver to run the length of Naruto's spine.

"I-Itachi… is that you?" Naruto whispered in question while gazing at the man in shock, having believed him to be dead… and if that was the case, he wondered how Itachi could possibly be standing before him right now…

(Titans Tower…)

Beast-Boy sighed while walking into the Tower; it was getting kind of late and Kitten had to head home since she had school the next morning. "Dude, the one draw back about not going to school is that I can't see Kitten till she gets out…" The Green furred Teen says to himself while walking through the entrance hall with a sigh. Coming to the elevator, the green teen then enters and hits the button for one of the upper floors while leaning back.

"What to do… play videogames? Nah… Make some Tofu? Nah… Bug Cyborg? Nah… Plot to get a moped from that rich kid down the street? Hmm… maybe later." The green teen said to himself while contemplating what to do with the rest of his day. As he does the elevator finally stops, the teen walking out of it and down the hall. "I could try to sneak into Rae's room…" The green furred teen mused to himself for a moment before quickly shaking his head. "Nah, not after what happened last time." He then said to himself while walking down the halls of Titans Tower with no real destination in mind.

Sighing once more, the green furred teen continued to consider his options, only to stop when he found himself before the door to Nightwing's room… "Well, Night is away… and I've always wanted to know what was in there…" BB mused to himself before grinning as he slowly slid Nightwing's door open, leaving only a crack open as he entered into Night's room. Looking around for a moment, a catty grin that would have looked more at home on Kitten's face formed on BB's lips. Creeping into the room and making his way to Nightwing's closet, the green teen threw it open and grinned widely.

Within the closet was an assortment of costumes; the majority was of Nightwing's current costume, however a few of his old Robin costumes were also housed within. Along with those was an assortment of utility belts, gadgets, and everything else that the Boy Wonder used to fight crime. "Jackpot!" BB says with a grin before grabbing a Robin costume and pulls it out for a moment. "This is gonna be so sweet!" BB then said to himself before looking around and pulled on the Domino mask over his eyes…

Meanwhile, Jason Blood frowns as he continues to look over several photos of the symbols found in the homes of the murder victims. _'It's definitely necromancy… but what is the purpose of these runes… hmm… they don't appear to be human in origin, which means that only Trigon could have showed them to those men…'_ Jason realized before shaking his head and pinching the bridge of his nose. Unfortunately, that was all conjecture, and it really didn't help him in figuring out a way to stop whatever it was the cult had originally been working on.

"Perhaps I need to look at it from another angle." Jason realized while pulling out a map of Jump-City and marked the places where the seals had been found. Looking it over, Jason narrowed his eyes when he saw a pattern. _'But that doesn't make any sense… why would there be a pattern to the places these cultists were living?'_ Jason wondered to himself while looking at the map and then widened his eyes while opening a book at his side and started to compare the runes Batman had photographed to a set of them within the book for a few moments.

"I see… so that's what they are…" Jason mumbles while looking back to the man and took a red pen and started to trace a shape over top them… creating a familiar S shaped rune in the center of the city. "When those men were killed, their remaining life energy was absorbed by those runes. They became a power source for Trigon to breach the barriers of hell and come into our world." The scarlet haired man whispered to himself before sitting back and crossing his arms over his chest with a deep frown.

"Yes it makes sense now… some of those suicides in town must've been other cultists that the assassin wasn't able to reach in time." Jason mumbled to himself before scowling deeply as he started to mark places that would also have cultists if his theory proved to be correct. "This is not good… Trigon already has the life-force of over twelve humans, with only six more to go he'll be able to open a doorway to our world." Jason realized while looking over the map before placing a finger to his right ear.

"Watchtower, patch me through to Batman, I believe I've found something…" Jason said aloud while continuing to stare at the map while the transmitter was patched through to Gotham…

(Batcave…)

Batman sits before his computer, frowning as he looks at the results of the DNA test. _'So The Ravager really is the assassin, but who told her where the cultists were, and why does she need those rings of Azar?'_ Batman wondered to himself before mentally frowning as he hears a chime from his communicator. "Batman here." The Dark-Knight says flatly while continuing to gaze at his computer.

"Batman, I believe I've discovered something you'll want to see." The man replies while Batman merely narrows his eyes while looking at his readout.

"I'm listening." The Dark-Knight replied while bringing down the test results and awaiting input from Jason.

"My discovery started when I realized that the positions of the homes of the Cultists living here in Jump formed an S pattern, when you add in the recent suicides in the area they more accurately form into The Mark of Scath on a map." Jason explained to the Dark-Knight and he brought up a Map and typed in a few commands. Seconds later a scowl crossed Batman's features as he saw what Jason had meant.

"I see… did you find anything else?" Batman questions while the gears in his head began to turn.

"Yes. If my hunch is correct then those runes you found in their homes were for the purpose of harnessing their life-force to use in the ritual that will allow Trigon to come into our world." Jason replies and Batman frowns once more while gazing towards the map and narrows his eyes.

"However, one part of the Mark isn't covered by a recent death or suicide." Batman then says while quickly bringing up the area he mentioned, that being the center of the S shaped mark.

"Really, then is there anything significant about the area Batman?" Jason questioned of Batman as he brought up the area and frowned when he found it was an old condemned Library.

"Looks like an old Library." Batman replies while bringing up information on the location, his eyes narrowing as he does so.

"Hmm… has anything significant happened there in the past then?" Jason questioned and the Dark-Knight leaned back in his seat while crossing his arms.

"Unfortunately yes. A little over Eighteen years ago a group of kids in a cult were arrested for breaking and entering…" Batman replied causing Jason to frown as he could easily put two and two together in this case.

"I take it they were a part of the Cult of Scath, correct?" Jason questioned and Batman silently frowned for a moment before answering him.

"Your correct… but one of those members is particularly interesting." Batman replies and Jason raises a brow on his end of the communicator.

"How so?" Jason questioned of the Dark-Knight and the bat-themed hero sighed.

"Because it was a girl from Gotham. She was a teenager who was apparently raped that same night by an unknown assailant. She had no family, no real friends, she was just a misguided girl looking for a place to fit in in a lonely world…" Batman explained and Jason raised a brow, while that was truly a horrifying thing, it didn't seem to have any bearings on their current situation.

"Forgive me my friend but I fail to see the correlation to our current problem." Jason replied to the Dark-Knight, Batman closing his eyes while leaning back in his seat for a moment.

"Because, her name was Angela Roth." Batman replied gravely and heard only silence for a few moments before Jason sighed on his end. "Which means that it's also the exact same spot Trigon was originally summoned eighteen years ago, if only for a short while, to sire Rachel "Raven" Roth…" Batman continued and Jason grunted while reaching up to rub his face for a moment.

"I see… that does indeed explain a great deal… Trigon will enter this world through Raven, from the place of which he first sired her…" Jason said to himself while closing his eyes, wondering what else could go wrong. On his end, Batman researched the plot of land further, eyes narrowing as he came upon a certain article.

"It gets worse. The same area has purportedly been the sight of dozens of disappearances over the years. The main reason that the library was closed down was due to continued disappearances. No explanation was ever found, the only survivor going insane and speaking nonsense about a demons hand and the end of the world…" Batman replied while looking over the information his eyes narrowing as he continued down the long line of info. "Even more occurrences have been reported to have happened, the largest being the destruction of an ancient temple decades before…" Batman continues and peaks Jason's interest immediately.

"What's so special about that? Progress usually demands the destruction of ancient relics… regardless of what others would wish." Jason reminds and Batman silently nods his head while reading over the information.

"Because the Chapel belonged to a cult known as the "Church of Blood"…" Batman replied with a frown and Jason grunted once more while rubbing his temples.

"That makes this even worse. The Sister Cult to the Order of Scath, if memory serves, the Church of Blood is more akin to enforcers of Trigon. If the Order of Scath are the ones who summon him, the Church are those who would protect him from enemies so he may regain his strength once summoned." Jason noted aloud while Batman frowned deeply, still looking over more information on the screen with a frown.

"There we have some good news. Apparently the leader of the Church of Blood is one "Brother Blood", whom has apparently abandoned his station in the cult for other ventures, also causing the cult to dwindle and fade almost entirely." Batman offered and Jason mutely nodded his head, that was indeed a good thing, now all they had to deal with for the coming battle was Trigon and his demonic minions…

"That is indeed good news, all we have to worry about is facing Trigon's minions, as we both know no one in the JLU would willingly kill a human… or any sentient being, though… with these demons it's not much of a choice." Jason noted and Batman mentally agreed with him. Killing Trigon was different, Trigon was an inherently evil being with absolutely no redeeming qualities, and a majority of his minions were nothing but mindless fire-demons with no will of their own. However, that only left a few members who actually COULD destroy demons…

Hawk-Girl AKA Shayera Holl could with her Nth metal energy mace, since it had Anti-Magical properties which were perfect for fighting someone like Trigon. Since a similar demonic being once oppressed her people, and with her being a former soldier of sorts, Shayera would have no problem with eliminating Trigon. Of course Jason Blood AKA Etrigan could and most likely would also fight Trigon, thanks mostly to having a Demon sealed inside of him, and being a former Knight of the round table he would have no qualms about destroying demons.

Blue Devil could also be useful, having the ability to sense and locate demons on earth and banish them back to hell, but then again, Trigon was a powerful being not to be trifled with. Although now that the Dark-Knight thought about it his former sidekick "Kid-Devil" had been working alone for a while and should probably be brought into either the JLU or the Teen Titans… their demonic nature would also probably protect them from a majority of Trigon's twisted magic. Shaking his head for a moment Batman quickly got back to his thoughts as he considered more people to help deal with Trigon.

Next was of course Diana AKA Wonder-Woman, whom was an Amazonian warrior. The fact they had once had a battle against Hades the God of the Underworld himself also helped reinforce her use against a mere Demon, not to mention she was very experienced in battle and very durable, not to mention strong, which would be useful against Trigon and his minions. Then came Dr. Fate, a no brainer really, as he was the world's foremost authority on the occult as well as a sorcerer with nearly no equal. His spells could heal and protect the more front-line fighters as well as be offensive when needed, making him an all around combatant in this instance.

Naturally, Zatana would have made a perfect addition to the team as well… however it was clear she had a distaste for Raven for some reason, leading Batman to suspect some form of relation between Angela Roth and his long-time friend Zatana, as he couldn't find any records of Angela's birth-parents and the two bore obvious similarities physically… And the last two he could think of that would be able to fight Trigon, was first of all, John Stewart AKA Green Lantern. John was an Ex-Marine with full combat training, not to mention being an expert sniper. That combined with his power-ring would allow him to fight Trigon's forces at the very least.

And last, and probably the most qualified to fight Trigon, Zauriel. Zauriel, a former Guardian Angel who had been fighting the legions of hell for generations, if anyone was qualified to help in the fight against Trigon it was him. After all, who better to send to fight against a demon than an Angel?

"Batman?" Jason suddenly questioned and Batman opened his eyes and mentally berated himself for losing himself to his musings.

"Yes, Jason?" The Dark-Knight questioned of his friend and Jason chuckled lightly for a moment.

"You'll have time to lose yourself in your thoughts later my friend, for now, we still have more work to do. Researching isn't all that this particular case will require, I believe we'll have to look over the individual locations of the homes and the library. Also, we may need to put together a team to combat Trigon, on the off chance we are unable to prevent his return." Jason says while awaiting The Dark-Knights response and Batman grunts lightly for a moment.

"Agreed, I'll talk to Jon about putting that team together and be back in Jump-City soon enough to continue the investigation, Batman out." The Dark-Knight said aloud while tapping one finger on his chair while looking over the information he had dug up…

(Tartarus HQ…)

Dani was watching Gizmo once more, mostly because it was more interesting to do that, than it was to sit in the infirmary. Gizmo's work on the new suit seemed to be limited only to the skull mask, the strange spinal column / ribs, and of course the arm devices that resembled gauntlets. _'Why is he only working on those portions of the new suit?'_ The girl had to wonder while looking through the ceiling above Gizmo's lab, and also making certain she didn't fall down from above by leaving only her head / neck intangible, while the rest of her body was completely invisible.

Her question about why Gizmo was doing so much work on only the helm and few other parts she'd seen thus far only increased when she watched as Blackfire walked into the lab with a massive metal crate over her shoulder. "I can't believe you convinced me to get you more of this stuff… even if it is for X, do you have ANY idea how much trouble finding Veratians in this part of the galaxy is?" The black haired alien princess questioned of the tiny-terror while placing the crate onto a worktable at her side.

"You weren't complaining when I asked you to get this shit for YOUR suit!" Gizmo reminds angrily while giving the alien princess a fierce glare, Blackfire merely rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, but that was because I was actually getting something out of that, this time I was basically lugging a bunch of metal and components around for you… and back then the Veratians were at Saturn, this time I had to go all the way to Pluto!" Blackfire reminds with a frown while rubbing her shoulders and stretching out her arms. What? She literally just traveled from somewhere near Pluto to get the stuff Gizmo wanted, and then flew all the way back to Earth while having to make sure she didn't drop anything…

"Whatever, at least I finally have what I need to finish the newest X-suit." Gizmo said flippantly while Blackfire muttered something under her breath and sat on the worktable as Gizmo opened the crate up, revealing a massive amount of metal alloy and strange looking computer components. _'Wait a sec… Giz made Blackfire new Armor as well? When did that happen?'_ Dani wondered to herself while Gizmo pulled out the components and laid them out along his table.

"I still don't see the point of making him _another_ new one when his current one isn't even damaged." Blackfire notes with a frown and Gizmo mentally rolls his eyes while reaching to his controller. Messing with it for a moment, a large arm reached down from the ceiling to grasp the crate and lift it up.

"Because the older X-suits all used currently available tech because I had to cut corners due to costs. However, with the haul you girls got with Ivy and Harley I can fund my own research and develop new technology for the X-suit. As well as add in the Tech I got from Snake, the Tech from Batman, and of course the Original X-Suits tech." The Tiny-Terror explains while the arms retract into a wall, Blackfire and Dani staring towards where it had disappeared…

"Where are you putting all that Depleted Promethium I just got for you?" Blackfire questioned flatly while giving Gizmo a look and the bald midget muttered under his breath before answering.

"To a chamber to melt it down so I can combine it with Titanium and then make it into plates so I can make the rest of the suit of course. You don't honestly think I can use the shit in its base form do you?" Gizmo demanded of the girl and she shrugged her shoulders while looking at him as he went back to work on the pieces of the suit he was already done with.

"Alright, then if this suit is so advanced, just how long have you been working on it?" Blackfire questions of Gizmo as the bald genius takes several of the components she'd procured for him and looking them over.

"I started work on the original systems for the suit back when I first started work on X's suit… I got new ideas for armor and new energy conversion systems after you joined up… more ideas for new sub-systems around the time Pink-X showed up… and I finally got the funding I was going to need to actually develop the individual components and build it after you girls robbed the mall." Gizmo replied while activating a viewing device and gazing at several small components, Blackfire raising a brow as she looked to the Tiny-Terror.

"Then why have you made so many lesser versions of an X-Suit if this one wasn't even fully developed yet?" Blackfire questioned of the tiny-terror and Gizmo muttered something to himself before turning around with a scowl.

"Because Bitch, Temp needs them with the way he wears them out all the time! Not to mention every suit he's used thus far has been equipped with each of the ideas I came up with for the new model for testing." The Tiny-Terror explains with a scowl while putting the first component he'd been looking at down and moved on to the next one, a slight scowl across his face. _'Well at least that explains why he's always working on a new suit, it's cause he's waiting on materials for the final product…'_ Dani realizes while Blackfire watches as Gizmo reaches to the side to take hold of the helmet, the eyes / teeth being pitch black once more.

"Alright, then why does this thing have a movable jaw and glowing eyes?" The black haired girl questions of her tiny friend while looking at the helmet with a frown, Dani also wondering the same thing as the alien princess.

"Because the stealth mode for this thing turns the entire suit black, the red glow is because he's "RED" X. If I didn't add the damn glow his name wouldn't make sense… besides, you ever seen a person's reaction to a pair of glowing red eyes at night? The movable jaws are more an aesthetic than anything else, kind of like how several villains add capes, spikes, or other various useless objects to their costumes… the Skull thing is more because it looks creepy than anything else." Gizmo replies and then twitches when he sees the look Blackfire is giving him.

"Oh c'mon! A ton of famous villains do the same damn thing all the time! Just look at Black-Manta, he wears that stupid saucer shaped helmet. Catwoman adds Cat-Ears to her mask no matter what version of it she's wearing. Captain-Cold wears a parka even in the middle of summer. Harley Quinn usually has those stupid tassels coming off her head. And lets not forget that a vast majority of villains wear some stupid cape or have spikes all over their costumes!" Gizmo reminds the girl and Blackfire makes a note to look up these villains to make sure he's right more than anything else.

"When you put it that way, I guess the glowing eyes aren't all that bad…" Rose admits if only to herself, admitting that Capes did in fact get in the way a vast majority of the time. Although Batman somehow managed to use his Cape as a weapon, and a piece of equipment with it being bulletproof, fireproof, and could unfold into a glider.

"Yeah, and heroes are even worse about it. I've only seen a rare few who don't add some useless feature to their costumes. Hell, one of the few heroes I know who doesn't wear some stupid addition to his costume is Nightwing! Batman is the only one I know of who wears ONLY useful equipment!" Gizmo then adds while Blackfire merely holds up a finger with a frown on her face.

"Beast-Boy, Cyborg, and Starfire." She reminds and Gizmo twitches before giving the girl an annoyed look.

"Beast Boy wears a uniform for the Doom-Patrol, not a costume. Cyborg doesn't wear a costume at all. And Starfire wears a fucking mini-skirt even though she always flies around!" The Tiny-Terror growled out and Blackfire grimaced slightly while rubbing her temples at the last bit.

"That's because Tameran and Earth have different standards… it'd be more normal on our home world to wear less than a Mini-Skirt as you call it…" Blackfire reminds the Tiny-Terror, causing him to stop and stare into space for a brief moment… "No, I'm not going to be dressing in less clothing baldy… most Kom'Secrit have a tendency to try and hide themselves." Blackfire tells the engineer of their team with a deep frown across her face, Gizmo blinking before muttering under his breath once more.

"Yeah yeah, whatever." Gizmo says flippantly while returning to his work on the new X-Suit, Dani listening in only to yelp as someone pulled her up from where she was looking down at Gizmo and Blackfire. Falling back, Dani then looked up and frowned when she saw a grinning Duela looking down at her. However, that frown turned into a look of fear when she saw Duela had changed her costume, though her usual backpack was still present. As a rule, whenever Duela changed her costume, she started to act differently than she normally did… which wasn't always a good thing…

This costume was mostly a black skintight cat suit, that featured a mask that covered the upper portion of her face while leaving her bright violet eyes, mouth, and chin completely visible, the mask having a pair of cat ears at the top / sides of her head with a hole in the back for her crimson hair to come spiking out of, her lips were painted jet black, while white fur lined her collar, her collar dipping down to show her cleavage, helping to reveal her skin was its natural tone now, a black chocker collar with a gold tag that had the word "Duela" worn around her neck, her usual brown-backpack on her back, black gloves that were tipped with sharp claws with metal plates along the backs of her forearms, a pair of high-heeled boots with more metal plates down the front of her shins and ending in mock claws on the toes of her boots, white fur at the tops of her boots and gloves as well.

"New costume Duela?" Dani asked the girl flatly and she shrugged her shoulders with a grin. "Let me guess… now your Black-Cat?" Dani asked with her head tilted to one side and Duela quickly shook her head.

"Nah, I'm Catwoman's Daughter, Catgirl!" Duela exclaimed, leaving Dani to groan while rubbing her temples, wishing for what felt like the millionth time that her friend was more normal. "So, watcha doin?" The cat dressed teen then asked the young Ghostling Girl in her normal chipper tone, Dani crossing her arms over her chest while glaring up at her.

"None of your business." Dani states and Duela blinked for a moment before grinning cheekily towards the Ghostling-girl.

"Oh, okay! Then if your not doing anything, can I bug you for a while?" Duela questions with a grin and Dani had to stare at her for a moment. _'Who in their right mind actually ASKS to bug you? Oh wait this is Duela…'_ Dani reminded herself before giving Duela an annoyed look while drumming her fingers on her arms.

"Duela, just go away…" Dani orders but Duela didn't seem to want to listen, something that was very common with the girl. Instead, Duela then grabbed Dani by her ankles and dragged her away, Dani yelping as she does. "Duela!" Dani shouts while Duela grins widely towards her little friend, then forces her up to her feet and puts an arm over her shoulders.

"C'mon toots, lighten up and learn to live a little!" Duela states and Dani gives Duela a look while placing a hand to the side of her face.

"I'm three quarters dead…" She reminds flatly, thus causing Duela to stop before snickering to herself for a moment. _'Wait, that should've knocked Duela out… or does that mean that because she's not in a clown costume she's not increasingly insane?'_ Dani suddenly wondered to herself while wondering just how much a Costume change affected Duela's personality.

"Nice-one! But seriously, c'mon we're two teenaged girls, no parents and all the time in the world! Lets go do something crazy!" Duela states while leading Dani out of the room, Dani frowning as she pondered how she could get out of this for a moment… though admittedly she was new to being a teenager and did want to try it out, she had the problem of her powers sporadically shifting on and off, ironic as it was similar to what happened to her "dad" when he first got his…

"Like what?" She asks the older girl, just to make sure she knows what she's trying to get out of this time.

"Now that I think about it… I'm not all that sure…" Duela admits while scratching her head through her mask with a thoughtful look across her face.

"If you don't even know what we're going to do, why should I go with you?" Dani questioned of her friend flatly and Duela clicked her tongue for a moment before an idea came to mind, causing her to grin evilly…

"Well we could go out and steal something… I heard they have the rare and valuable "Cats Eye Jewel" on display at the Jump-City Museum…" Duela offered with a wide grin across her face, Dani frowning towards her friend as she does. Naruto had warned them it would be a bad idea to steal anything for a while with the JLU on the prowl in town, but knowing Duela, she probably could get away from them…

"But Sensei said not to go out stealing for a while, or have you forgotten that the JLU are in town? Not to mention the fact my powers are still on the unstable side." Dani reminds, then blinks when Duela looks taller, only to groan when she sees her legs had turned intangible without the rest of her. "Ugh! When will this stupid version of puberty finally be over!" Dani demanded while Duela moved behind her friend, ducked down and wrapped her arms around her arms to lift her back up out of the floor.

"Complaints noted. But c'mon Dani, life isn't worth living if you don't take a few risks every now and again! You have to take charge and grab the bull that is life by the horns!" Duela said while pulling Dani out of the floor as the Ghostling girl glared at her own legs, cursing them internally for betraying her.

"Thank Kami my…" Dani started to say only for her pants to somehow faze off of her body and too the floor… "I HATE ecto-puberty!" Dani roared out loud and Duela snickered to herself once more while picking up Dani's pants and handing them to the younger girl. Grumbling to herself Dani snatched them from her friend and quickly slipped them back on, Duela snickering to herself.

"Black?" Duela then questioned with a cheeky grin on her face only to get elbowed by the Ghostling girl in the ribs. Said girl was such a shade of red that she could probably pass for a tomato, especially with her eyes also being a bright burning red.

"Tell anyone and I swear no one will ever find your body…" Dani growled out, eyes a blazing red as she looks at her friend and Duela held up her hands.

"Alright alright! Just turn off the angry eyes already!" Duela said quickly while Dani huffed before she then crossed her arms with a pout. "See, now c'mon, we've got a rare priceless gem to steal!" Duela states while dragging Dani out of the room so they could go and steal something when they really shouldn't have…

(Back with Naruto…)

Naruto stared at Itachi for a moment, and then shook his head as the man reached into his cloak… and removed a stick of pocky. "Okay… I think your Itachi, but aren't you dead or something?" Naruto questioned while staring at the man as he started munching on his pocky, then answered the blond haired teen.

"Correct Naruto-kun." He said simply before returning to his munching and Naruto scratched his head for a moment. Hey, who wouldn't be confused to find one of his greatest enemies living in his mind?

"Then exactly why are you in my head?" The blond questioned of the dark haired man and Itachi frowned in thought for a moment, considering the blond's question before shrugging his shoulders.

"Perhaps the Shinigami has a sense of humor…" Itachi offered and Naruto couldn't help but give the older man a flat look as his response while crossing his arms over his chest.

"Yea… no, I really doubt that's the case." The blond replies and Itachi merely rolled his eyes before sitting down and continued to munch on his Pocky. "So if you don't know how you got here, do you at least know where we are?" Naruto asked the dark haired man with a flat look and Itachi looked around for a moment before shrugging his shoulders.

"I have absolutely no clue… I've just been here for a while…" Itachi replied while returning to his Pocky and Naruto twitched slightly.

"Then where did you get the pocky?" The blond demanded and Itachi made a familiar "Hnnn" sound while ignoring him. "Oi… could you at least tell me what you know about where we are? Like, maybe what's at the top of this weird structure?" Naruto questioned of Itachi and the man merely made an "hnnn" sound once more, causing the blond to twitch slightly when he did so. "Ugh… so you're where Sasuke learned that annoying sound…" Naruto grumbled out aloud and Itachi smirked slightly before frowning and looking up the side of the structure they were on.

"Perhaps… but that is not relevant at the moment, Naruto-kun." Itachi reminds and Naruto sighed before crossing his arms and looking to the dead Uchiha expectantly. "This place is within your mind, I'm not sure where it is, how I got here, or what is at the top of this structure." Itachi explained and Naruto raised a brow.

"How do you not know what's at the top? I mean, you've been here for a while right?" Naruto questioned and Itachi slowly nodded his head while making another Hnnn sound for a moment.

"Unfortunately Naruto-Kun, this is not my mind, this is yours and as a result only you can truly explore it…" Itachi reminds the blond before returning to munching on his pocky. Rolling his eyes at this, Naruto starts to wonder if all the stories about Itachi and Pocky he'd heard were true before turning to look upwards, frowning when he can't see the top of the structure through the darkness.

"But I was trying to reach my Inner Demon… so can you at least tell me how I ended up here Itachi?" The blond questioned and Itachi merely grunted out another "Hnn" sound while munching on his Pocky and causing Naruto to twitch. "Would you please give me a straight answer already?" Naruto demanded of the man and Itachi rolled his eyes while putting his pocky away and opened his cloak, allowing one of his arms to hang in the folds of his cloak.

"Your mind is vast Naruto-Kun, the Kyuubi's cage is only one aspect of it. The "Inner Demon" and his home are another one. This place is probably something else entirely that you have yet to explore." Itachi explained simply and Naruto nodded his head seeing as that did make sense. "Now then Naruto, you should probably get on your way." Itachi noted while motioning the blond haired youth towards the staircase and the blond frowned for a moment.

"I do have one other question Itachi…" Naruto admitted and the dead-Uchiha looked towards him with a raised brow. "What was that Raven you stuffed down my throat when we last met? You said it was power, but I haven't really felt anything…" Naruto noted and a small smirk crossed over the man's features before it vanished as he looked to the endlessly black sky.

"That is something you'll find out in time Naruto-Kun, it is power… but it is still a power that I hope you never need to use." Itachi replied his eyes closing as he sat there, a quiet breeze whipping by as he then looked back at Naruto. "Besides that, what of your contract to the Toads? That was a great deal of power to be had and they were all your friends…" Itachi noted while looking to the blond pointedly and Naruto winced for a moment before sighing tiredly.

"I… couldn't keep it. They can use reverse summoning to bring me back to their mountain, and after I arrived in this world, I didn't know whether I could make it back or not so… I kind of broke my contract with them so I wouldn't be taken away from Kara-Chan." Naruto admitted while looking away and Itachi nodded his head with another "Hnn" before closing his eyes.

"Do not fret Naruto-Kun, the journey you are on now, shall most definitely lead you to the answers you seek… and maybe something more…" Itachi replied, a distinctly cold tone echoing out and causing Naruto to shiver. Turning away from the man, Naruto looked at the long flight of stairs leading up into the endless expanse of black he'd somehow found himself in. Taking a quick breath, the blond haired youth then walked to the stairs and started on his way up. Behind him, Itachi quietly closed his eyes while a shadow walked up next to him.

"So then he is attempting to make his way to the top?" A distorted voice questioned of Itachi and the black haired man silently nods his head. "Then all goes as it should…" The Shadow muses aloud while Itachi looks to the shadowed figure, a man in an Akatsuki uniform, only his grey-violet ripple like eyes visible through the dark shadows concealing his form…

"Indeed… Leader-Sama." Itachi replied quietly while the shadow then vanished from sight completely, leaving Itachi sitting alone on his spot…

(With Jinx…)

The girl was still following Naruto's tracks, however, instead of finding him like she planned, she instead ended up back at their camp. "Crap… so that's why the soles of his sandals are almost rectangular…" She muttered under her breath, realizing the design was to confuse anyone who'd try and track him. Sighing for a moment, Jinx then looked to the side as Naruto's clone walked towards camp with a smirk. "Sorry Temp…" She mumbled only for the blond haired teen to roll his eyes and grin towards her.

"No one gets everything right the first time they try it, Jinx. You just have to remember that this is new to you." The clone reminded while holding out a hand towards her. Jinx slowly nodded her head to the clone with a slight smile, and then took the clones offered hand. After helping the rosette back to her feet, the clone grinned for a moment before turning when he heard something rustling to the side. The clone had to hold back laughter as he saw his partner clone walking towards him and Jinx, one of Raven's arms slung over his shoulders as she groaned.

The girl looked to have been put through a wringer, small cuts, scrapes, and other such minor injuries littering her body. The clear exhaustion in her eyes also showed just how much work the other clone had put her through. "Man, don't you think you were a little harsh with Kara-Chan?" The first clone questioned and the other rolled his eyes while helping Raven to the tent, and then put her inside so she could rest.

"Yea… no. Kaa-san was way more hellish a trainer than I was with Kara-Chan, trust me." The clone replied with a dismissive wave of one hand, his partner clone mentally agreeing with a shiver… "Although I would really like to know how Kaa-san did that stupid Cloud Jutsu!" The clone then said aloud with a scowl across his face, arms crossed and Jinx raised a brow and tilted her head to the side.

"Cloud-Jutsu?" The rosette questioned with obvious confusion and the clone that had been training her, Clone-A, nodded his head.

"Yeah, Kaa-San had this really bad habit of making me train myself to the point of exhaustion… then she'd somehow use a cloud Jutsu to sit on, float above me, and laugh at me about not being able to take a little hard work…" Clone-A replied and Jinx blinked before gaping at the blond, and then looked over to Clone-B, the one training Raven, as he grumbled to himself.

"Yeah, but man I would still like to know how she did it, it was an amusing Jutsu if nothing else." Clone-B noted and Clone-A nodded his head in agreement with his partner before looking over to Jinx.

"We'll continue your tracking training tomorrow, so be sure to get some rest." Clone-A orders and Jinx raises a brow while looking at the two clones for a moment.

"What about Temp? Are we just gonna leave him out there all night?" Jinx questioned of the two clones that looked at one another before giving her a strange look for a moment.

"Trust us Jinx… The Boss will be fine, and besides that he's doing something important… I think." The clone replied while scratching his cheek, causing Jinx to shake her head as she wondered about the clones for a moment, then made her way over to the tent Raven was sleeping in and slipped inside. What? They had agreed Naruto wouldn't be sharing a tent with Raven, if for nothing else then so Jinx could get some sleep, thus the two girls had to share a tent instead… though Jinx really hoped that the violet-haired girl was exhausted whenever they did so they wouldn't get into an argument…

Meanwhile back outside of the tent, Clone-A and Clone-B looked to one another for a moment before staring up at the moon. "Do you have a chill running up and down your spine as well?" Clone-A questioned of his partner and Clone-B frowns before leaning back into a tree, eyes narrowed on the sky. His eyes narrowed further and a scowl crossed his features as he watched a cloud pass before the moon, almost seeming to turn red as it did so…

"Not a chill, I just felt like I had someone just walked over my fucking grave…" Clone-B replied while closing his eyes and Clone-A nodded his head in agreement with his partner… a foul wind was blowing, and something vile was coming ever closer to them…

(?)

Slade sat before a screen, keeping an eye on the goings on of Jump-City and narrowing his sole eye as he saw that the JLU was actively taking an interest in the city for a change. _'Although this could work in my favor…'_ Slade mused to himself while Ravager was sitting nearby, smoking a cigarette and sharpening her swords. Slade wondered only briefly when she picked up that habit, and then reasoned it was sometime after he went to find a new Apprentice. _'To think she picked up an annoying habit like that… perhaps I was a little harsh on her.'_ Slade mused before cracking his neck and deciding what his nearly eighteen-year-old daughter did didn't really matter.

Looking over the actions of Tartarus and The Titans with the JLU in town yielded nothing really, as The Titans were more or less put on the sidelines while the JLU investigated the murders he'd had Rose commit, and Tartarus seemed to be taking a low-profile in order to stay off the JLU's radar. _'Not to mention Raven isn't even in the city at the moment, so attempting to speed along the prophecy won't work… for now…'_ Slade mused before deciding to take a few preventative measures to ensure his own survival.

Typing on his computer, Slade looked up any and all ways to fix his… problem, without Trigon's assistance. Sadly the only way he could find would be for him to go into hell itself and retrieve what he'd lost. _'Not my first choice, and certainly not something I'm looking forward too…'_ Slade noted to himself while Ravager finished sharpening her twin-Katana and then sheathed them on her back. Turning around, Ravager watched as Slade looked over more and more information before grunting and sitting back in his seat, fingers laced together as he glared at the monitor coldly.

"Something the matter father?" Ravager questioned while looking to the one-eyed man, causing him to turn his head slightly before humming.

"No Rose, go find something to do…" Slade ordered flippantly and Ravager sighed and flipped to her feet before walking to her room. Seeing she was gone, Slade closed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. He wouldn't allow his daughter to know what had happened to him, nor of his deal with Trigon. Even he would admit to being a fool, however he had no intention of believing that Trigon would keep his end of the bargain. No, far from it really, which was why Slade had other plans to secure his continued existence…

TBC…


	50. Survival Training PT 3

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

**Chapter 48**: **The Quest Side-Story: Survival Training Pt. 3**…

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

(Forest Outside Jump-City, Day 2…)

Jinx had awoken to a strange sight; namely, Naruto's clones seemingly having a debate. Currently she was watching as the two bickered between one another in Japanese, too fast for her to translate no less. _'Just because I know a little Japanese doesn't mean I can keep up with him when he doesn't want to slow down…'_ Jinx thought to herself with a mental sigh while one of the clones poked the other in the chest for a moment. The caused the clone to lunge at his partner, both struggling with one another and causing a ruckus while somehow managing not to damage each other…

'_So this is what Temp was like before he became so… well… its actually kind of hard to place his personality. But in any case, these guys remind me of Beast-Boy, only a little less annoying…'_ Jinx mused to herself while the Clones started biting one another and she had to question their sanity when Raven grunted and pulled herself out of the tent. "Morning…" Jinx said aloud and Raven merely grunted while stretching out and then stared at the two clones as they continued to fight with each other…

"How long has this been going on?" Raven questioned with a raised brow and Jinx shrugged her shoulders and sighed with a shake of her head.

"Since before I got up I think…" Jinx admitted and then continued to watch the two clones with only a mild amount of interest in whatever it was they were fighting over that was so damn important…

"Hnn…" Raven mumbled out while sitting down, unconsciously channeling the vast majority of Uchiha as she crossed her arms and shook her head towards the two struggling clones. "Maybe we should try to stop them before they destroy one another." Raven offered and Jinx considered this for a moment before nodding her head in agreement with the violet-haired girl.

"I concur. Carry on." Jinx replied while waving Raven towards the clones, causing the half-demon to narrow her eyes on the rosette.

"I thought you were going to help me with this?" Raven demanded in a low growl and Jinx snorted while leaning back with a smirk.

"Even with my powers, do I honestly look like I could subdue those two?" Jinx questioned pointedly and Raven grunted before holding a hand towards the two arguing clones who had started to try and beat one another as lightly as possible so they wouldn't pop out of existence…

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" Raven chanted, causing a wave of black energy to form over Clone-A and Clone B, both clones blinking for a moment before looking over to see the two girls, Jinx smirking cheekily while Raven frowned. "Are you two quite done now?" Raven questioned and the clones slowly nodded their heads before Raven removed the energy from them, both falling back to the ground and grunting.

"Oi, we really need to pay more attention to our surroundings." Clone-B noted and Clone-A nodded his head in agreement with his partner.

"What were you two arguing about anyways?" Jinx questioned of the two and Clone-A crossed his arms with a frown on his face.

"Numb-Shit here wanted to teach Kara-Chan to use a weapon, I argued she didn't have the time, he then said that since she can turn intangible and we still have Uchiha Madara's old gauntlets we could at least show her the basics of using them and…" Clone-A started to explain only for Raven to quickly interrupt the two in their debate.

"Wait one second, you have even more of Uchiha Madara's stuff besides his mask? And by gauntlets you mean those metal bracelet things you told me he wore on the same night he murdered your mother the first time?" Raven questioned of the two incredulously, causing them to wince while Jinx gaped for a minute.

"Why would you keep anything that belonged to a man who murdered your mother? Especially with how obsessed with the woman you are?" Jinx demanded and Clone-A and B looked to one another for a moment before Clone-B sighed and started to trace shapes on the ground with one hand.

"You're missing the point, I'm an orphan, I like to collect a lot of different things… hell Batman does the same damn thing." Clone-B replied quietly while tracing out a shape of the Akatsuki's symbol on the ground for a moment. "It's not why I keep that weapon. It's not why I keep that old costume. Orphan's are collectors… losing so much, makes it that much harder to let anything go." Clone-B explained and Jinx winced, mentally thanking Snake for taking care of her while Raven sighed and looked towards the clones apologetically.

"So, if that's the case how much of a collection do you have?" Raven suddenly wondered and Clone-A rubbed his chin with a thoughtful look on his face.

"We have at least one object from every one of our most memorable fights, of our time as a Ninja, or our most dangerous enemies, save the one with Kiba when we were younger…" Clone-A admitted with a shrug of his shoulders while Clone-B nodded his head with his arms crossed.

"Amung other things, I have all of Uchiha Madara's masks, though admittedly some are just recreations, his weapons… mostly so no one else would ever use them… Hidan's old scythe, The Kusanagi of course, The Ten Rings of the Akatsuki, both Sasuke and Jiraiya's old Hittai-ates, and several little knickknacks from my many adventures across the Elemental nations." Clone-B listed off while looking thoughtful and Jinx gave both clones a look.

"Okay… you really like to keep things." Jinx noted with a look and Raven rolled her eyes while looking to the rosette.

"Yeah I know… anyways unless one of you ladies can cook…" Clone-A started and looked to both Raven and Jinx, said girls grimacing as they both lacked any kind of skill in the kitchen… "Right… then I think I'll whip us up some breakfast." Clone-A finished while pulling out a scroll and walked to the side where he started work on a fire, Raven looking back to Jinx as he did so.

"Seeing as he's sharing with us, why don't you tell us about yourself as well." Raven offered while smirking towards the pinked haired girl. Grinning, both clones nodded their heads in agreement and Jinx sighed while crossing her arms.

"Not much to tell, I'm an orphan, like Temp here, though I did grow up in Detroit…" Jinx admitted and Raven's eyes shot wide open before staring at the rosette.

"Detroit? As in the same place where The Crow appeared about ten years ago?" Raven asked the girl incredulously and both Clone A and B looked to one another with raised brows as Clone-A continued to make breakfast for them.

"The Crow?" Clone-A questioned while turning his head with a raised brow and Clone-B smirked slightly while looking to Raven.

"A relative of yours Kara-Chan?" Clone-B asked the violet-haired girl and she gave him an annoyed look in response.

"The Crow is both the Avatar of Death and an Angel of Vengeance sent to wreak righteous vengeance upon the wicked…" The girl stated flatly and both clones shivered slightly while Jinx nodded her head with a bored look across her face.

"Yeah, I've heard of that guy but I never met him. Anyways I liked pulling pranks for the hell of it back then, I was sort of a hell raiser to put it bluntly. I skipped school to do whatever I wanted, till I got invited to "Dark-Way Prep" which happened to be a HIVE middle school. Officer Jack David Connors, AKA Snake is the closest thing to a father I've ever had and was the one who taught stealth, evasion, and infiltration to me when I was little. My "Adopted" little sister is Danielle "Dani" Phantom, Temps apprentice." Jinx started explaining dully, as if it was boring to remember her life.

"My mom was an East-Indian Sorceress with the ability to control the elements, my dad… well… I didn't really know him but his name is or was Manx. Thanks to my mom being a sorceress a vast majority of my friends seem to think my powers are magically based, however they are actually caused by an unknown internal energy I have that Gizmo says is similar to Temp's Chakra, and of course the fact I'm clearly a meta-human also helps." Jinx finished off blandly and Raven looked at the pink-haired girl strangely for a few moments.

"You mean to tell me your mother was a full fledged sorceress and you don't know any magic yourself?" Raven questioned and Jinx snorted while crossing her legs and arms with a frown on her face.

"Good teachers in magic are rarer in this world than you might think." Jinx reminded with a frown and Raven slowly nodded her head, inwardly agreeing with the rosette on that matter, as half the books she'd ever seen in this world didn't teach anything useful about controlling or using magic.

"I have a better question, how do you know all that about your real parents if you're an orphan?" Clone-A asked with a raised brow and Clone-B nodded his head with a scowl across his face.

"Yeah! I looked all over Konoha and couldn't even find even one mention of an Uzumaki anything before I turned fucking sixteen!" Clone-B added with an annoyed scowl on his face and Jinx blinked before shrugging her shoulders.

"I might've snuck into the Orphanage's classified files and found some records of my dad, one "Tomas Manx". That's how I found my dad. My mom was a little harder, but I eventually met some crazy old man who said I looked almost exactly like Jinx and…" The pinkette started explaining to the two with her before Clone-B suddenly interrupted her.

"Your mom was called Jinx as well?" The clone questioned and Jinx nodded her head with an amused look.

"Yeah, but that's actually more coincidental than anything else as I was always "Jill Manx" and got my nickname from both my powers and that." Jinx replied and then cleared her throat as she prepared to get back to her story. "And as I was saying, this old guy said I looked like Jinx, even showed me a picture. Besides my skin and hair she and I do look very similar, she even had pink eyes like me and our facial markings are fairly similar in design, only mine are clearly pink." Jinx explained while pointing to the jagged triangles beneath either of her pink slitted eyes.

"What kind of powers did your mom have?" Raven asked curiously, causing Clone-B and Jinx to look to one another, then to the violet-haired Titana. "What? I'm a sorceress too, magic is kind of my thing…" Raven reminded the two and Jinx rolled her eyes before sighing and placing her chin in her hands.

"Honestly, finding out who she was was hard enough. There was no other mentioning of this other Jinx other than she was a super-villainous for a while." Jinx replied and Raven smirked slightly towards the pink-haired girl.

"So are you a villain to be like your mother then?" The violet haired girl questioned only for Jinx to give her a scathing look as her response. Deciding that it was best to keep the two girls placated, Clone-A chose that moment to turn around and cross his arms over his chest.

"Either way this discussion will have to wait for later, the foods done." Clone-A then said while looking to Clone-B, who sighed before he started distributing the food between them…

(With-Naruto…)

The blond haired boy is still walking up a massive amount of stairs; up the side of the strange almost tower like structure. _'Oi, what is this place anyways? And why is it so damn breezy around here?'_ The blond haired youth had to wonder as he made his way up the steps, only to curse as the wind grew stronger, nearly knocking him off of his feet. "What the hell?" He demanded while pushing Chakra to his feet in order to hang on for dear life. Soon enough the breeze died down and the blond breathed a short sigh of relief before looking around, then walked up the steps and found himself at yet another shrine.

However this one was different, the shrine was still made into a traditional Japanese style, however it was much larger than the one he'd seen before, holding an entire almost arena like area within it, a gate barring access to it made of wavy bars, a pair of snakes forming into a lock of some kind. Also adding to the similarity however was a staircase that led further upwards, making Naruto wonder just how far up in his mind he could possibly go…

"Quite an interesting place…" The Voice of Itachi came, causing Naruto to whip around and see the man sitting to the side, leaning back against the shrine with his eyes closed. "Wouldn't you say so… Naruto-Kun?" Itachi questioned while looking over to the blond haired teen with one eye. Gaping as he saw Itachi, Naruto looked down the path he'd just walked and the back to the man incredulously.

"How the hell did you get here?" Naruto demanded and Itachi opened one eye while looking at the blond haired youth.

"Same as you… I walked." Itachi replied with an amused look in his eye and Naruto gave the man a look.

"Then why the hell didn't you come any farther before I did?" Naruto demanded and Itachi made the familiar hnn sound before pulling a stick of Pocky from his cloak and started to munch on it.

"Because this is _your_ mind, not mine Naruto-Kun, I have no right to see things that you yourself have yet to discover." Itachi replied simply and then returned to munching on his pocky, Naruto frowning as the man did so.

"Where the hell do you keep getting that pocky?" Naruto then questioned of the man and Itachi merely made an hnn sound and ignored him. Growling lightly, Naruto then turned and walked to the gates and looked at them for a moment, frowning at the twin snakes that made up the latch for the gate. "Now how do I open you?" Naruto wondered to himself while Itachi silently munched on his pocky, the mere knowledge that the man was nearby causing the blond to twitch.

'_Just ignore him and work on opening this gate, something has got to be at the top of this fucking Tower if it's even here… right?'_ Naruto mused to himself before looking over the lock with a frown across his face. "No keyhole…" He mused while looking to the side to see Itachi munching on Pocky with a bland look across his face. "Where do you even get Pocky around here?" Naruto questioned of the man once more, the dead-Uchiha silently shrugging his shoulders before returning to his pocky.

'_Well that was certainly informative…'_ Naruto thought sarcastically before crossing his arms as he looked at the coiled snakes that made up the lock for the gate. _'Alright, there's no key, no switch, no lever, and no visible way to open this thing…'_ Naruto inwardly noted before narrowing his eyes on the center of the coiled snakes, more specifically, to the circle that formed between them. "Five holes…" He whispered to himself before snapping his fingers with a smirk. Reaching forward he placed one finger into each of the holes and turned it around, only to stop when he felt the barest hints of a knife on his fingers…

'_Oh I get it, turn this thing the wrong way and it cuts off your fingers, damn that's a nasty lock…'_ Naruto couldn't help but think to himself, also wondering why in hell his mind came up with a lock like that for this particular gate. Turning the circle the other way, Naruto then heard a click and moved his hand out of the way as the snakes on the gate seemed to come to life. Both hissed while coiling away from one another, revealing a second pair of snakes beneath the first set, two handles to the side of the circle. Rolling his eyes, Naruto took hold of the handles and then turned the device the opposite way.

Once that was done, the other two snakes uncoiled from one another, allowing the gate to slowly swing open with a creak. _'Okay… why did I have such an annoying gate in my head if it's not to hold Kyuubi?'_ Naruto had to wonder to himself while walking into the arena like area that had been revealed. Besides being wide open and fairly big for a shrine, the walls of the place were VERY strange. This was because it looked like a plethora of old-fashioned Samurai and Shinobi were battling one another, not so odd, but the depictions seemed to be partially real as they also managed to form out of the walls.

"Weird…" Naruto mumbled while walking over to one side, frowning when he saw that it was Armor that had somehow been imbedded into the wall. Looking to the opposite side, he saw the other half of the armor was there in a similar situation, while eight swords were scattered amongst the depiction, handles or blades sticking out of the walls. Frowning for a moment more, Naruto then looked to the floor, Naruto briefly felt a bad feeling creep up at a depiction of a massive looking eight-headed / tailed snake with deep, blood red eyes that seemed to be spitting out more poison than even Orochimaru's Yamata-no-Jutsu had managed to do…

"The true Yamata-No-Orochi?" Naruto wondered to himself while looking at the depiction, only to quickly turn as the gates to the arena slammed shut. "I've got a bad feeling about this…" Naruto mumbled before narrowing his eyes and looking all around himself, then felt the floor ripple. Looking down to it, the blond's eyebrows shot up before following the ripples to the depiction of The Yamata-No-Orochi and saw the Kusanagi-No-Tsurugi slowly rise out of it.

"_**You who wish to wield me in battle…"**_ A low hissing voice echoed out from all around, Naruto narrowing his eyes as it did. _**"I have allowed you use of me, but you must prove thyself worthy of my power, before you can be my true master."**_ The voice continued while the Kusanagi suddenly pulsed, a black / violet miasma forming along its length and then quickly spreading outwards. Raising an arm and digging his heels into the ground, Naruto staved off the Miasma and then widened his eyes as he watched the glowing Kusanagi pulse once more.

The armor and swords that had been imbedded in the walls instantly began to shake before breaking free and flying towards the sword. The now Eight swords began to spin behind it in a circle as the Armor formed around the Kusanagi. Last was a mask that flew down from the ceiling and spun in mid-air for a moment before flying onto the "Face" of the now living armor as it began to hover off of the ground. The armor was that of a Samurai however was a tarnished gold in color, replacing the body of a man within it was nothing but the strange purple-miasma, the mask it was wearing was that of a snake, black in color with painted red eyes and purple markings.

"_**Now prove to me your strength, prove that you are worthy of being my master."**_ The armor ordered while throwing its arms to the sides, causing the eight swords behind it to form a single line behind it.

"Listen here, I don't care about being your damn master, I know you're a semi-sentient sword Kusanagi, but I'm only here to find out what's up with that weird Chakra-Armor I keep forming, not to take full control of you!" Naruto shouted at the armored sword and it didn't seem to care while it rose off of the ground, hovering in midair while holding its arms aloft.

"_**I care not for such a thing, this test must be passed by my new wielder… or I shall simply return to my former Master."**_ The Kusanagi stated simply and Naruto frowned deeply while glaring at the living armor. While he wasn't a fan of being forced into a fight with a sentient sword, he REALLY didn't want The Kusanagi back in Orochimaru's hands… _**"Then it is settled, you and I shall face one another in combat, should you manage to defeat me, you shall be my new master! Now prepare yourself!"**_ The Sword exclaimed while the Miasma around them began to swirl, blocking any exists and making the blond gap for a moment.

"Oh shit…" Naruto whispered as it then threw its arms forward, causing all eight swords to fly forward, the blond cursing as he flipped back and out of the way. Growling lightly, Naruto then took out two Kunai and twirled them in his hands before flowing Chakra through them to form into two blue ethereal blades. "Alright, you want a fight Kusanagi, then I'll give you a fight!" Naruto declared while crouching into a stance opposite the armored being.

The being thus pulled its arms back, the swords ripping out of the floor to flow back to it where it then lunged at Naruto. The eight swords began to spin around the armored being, Naruto cursing as he rolled out of the way. Sliding to a stop, Naruto saw a portion of the armor was missing at the small of its back and smirked. _'As if this stupid sword could take me down.'_ Naruto thought to himself while lunging at Kusanagi from behind, only for the armor to spin around, slicing at him with all eight of its blades.

Eyes wide, Naruto slid to a stop and dodged and weaved his way around the blades as Kusanagi swung them with disturbing precision and speed. Growling as the blades nearly took his head off, Naruto then flipped out of the line of fire and above Kusanagi. Looking up, the armor then spun in place before spinning down into a lotus position, the armor of its hands making a motion as if it were creating hand-seals. _'Don't tell me…'_ The blond started to think to himself when Kusanagi slammed its hands to the ground, all eight of its swords flying towards the walls.

"_**Arise!"**_ Kusanagi declared loudly as hands shot out of the walls, four Ninja-like beings walking out of the walls to grasp two swords each. Eyes wide, the blond watched as the "Sword-Shinobi" started to move, and then snapped their heads towards him almost as one…_'Great, the sword has backup…'_ The blond thought to himself with a mental grimace as the Sword-Shinobi lunged at him from all sides. Growling lowly, Naruto ducked under a swing from one of the Sword-Shinobi before slicing it in half.

However, much to his annoyance the Sword-Shinobi then seemed to flow back together and took another swing at him. Growling lightly, Naruto evaded the swing and then rolled into another Sword-Shinobi, knocking it to the ground where he then sliced it into four pieces, then turned and swung all around, cutting the other three in half. However much like before, the Sword-Shinobi flowed back together, causing a scowl to cross Naruto's lips as he tried to reason how they were doing that. Evading another slash from one of the Sword-Shinobi, Naruto then turned his eyes towards The Kusanagi. The Armored being was keeping its hands on the ground, and as he narrowed his eyes, Naruto saw snake like trails leading from Kusanagi out to the Sword-Shinobi.

'_Oh I get it, Kusanagi is using his Chakra to repair these guys whenever I destroy them, it's similar to those annoying Driads, only I just have to attack Kusanagi to break it's concentration, that should stop these guys completely.'_ Naruto reasoned inwardly while continuing to dodge around the continued assault from the four Sword-Shinobi. _'Alright Kusanagi, no more playing around, I seriously don't have time for games today!'_ Naruto inwardly growled while narrowing his eyes on Kusanagi and moving towards its back, smirking as he saw the hole he'd noticed earlier.

"**Kougenjin!"** The blond exclaimed while swinging his Chakra-Sabers, forming an X-shaped burst of energy that flew straight at Kusanagi and threw it into the air. When it did, the Sword-Shinobi fell to pieces, literally, by turning into a fine dust while their eight-swords fell tip first into the ground. Watching as the armor came down, Naruto then saw his chance as The Kusanagi itself was revealed. Crouching down, Naruto lunged forward and jumped up to grab the blade, however it spun in place. Mentally cursing, Naruto used a quick Kawarimi no Jutsu to replace himself with a large piece of armor on the ground, causing the sword to cut it in half instead.

"_**Impressive, but I'm not done with you just yet…"**_ The same deep hissing voice echoed out while Miasma suddenly surged from the walls and flowed into the blade.

"Man I hate it when shit like this happens…" Naruto grumbled under his breath, then watched as the armor from the Sword-Shinobi and Kusanagi's original golden armor all started to rise up towards the sword. "This can't be good…" The blond muttered while the armor started to form together, forming overtop the Kusanagi once more, however this time it took on the shape of a massive snake, the eight-Swords from before spinning around its neck as it hissed loudly while its mask appeared on its forehead…

"Oi, it just HAD to go and turn into another giant fucking snake!" The blond grumbled loudly while twirling his Chakra-Sabers at his sides and taking a stance against the snake as it then lunged at him.

(?)

Batman and Jason Blood were continuing their investigation, this time by looking over the homes of the members of the Order-of-Scath. Jason was looking over the runes for possible uses besides as a power source, while Batman was using his masks built in "Detective-Mode" to look over the area. "Have you found anything Batman?" Jason questioned and Batman frowned while looking over the room, then narrowed his eyes when he spotted a hidden doorway.

"Over there." The Dark-Knight states while walking to the side and pressed in on a rune, causing a doorway to open up. Walking into the doorway, Batman frowned when he saw how dark it was, Jason conjuring a ball of fire as they explore the cavern. "This isn't in any data-base…" Batman noted mostly to himself, Jason rubbing his chin as they journeyed in deeper.

"Is it possible that the Cultists built this then?" Jason wondered aloud and a frown crossed over Batman's features as he did see signs that this was dug out…

"Possible, but for what purpose would they take the time to dig out these tunnels?" The Dark-Knight wondered aloud and a frown crossed Jason Blood's features.

"From the looks of things it's most likely that it's so they could gather together in secret." The scarlet haired man replied while crossing his arms over his chest, a deep frown across his face.

"If that's the case then we should be able to find some notes on the summoning ritual they used to call Trigon into our world." Batman mused aloud, only to frown as they came upon a corridor with more glowing red runes. "Jason?" Batman questioned flatly and the scarlet haired man frowned deeply while looking at the runes for a few moments, eyes narrowing as he did.

"These are transfer Runes, they will take the energy from the homes and transport them towards the point of entry for Trigon." Jason explained while following the runes, Batman following behind the man. Soon however the two came to a wall, Batman frowning as he looked around the area.

"Stand back." Batman ordered and Jason nodded while backing away as Batman reached into his Utility Belt and pulled out some explosive gel. Spraying it onto the wall in the shape of a bat, the man then backed away and raised his cape. Hitting the switch on his gadget caused the wall to explode in a small shower of rubble. Staying still for a moment, both Batman and Jason braced themselves as the ground rumbled for a moment. When nothing more happened, Batman put his gel away and walked out of the new doorway and into a large library.

"So this is the library you mentioned…" Jason said lowly while looking around, the building being old and dark, books lying on the ground, some half open to show blank pages, others having demonic runes and symbols, bats flying above them briefly remind Batman of his Batcave, however he chooses not to dwell on that and instead walks further into the building with Jason right behind him.

"Looks like it. The building was the original city library but it was then abandoned after what happened eighteen years ago and was recently condemned along with a large portion of this block. Making it the perfect place for the cult's secret meetings." Batman noted aloud while taking a flashlight from his belt and handing it over to Jason. The Scarlet haired man nodded while taking the flashlight and walked over to a few books before looking them over. As he did, Batman surveyed the area, a scowl crossing his features as he did so. Nearby, Jason was looking over the books in the area for a different purpose.

"Some of these books deal with Demonic Incantations and rituals… however they seem to be fairly worn and torn." Jason noted while turning a page in one of the books, and then sighed as it crumbled to dust in his hands. "These tomes are ancient, and have started to degrade… I won't be able to learn anything useful from them anymore…" Jason said mostly to himself while standing up and brushed off his hands as Batman walked over to a dead-end with a frown across his face.

"My scans indicate a passage way behind here…" Batman stated with a frown while Jason reached a hand out to the wall, only to hiss and bring his hand back as an unknown force burned it, his hand smoking lightly as he looked to see a red field of energy briefly flare up before vanishing once more.

"A demonic barrier… it doesn't look like Trigon, or perhaps something else, wants us to find out what's in there." Jason noted with a frown, Batman looking to Jason with a raised brow. "Demonic-Barriers aren't a common ability even for a demon like Trigon, they are more commonly seen among the ancient Eastern Demons… in fact, the more powerful Eastern Demons were well known their use of them." Jason explained and Batman narrowed his eyes while crossing his arms over his chest.

"And by eastern… you mean Japanese correct?" Batman questioned flatly and Jason nodded his head to the Dark-Knight. Reaching up to rub his chin for a moment, Batman scanned the "Demonic-Barrier" with his mask and didn't like the readings he was getting off of it… "How powerful is Trigon?" Batman suddenly questioned and Jason raised a brow for only a moment before answering him.

"Upon entering into our Mortal World, Trigon's powers will decimate the land, the oceans shall become as lava, all life will fade away, flesh shall become stone, the sun shall set upon our world… never to rise again." Jason replied and a frown crossed over Batman's features as his scans of the barrier continued.

"I meant in general, S, A, B, what class of demon is Trigon ranked?" Batman stated and Jason slowly nodded his head for a moment before considering that.

"He is a high A-class demon but he borders on being a very low S-class… Lucifer and the other Demon Lords are the only true S-Class demons however…" Jason replied simply and Batman nodded his head with a deep frown on his face.

"Then we may have more problems than originally believed. This Barrier has enough energy to suggest it could hold both Superman and Diana at bay fairly easily. Meaning that only a High-A class demon could've possibly created it." Batman replied and saw a look of shock cross Jason's features before he scowled deeply.

"I see… so he's not coming alone. That does not bode well, and worse still, this barrier is fire based, meaning it's a demon with intimate knowledge of flames and fire." Jason noted with a frown while Batman pressed a switch on his belt, copying the readings of the barrier and storing them away.

"I'll speak with some of the League about any known Eastern type demons that could make one of these barriers." Batman then said while turning around and Jason nodded his head while following the man.

"I'll look around Raven's books some more and see if I can discern its identity myself. She has a fairly surprising collection of tomes dealing with Demons." Jason replied while Batman mutely nodded his head as he walked out of the building with the scarlet haired man… neither one seeing a blood red eye as it opened from the barrier for a single moment before vanishing from sight completely…

(Titans Tower…)

Starfire half lay on the sofa in Ops, a forlorn expression on her face as she remembers the many happy times she's had with Nightwing / Robin. Sighing as she then recalls his leaving the day before, she suddenly leans her head back and then sighs softly, feeling as though a dark cloud was pouring rain down onto her. Getting up, Starfire walks out of Ops, the main doors sliding open and then closed as she does so. Making her way into the main halls of Titans Tower, shoulders slouched, arms hanging at her sides, and a forlorn look still stretched across her face.

Walking around Titans-Tower, alone, Starfire wonders if she should go see Raven, only to sigh when she remembers she's out as well. Cyborg was an option, but admittedly, they have had little interaction with one another over the years. Passing by Nightwing's room, Starfire briefly considers trying to find her sister in town when she notices that his light is on for some strange reason. Stopping and turning, Starfire sees something move in Nightwing's room and her eyes widen. Moving quickly, the chipper Tameranian Princess rushes to the room, throwing the door completely open as she does.

"Nightwing, you are…" The girl starts to say with a smile, only to blink when she notices green fur instead of pale flesh. The figure, now clearly Beast-Boy in one of Nightwing's old Robin Costumes, then turns to look at her and Starfire narrows her eyes, mirroring her sister in looks for a moment. "You are not, Nightwing." The Princess states flatly while giving the green furred teen a look that would kill most beings. Grinning nervously, the green furred Titan then rubs the back of his neck while standing up, Robin's old costume much too large for the youngest Titan.

"Heh… what's up?" The teen wonders aloud and Starfire marches towards him with a frown across her lips.

"Beast-Boy, why are you wearing one of Nightwing's old Robin uniform?" Starfire questioned flatly, hunched down slightly to be at eye level with the now masked teen and fists clenched at her sides tightly. In response, the green teen could only grin while striking a silly pose.

"Call me, The Beast-Boy Wonder!" BB replies with a grin and Starfire rolls her eyes while straightening her back up.

"You should not be in Nightwing's room while he is away." Starfire notes while looking around the room and BB merely grins while looking towards her through the simple domino mask over his eyes.

"C'mon, its fun!" BB retorted and then started to throw out random gadgets from the yellow utility belt he was wearing. "Look at all the cool stuff in here!" He says while grinning, accidentally throwing a flash bomb which explodes off to the side. Narrowing her eyes on her friend, even as she could swear she heard a feline yelp, Starfire reaches out and grasps a stray birdarang from the air with a frown.

"Nightwing would say that is not a toy!" Starfire states simply while lightly pointing the Birdarang towards Beast-Boy as he grinned sheepishly for a moment. "He would say to leave that alone…" Starfire then said while folding the wings of the Birdarang down and sighed softly.

"If you're going to talk like Night, then maybe you should dress like 'em too!" BB noted while opening Nightwing's closet to show several different Nightwing and Robin uniforms, as well as two that looked like prototypes for a new costume… "He's got more than one uniform." BB noted while wagging his eyebrows, Starfire blinking as she stared at the closet for a few moments.

'_Should I? I would like too yes… but… would it not be a breach of Friend-Nightwing's privacy to do so?'_ Starfire wondered to herself before Beast-Boy siddled up and grinned at the orange skinned princess. "Besides, think about it, Night doesn't wear his old Robin duds anymore… so its not like he'd miss a pair if it maybe got stretched out." Beast-Boy noted while elbowing her slightly and Starfire had to admit, Beast-Boy did have a point… not to mention that the JLU had basically told them to take some time off… and it was just going to be for fun…

(Back with Naruto…)

The blond cursed while flipping back as the Armor-Snake lunged at him with a snap of its jaws. Landing in a low crouch, Naruto narrowed his eyes as the snake Hissed and slithered around him. _'I hate Snakes, all snakes, no matter what anyone says about them! So why the hell do I keep meeting up with more Kami-Damned snakes?'_ The blond wondered of no one while keeping his eyes on the massive Armor-Snake. The said serpent was busy keeping its own eyes on him, before hissing as the blades spread throughout its body all pointed outwards.

Widening his eyes, Naruto flipped back as the Snake then lashed out with its tail like a massive whip. Watching for its next attack, Naruto growled lightly as it flicked its body towards him once more. Flipping in the air, over several of the sharp blades, Naruto landed on its back and grabbed hold of one of the armor plates that made up its body. "Alright I just have to find a weak-spot…" Naruto growled under his breath while the Snake hissed loudly while twisting and turning in place, attempting to throw the blond off of its back by any means necessary.

Placing the handle of his Chakra-Saber into his mouth and holding onto it, Naruto then gripped the plate of Kusanagi's armor and pulled on it. However the snake saw this and hissed loudly while suddenly coiling around the blond haired Ex-Nin. _'Crap, should've seen that one coming!'_ Naruto thought to himself while struggling in the serpents grasp as it tried to squeeze the life out of him. Taking several deep breaths through his nose as it did, Naruto relaxed himself as he twisted his neck around and stabbed his Chakra-Saber into a small hole in the plates of the Kusanagi's armor.

The Kusanagi let out a loud cry while thrashing around when he did, and then uncoiled from him. Breathing a sigh of relief for only a moment, Naruto was then thrown off of The Kusanagi's back as it jumped up and down wildly. Twisting around to face the blond, The Kusanagi hissed loudly while Naruto took the Chakra-Saber out of his mouth and spit to the side. "I really hate Snakes…" He mumbled for what felt like the millionth time while the Kusanagi lunged towards him, the eight-swords it wielded spinning in front of it as some kind of shield.

"Oh-Shit!" Naruto exclaimed while moving back to evade its attack as the Swords all arched forward, then slashed outwards. _'If that had hit me I would've been cut into a dozen pieces!'_ Naruto realized while sliding to a halt while the swords then returned to their places around the Kusanagi's armored form. "Alright, you can fight, but I still hate snakes!" Naruto growled out towards the armor-Snake as it hissed at him once more before twisting around and biting its tail, forming into a wheel.

"This can't be good…" Naruto stated flatly only to be proven correct as black/violet Miasma flowed out of its body as it rolled towards him. "Dammit, I hate it when I'm right!" The blond said to himself while rolling out of the way of the wheel as it spun passed him, only to turn sharply and come at him once more. _'If I can somehow knock it off balance, I might have enough time to cut through its armor.'_ Naruto thought to himself while considering his Jutsu, finally settling on his Rasenshuriken Mk. II. Forming the attack into his hand, Naruto then ducked to the side as the Kusanagi came at him once more.

Turning and throwing the Rasenshuriken at the Kusanagi, Naruto knocked it off balance, causing it to twist and fall onto its side. "Perfect!" The blond exclaimed while lunging at the Armor-Snake and twisted his blades into the armor. However, much to his surprise and shock the armor was undamaged by his Chakra-Sabers, or rather, it was healed by a quick burst of purple-black Miasma before he was flicked away by the Kusanagi's tail. Grunting lightly, Naruto then looked back to the Armor-Snake just as it spat out a stream of black/purple miasma towards him.

"Crap!" Naruto exclaimed while ducking out of the way and then lunged at the Snake, swinging his Chakra-Swords down into it only for the armor to somehow remain unscathed. Hissing loudly, the Kusanagi then flicked Naruto away with another quick snap of its tail, causing the blond to fly back while it then slithered towards him quickly. Opening its jaws, the Kusanagi then tried to snap them closed on the blond haired Ex-Shinobi. Rolling out of the way, Naruto then watched as it locked its jaws on a portion of the floor and a grin formed across his face.

'_Finally an opening!'_ He thought to himself while twisting his Chakra-Sabers around, now holding them in a reverse grip as he lunged at the Snake. Meanwhile the Kusanagi struggled with the rubble now lodged in its jaws before spotting the incoming blond. Narrowing its glowing eyes, The Kusanagi concentrated and the swords that were spread about its body shot outwards and circled around it. Twisting down, the Kusanagi then sent the blades flying towards Naruto at an upward angle. Cursing under his breath and twirling his Chakra-Sabers, Naruto blocked the blades and caused them to fly to his sides while he landed in a roll and came out in a low crouch.

After shaking its head a few times and trying to push the rubble out of its mouth with its tongue, the Kusanagi hissed while it started to detach the armored sections of its body. However, as it did, the eight-swords then rose up and spun around it like a protective shield. Narrowing his eyes, Naruto formed a Rasengan into one hand before launching towards the Kusanagi. Ramming the Swirling Sphere into the shield of blades, Naruto made it through them before twisting his other hand into a stab, jabbing the Kusanagi and causing it to fly into the air.

As it did, the eight Swords and armor all fell to the ground for a moment, only for The Kusanagi to start hovering in midair. Twisting around it pointed its blade towards Naruto, then the blade lengthened dramatically. Twitching slightly, Naruto rolled out of the way of the attack as it tore a large chunk out of the ground, behind him. Rearing one arm back, Naruto then threw one of his Chakra-Sabers at Kusanagi, knocking it into the air once more while he jumped up and reached out for its hilt.

Grabbing hold of the Kusanagi's hilt, Naruto cursed as the blade started to fly around. Widening his eyes as he was pulled through the air by the sword, Naruto yelped as it went in every direction it possibly could to try and dislodge him. The sword even tried to flick him off of itself as it twisted around at its hilt. Grunting lightly, Naruto looked down and got an idea to finally finish this annoying match. Gritting his teeth as they came close to the ground, Naruto channeled some Chakra into his feet and put them to the ground, sticking too it instantly. The Kusanagi then pulled on the blond, causing him to grit his teeth as he tried to hold onto the weapon.

Quickly dropping his other Chakra-Saber, Naruto then grasped the hilt of Kusanagi with both hands and pulled it down. Gripping the handle with both hands, Naruto spread out his legs and twisted the sword down before plunging it down into the ground and held it there. Gritting his teeth, Naruto held the sword down with all his might while it suddenly started to glow once more. As it did, Purple-Black Miasma formed around both it and the blond, swirling around them in a rapidly shrinking tornado.

Growling lightly in his throat, Naruto then roared out while ripping the Kusanagi out of the ground, the glow around the blade growing stronger as he then swung the blade around into the tornado and dispersed it instantly… Panting lightly, Naruto then breathed a sigh of relief while looking down to the Kusanagi as its glow lightened for a few moments before its voice echoed out once more.

"_**Well done, Uzumaki Naruto, you have proven your strength, but more importantly, you have proven you have the Will to wield me in combat. I acknowledge your ability, take me as your weapon and go forth!"**_ The Kusanagi ordered while the Miasma that had surrounded them faded away and the gate to the next flight of stairs opened up. Sighing for a moment, Naruto looked back at Kusanagi for a moment before putting it onto his back and grabbing the two Kunai he'd used as Chakra Sabers before stowing those away as well.

"Oi… this was such a waste of my time." Naruto grumbled out while walking to the stairs, the Kusanagi pulsing when he did.

"_**I heard that."**_ The Sword state and Naruto frowned while turning to look at the blades hilt over his shoulder.

"No talking!" Naruto ordered and the blade was silent once more, the blond smirking when it did as it was told. "Good." Naruto said with a nod of his head then made his way up the flight of stairs, wondering what he was going to encounter next. Behind him, Itachi walked passed the gates and watched as Naruto made his way up the stairs for a moment.

"Be cautious Naruto-Kun, not all is as it appears in this place…" Itachi noted mostly to himself before vanishing into a Murder of Ravens that flew upwards, towards the next level of the strange tower in Naruto's mind…

(Metropolis…)

The city of Metropolis, a hustling bustling place protected by the Superman and his "Cousin" Supergirl. Currently however we are visiting one of the lower areas of the city, where a man is suddenly thrown clean threw a wall to the street on the other side. Growling angrily, a familiar magenta haired girl stomps out of the building and then kicks the man in his side. "Alright ass wipe, stop your bitching ya pussy ass wimp, I barely even touched you!" The girl growled out angrily while the man silently groaned at her booted feet.

The girl is VERY familiar, as she is one Haruno "Ayane" who had managed to possess Haruno Sakura after the "Inner Demons" Incident. She however is dressed differently than her other self. First is a black midriff bearing hoody with red trim and a red circle on the front, a pair of fingerless black gloves with metal knuckles and plates at the backs of her hands, her usual black bicycle shorts, slightly ripped knee length black socks, over that is a red pleated skirt with a chain hanging at her left hip, her red-banded Hittai-Ate tied over top it like a belt, a pair of black combat boots, and a short red jacket with her hood hanging down her back overtop its collar.

Grumbling under her breath furiously, the magenta haired Ex-Shinobi then reached down and lifted the man by his collar with a deep scowl on her face. "Alright listen up Ass-wipe next time you, or anyone else for that fucking matter, tries to grab my ass I'll make them wish they were never fucking born!" Ayane growled at the man before throwing him to the side and walking off with a huff. Crossing her arms over her chest and walking off, the girl made a mental noted to kill anyone who tried to grab her ass, as that had been like the twelfth time this week… and it was only Tuesday…

'_And I thought Kakashi-Sensei was a pervert… The people of this world are seriously worse! And why are we even dressed like this or in the bad part of town if you don't want guys trying to grab at you?'_ Sakura demanded from whatever portion of their now shared mind she had managed to find asylum in and Ayane snorted. _**"Cause I actually LIKE to dress like this, and I'm calling all the shots now, pinky. That's why."**_ The angry magenta haired girl retorted while frowning to herself as she passed by a few homeless drunks on the streets.

'_Can you believe how many people have no food or money in this world?'_ Sakura asked in her head and Ayane scowled deeply as she recalled something similar back in their own world. However, Sakura seemed to have suppressed all the bad things in her life, hence all the anger issues in Ayane… that in turn was also why Ayane had more than a little bone to pick with her "Sister" of sorts. _**"Nami-No-Kuni… War-Orphans… ring any bells pinky?"**_ Ayane tried to remind Sakura and got an Oh yeah, from the girl for her troubles, making her slap her face.

"Kami-Sama, what did Naruto-Kun ever see in that stupid bitch?" Ayane wondered aloud, Sakura shouting an indignant hey in her head while she then reached into her jacket and pulled out a scroll. In the scroll were several things, mostly her medical equipment she kept stored however it also had notes on rumors she'd been following. One of which was for a woman known as "Lady-Shiva" who was apparently a world-renowned assassin. Others were of other famous "villains" as she was sure she was on the JLU's blacklist… wait… only Sakura was, never mind!

Snickering to herself upon remembering that, Ayane then looked at the very few rumors for other world-class fighters. Most seemed too tame for her liking, she wasn't subtle after all, if she wanted something, people were going to know it whether they wanted to or not! Reaching into another pocket, Ayane pulled out an ink-pin and crossed out the HIVE academy as she'd seen the "Head-Master" Brother Blood peeking into a girls locker room and then promptly threw him through a wall before kicking the shit out of him for a couple hours before she finally got bored and gave him one last shot to the gonads with her steel toed combat boot… that however, was last week and really not too important at the moment.

'_Still for the life of me I have to know, why the hell do you dress in that silly "punk" style?'_ Sakura suddenly demanded and Ayane stopped, blinked for a moment then looked to her side at a window. Looking at herself for a moment, Ayane then rolled her eyes and walked off with an amused smirk. _**"Maybe cause it looks good on me…"**_ Ayane replied and Sakura started shouting about it not being her body to dress up, thus causing the alternate persona to ignore her entirely. And in her own defense, she was certain she was not the first or the only one to do so in their life…

Amused with herself, Ayane then marked off The HIVE on her list of places to find training. Although she also made a note to find some way to break into a few banks and get some money before she ran out. Of course she could always just bust down a wall or two, but with her hair, it'd be fairly easy to find her in a crowd… unless she somehow managed to find a gang of punks just sitting around of course, but I digress. Clicking her tongue for a moment, Ayane looked over her options with a frown before rolling the scroll up and stuck it back into her pocket with the pen.

"For Kami's sake, why is it so fucking hard to find someone who could teach me how to fight?" The magenta haired girl wondered to herself before drumming her fingers on her right bicep with a deep frown and then considered her options. Option one, try and find a way out of town without money. Not a good idea as she liked eating, unlike Sakura. _'Yeah I know, and I'm still surprised you haven't gotten fat yet…'_ Sakura noted with a scowl clear in her voice and Ayane felt her eye twitch violently for a moment.

"_**Oi, newsflash pinky! We're Ninja who burn fat off with exercise and training, both of which I do in spades unlike you!"**_ The Magenta haired girl inwardly shouted at her other self before returning to her prior thoughts from before she was so rudely interrupted by the pink-haired annoyance… Option two; she could probably rob a bank. Which of course wasn't a good idea if she didn't want someone like Superman or Supergirl trying to stop her… hey, she was strong, but not THAT strong! Option three; find some kind of work for the time being, which sadly enough was her only option…

'_Hello! We're a Medical-Ninja, we could just go to a hospital and…'_ Sakura started to say only for Ayane to scowl deeply once more as she crossed her arms over her chest and wondered if the pinkette was really that dumb. _**"Amaterasu's Panties! Could you be any dumber? This world isn't like ours! You can't just show off a Hittai-Ate and instantly get a job, hell, they don't even have Med-Nin like us in this world! So how the hell am I gonna get any kind a job without a diploma to show off?"**_ Ayane demanded of her alternate and Sakura was silent, inwardly fuming as Ayane did have a very good point… but she didn't have to be happy about it.

Huffing, Ayane then started to drum her fingers on her bicep again, trying to work out how she was going to get a job… wait… _**"I can't technically be a med-nin… not LEGALLY at least… but who said I had to do something legally. I bet all kinds of Villains need a healer, and they would pay out of the nose for it to be speedy too!"**_ Ayane reasoned while Sakura mentally groaned upon hearing the thoughts going through Ayane's head… _'You do realize that this is by far, the craziest idea you've every come up with… right?'_ Sakura asked and Ayane, yet again, ignored her as she made her way through the city with ideas still running through her head…

TBC…


	51. Survival Training PT 4

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

**Chapter 49**: **The Quest Side-Story: Survival Training Pt. 4**…

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

(With Jinx…)

Clone-A is with Jinx once more; this time he's showing her how to track a moving target, with himself as the target. _'C'mon Jinx this really isn't all that hard…'_ The clone thought to itself while sitting in a high branch of a tree, arms crossed behind his neck and a smirk across his lips. Of course, the clone had to admit if only to himself that he was trained to do this kind of thing, Jinx was only JUST learning any of it. But he had left more than just a few tracks for her to follow, unless she overlooked them because they were too obvious.

Mulling that over for a moment, The Clone turned its head and looked around for a moment. _'Still no sign of Jinx, what's she doing?'_ The blond clone wondered to itself before deciding that didn't really matter as it leaned its head back into the tree. For that matter, he also wondered how his boss was doing in his little quest. While it was true when they dispelled he'd gain all their experiences, that was only when they dispelled and also only when it was a clone doing the dispelling. As such, they had no idea what their creator learned unless he created another clone and had it dispel itself.

Shaking his head, Clone-A concentrated on the here and now, which is more or less keeping Jinx from finding him. Thus the blond looked around and then jumped back to the ground. While he could easily enough move through the trees silently and without any traces, it wasn't really training if Jinx stood no chance of finding him. Cracking his neck, the blond haired clone then lunged forward, passed several trees before flipping to the side, landing and lunging off once more.

Currently the said Rosette is sitting on a branch and trying to see Clone-A's distinctive blond hair somewhere in the green forest. Not seeing any sign of her target, Jinx blew into her bangs before slipping back down to the ground. Landing in a crouch, the rosette walked out and started looking for any sign of the clone on the ground. Checking for the obvious signs of someone walking, Jinx spotted Clone-A's trail and followed after it, only to come to a stop at a tree.

"Why does he have to do this every couple of feet…" She wondered to herself before looking around for the next trail he would've left. Having seen this tactic of evasion used earlier in the day, Jinx spotted his next trail fairly quickly and followed it, only to stop when it suddenly stopped. "UGH! Does he have to make this so difficult?" Jinx wondered to herself before looking around, and then saw a couple broken branches over to the side. Narrowing her eyes, Jinx then saw a footprint in some mud and grinned lightly to herself.

"Got ya Temp!" Jinx said mostly to herself while making her way over to the tracks and then followed them with her eyes. Following the trail, she had to slow down when she saw the tracks disappear in a stream and slapped her face. "DAMMIT!" She shouted loudly before huffing lightly as she looked over the area, and then crossed the stream to look for more tracks. This time she expanded her search area, mostly because she didn't know where Clone-A got out of the river, upstream or downstream, so needed to look for any signs of the blond.

Doing just that, the rosette finally found the trail again upstream, and then began following it. _'I swear Tempest, this is the most insane version of training you've ever come up with.'_ The girl thought to herself as she made her way through the forest, soon coming to a cave where Clone-A was sitting and flipping a Kunai in one hand. "Finally…" Jinx muttered while walking over to where Clone-A was sitting on a rock, then sat down next to him and sighed heavily.

"It wasn't that bad Jinx, you still managed to find me." Clone-A reminds the girl while crossing his arms over his chest, Jinx giving the clone a look in response.

"You made it annoyingly hard to follow you on purpose… didn't you?" She asked flatly and Clone-A took a thoughtful expression for a moment.

"Sort of, I wanted it to be challenging so you'd have trouble following it, but not so challenging that you couldn't eventually find me." Clone-A replied truthfully while Jinx rolled her eyes and then looked around for a moment.

"Why lead me here anyways?" Jinx questioned and Clone-A grinned in response.

"Well, to be honest I figured a cave would be best since it's the type of place people will atypically hide in when you're chasing them in a forest. I also did so because even I get bored of running and figured we could just rest up here for a while." Clone-A offered and Jinx inwardly thanked the clone for allowing her to rest, it hadn't been hard of course, well… not TOO hard, but it had been annoying trying to keep up with the blond's trail out her in the wild.

"Yeah well, how'd I do Temp?" Jinx then asked her blond haired leader and Clone-A took a thoughtful expression for a moment.

"Lets see… you could use some work and experience, but that's what training is for in the first place Jinx." Clone-A replied and Jinx nodded her a head in agreement with the blond haired teen. Looking out into the forest, Jinx brought her legs up to her chest and leaned her chin on her knees.

"I have to admit one thing temp, the forest is one hell of a lot nicer than the city… clean air, cool breeze, no noise or traffic…" Jinx noted, inwardly adding no electrical shit for her powers to blow up. Nodding his head in agreement, Naruto leaned back slightly while looking out into the forest with the rosette.

"Yeah, I know, I lived like this most of my life in Konoha, so it's probably not as nice to me as it is to you… in all honesty, I'd love living somewhere nice and peaceful like this when I settle down, but for the time being I'd like to learn more about your world while I still can. Regardless of the two years I've lived here, I still get confused on several different things you guys have." Clone-A said and Jinx nodded her head, understanding his position as Blackfire still had problems with culture, though admittedly they were smaller than those Starfire had…

Blackfire's problems were the ones dealing with conservative tendencies, as Tameranians as a whole were a liberal people. They expressed themselves as part of their culture, and although Blackfire was less into that, she did feel the need to do so every now and then, usually with dark-poetry instead of singing… oh yeah, and the fact she and Duela had to explain the purpose of Underwear, and Blackfire still rarely wore any under her armor didn't help either…

"Yeah well I know I wouldn't miss the city, too loud, too many criminals, and way too many electronics for my taste." Jinx said with a nod of her head, causing an amused smirk to cross Clone-A's lips.

"Oh really, is that you or your mother talking?" Clone-A questioned and Jinx actually blushed while looking away from Tempest. The truth was Jinx did manage to learn a little about her mother from that old man who mentioned her. One little tidbit was that she never wore shoes due to drawing natural or "Nature-Energy" into herself to power her magical abilities. Of course her mom as such had a connection to nature, though the extent of it was unknown to Jinx, she at least knew her mom tended to stay near nature, more for power than anything else as she had to be on solid earth.

One mental question Jinx had been mulling over since learning of Sen-Jutsu, was whether or not it was the same as what her mother did. Shaking that thought from her head, Jinx then reached down and took off her shoes before putting them beside the rock she and Clone-A were sitting on. _'Don't feel anything, so maybe I didn't inherent anything from mom…'_ The girl thought to herself while Clone-A looked at her strangely.

"Why'd you take your shoes off?" He asked seriously and Jinx shrugged her shoulders with a smirk.

"Just checking something…" She replied, confusing the blond clone that decided to leave it at that as he laid back and sighed in content…

(With Raven…)

The Violet Haired girl was not having even the smallest bit of fun. Currently, she and Clone-B are climbing a steep cliff, though why they were doing this still eluded her. Grunting as she pulled herself to a small ledge, Raven then sighed while looking to Clone-B as he made quick work of the cliff, using small jutting rocks as hand holds. "Why are we doing this again?" Raven asked and the blond teen turned to her with a flat look formed across his face.

"Because one, this is good training. Two, I figured you'd rather do this than run around the forest some more. And three, the other clone is right, I can't really teach you how to fight in a week so I'll just work on getting you stronger for the time being." Clone-B replied before returning to its climbing and Raven mentally groaned before following after it at a significantly slower pace. Soon coming close to the top, Raven blinked as Clone-B held a hand towards her. Taking it, the violet haired girl allowed the blond to pull her up to sit next to it.

Breathing a sigh of relief that they were finally finished Raven looked over to the clone and saw an amused look on its face causing her to frown. "What?" Raven grumbled out in an annoyed tone and the clone snickered lightly before shrugging its shoulders.

"Nothing, I just can't believe you'd complain so much about this." Clone-B replies and Raven frowned while crossing her arms over her chest with a deep frown across her features.

"Some of us haven't trained to the point that we can do this kind of thing with ease…" Raven reminds and the Blond-haired clone rolled his eyes before looking out at the view with a contented smile across his face.

"Yeah well think of it this way, the harder the training the greater the reward." Clone-B replied sagely while Raven merely shook her head before stretching out her arms. Sighing as she lowered her arms, Raven started to rub her shoulders while Clone-B looked over to her with one eye open. "You know Kara-Chan, I could give you one of those "special" massages if you're feeling too tense…" Clone-B offered with a smirk and Raven blushed more shades of red than the blond thought possible before giving him a heated glare.

"Not when we have Jinx around you wont." Raven stated with a deep frown and Clone-B raised a brow.

"Uh… okay?" He questioned while looking to the violet haired girl and Raven sighed while looking towards the forest. "Is their any reason you seem to hate Jinx so much? I mean yeah. She can be a bit clingy and annoying but that's no reason to despise her so utterly Kara-Chan…" Clone-B stated and Raven muttered something unintelligible while crossing her arms with a pout.

"Lets just say she and I don't like each other and leave it at that…" Raven stated only for the clone to shake his head.

"No way Kara-Chan, I want to know what your deal with Jinx is." Clone-B stated while pointing to the violet haired girl. In response, Raven sighed while wondering why the blond had to know about her dislike of the rosette… hell, she could barely even explain it herself…

"Lets just say that we have a history and none of its good…" Raven tried only to see the look on Clone-B's face, which told her he wasn't buying it. "Alright, I don't know why I dislike her like I do, I just can't stand Jinx and for the life of me I can't figure out why." The girl explained while looking away from the blond and sighed. "Happy now?" Raven asked and Clone-B sighed for a moment while rubbing the back of his neck.

"Oi… well at least I know why you never like being around her for extended periods now." Clone-B mused aloud with a thoughtful look and Raven rolled her eyes while shaking her head.

"Sometimes it's better to leave things well enough alone." The girl responded and saw thee look the blond was giving her. "Never mind…" She said with a sigh while turning her head to look out over the forest when she felt something. "Wait… what's that energy?" She wondered aloud and Clone-B frowned while feeling out for it as well, raising a brow when he could feel something coming from where Naruto was…

"I… don't really know… I've never felt that kind of power before." Clone-B replied while getting up onto his feet, Raven following while the blond stared out towards where they could feel the energy surging. "Think the boss finally found whatever he was looking for?" Clone-B questioned while looking to Raven, the violet-haired girl frowning before shaking her head silently.

"This… doesn't feel anything like that armor you can make, it feels different…" Raven replied while Clone-B crossed his arms behind his head, wondering what his creator had managed to find. "Think we should go check it out?" Raven asked hopefully of her blond haired companion. Frowning for a moment, Clone-B considered doing so for a few moments before then shaking his head.

"Nah, the boss can take care of himself." The clone replied with a smirk even though he wanted to know what was going on. Raven pouted at this, and then turned a worried frown in the direction of the strange energy surge that got her attention. "And besides that, you still have training to do Kara-Chan." Clone-B stated with a smirk and Raven groaned lightly as he then pulled her away and she turned her head to look back towards the oddly calm energy… While she'd admit she wasn't a fan of training, she was mostly worried that Naruto was doing something dangerous…

(With Naruto…)

The blond wandered further up the stairs within his mind, Kusanagi on his back, arms crossed, and a slight scowl across his lips. _'Something about this place is giving me some major creeps…'_ Naruto noted as he could almost swear he heard breathing echoing out in the infinite expanse of darkness surrounding him. Looking upwards once more, Naruto narrowed his eyes when he saw lightning flash more clearly than ever before. _'Oi, why do I have a feeling I'm not going to like whatever's at the top of this thing?'_ The blond haired Ex-Shinobi wondered to himself as he continued to climb up the tower.

Frowning as lightning flashed all around him, Naruto soon came to the next platform and gaped upon seeing Itachi sitting before another arena like shrine, the dark haired man still chewing on pocky. "How the hell did you get up here?" Naruto demanded of the man and Itachi merely turned his Sharingan eyes towards the blond before finally answering.

"How else, I climbed…" The dark haired man replied flatly before returning to his pocky, the blond haired youth scowling towards the man. Sighing when that had no effect on Itachi, he then looked to this gate for a moment then back to Itachi.

"Any words of wisdom for me this time Itachi? Or are you just going to sit there all day?" Naruto suddenly asked the man and he made the usual Hnnn sound all Uchiha seemed to make before returning to his pocky. "Right, why did I even bother asking?" Naruto wondered to himself before walking over to the new gate and looked at it for a moment. This gate, much like the last, had an odd looking mechanism to act as it's lock. This one however greatly resembled a wolf; its body poised to strike and its tail pointing upwards, nine Tomoe shaped beads circling its form.

'_Oi, another weird lock, what is wrong with my mind?'_ Naruto had to wonder while reaching out and tried to turn the lock, however unlike the last one it didn't even budge. Blinking for a moment, Naruto frowned to himself while looking at the tomoe shaped beds around the wolf… _'I wonder…'_ The blond whispered while turning one of the Tomoe, then raised a brow as it slid down into one of the other Tomoe, forming a Yin-Yang symbol.

"Cleaver…" Naruto mused to himself while turning the other Tomoe to make four Yin-Yangs around the wolf, a single tomoe below it. Pushing down on the Yin-Yangs, Naruto smirked as they lowered down, making a clicking noise while the tail on the wolf seemed to twitch. "I wonder…" The blond whispered and Naruto reached up and pulled down on it like a lever. He was also pleasantly surprised when the tail came down, the wolf depiction splitting in half while the gate opened up for the blond haired youth.

Smirking slightly to himself, Naruto was about to walk inside when he heard Itachi from behind him. "Be forewarned Naruto-Kun, not everything here is as it appears…" Itachi suddenly told the blond, Naruto raising a brow for a moment, wondering what the dark haired man meant with his cryptic words before walking into the next arena, the gates slamming shut behind him.

Frowning to himself, Naruto looked around, spotting what look like bars all around him shaped like lightning bolts. The only murals this time were on the ceiling and floor, the one on the floor depicting a wolf, the one on the ceiling having what looked like a full moon in a starry sky. However, a feeling of foreboding also crept into Naruto as he looked around the strange arena like room. "I've really got a bad feeling about this…" Naruto mumbled before taking a step back as inky black shadows shot up all around, consuming everything in darkness…

Opening his eyes soon after, Naruto found himself in the inky blackness and then saw sparks of electricity. The Sparks started at the depiction of the wolf before suddenly growing more and more erratic, soon rising out of the floor to form into a wolf itself. Spreading out its legs and roaring, the wolf glared towards Naruto, a pair of electric blue eyes forming at its head as its single tail arched and twisted from its position at its tailbone, a main of lightning at the back of its head spiking about in every direction, and as that happened four long and very familiar razor chains made of blue chakra formed from its back and tailbone…

"Wait… those chains are…" Naruto started to say only to quickly jump back as the chains lashed out at him, the wolf snarling towards him once more as he landed in a low crouch. "Those are the same Chains Kaa-San could make." Naruto then said while narrowing his eyes on the beast as it lunged at him, the four chains launching towards him. Growling lightly, Naruto flipped over the chains and kicked the wolf in its back while landing behind it. Quickly twisting around, Naruto then saw the wolf jump back to its feet before howling loudly.

The "Okami" then crouched down before launching towards Naruto, changing into a Bolt of Lightning as it did and Naruto cursed while ducking out of the way. Rolling into a crouch, Naruto then turned and watched as the lightning reformed into the Okami, its electric eyes narrowed onto him. Reaching back, Naruto withdrew the Kusanagi and twirled it in his hand while the Okami roared once more and lunged at the blond. Narrowing his eyes, Naruto growled while twisting around and sent a blade of wind towards the Okami.

The Wolf merely growled as it used its Chakra-Chains to lift it over the blade and down on top of the blond. "Oh Shit!" Naruto cursed loudly as the wolf came biting and clawing at him. Gritting his teeth, Naruto blocked the wolf's attack with the Kusanagi before kicking the beast off of himself. The Wolf then used its chains, sending them out to all sides to stop itself and stand on its feet once more. _'Okay, why does this thing want to kill me? I mean really, what'd I ever do to it!'_ The blond haired boy wondered to himself while the Okami came running at him, swinging its clawed paws at him wildly.

Evading the rather poor attacks easily, Naruto then mentally growled when the beast started using its Chakra-Chains instead, a scowl forming on Naruto's lips when it did. _'Better question, do I care?'_ Naruto wondered to himself while slamming The Kusanagi into the ground, creating a quick burst of air that knocked the Okami back. Twirling the blade in one hand, Naruto then stabbed it towards the Okami, the blade lengthening out and flying towards the wolf. Seeing the attack coming, the Okami lifted itself up out of the way with its Chakra chains, Naruto scowling deeper when it did.

'_Nobody uses my Kaa-San's Chakra-Chains to fight against me but her!'_ The blond thought angrily while roaring out, lifting up the Kusanagi as well and bringing it up towards the Okami. The Wolf was caught and flung into the air by the attack while Naruto shortened the blade quickly. Keeping his momentum from his previous attack Naruto swung the Kusanagi at the Okami once more, allowing the blade of the weapon to lengthen as he did so.

The Kusanagi slammed into the Okami's side, knocking it into the ground while Naruto twisted the blade upwards and then brought it down on top of the wolf. "Ha! Let's see that thing survive that!" Naruto said with a grin, only to gape as the wolf somehow managed to stand up, then shook its head and growled towards him. "Oi, of course it wouldn't be that damn easy." Naruto said to himself while shortening Kusanagi's blade back to its original length and held it at his side. However, much to Naruto's surprise and annoyance, the Okami then twisted around and ran into the gate behind them.

The sheer force of which the wolf used to hit the gate caused it to buckle, and then fall to the side as the wolf ran away from the blond haired Ex-Shinobi. Blinking in surprise for a moment, a scowl then crossed Naruto's face as he ran after the wolf. "Hey! Get back here you stupid mutt!" Naruto shouted after it as he jumped over the broken gate and then followed after a trail of destruction the wolf was creating in its wake…

(Tartarus HQ…)

Dani groaned while slowly waking up, groaning lightly as she put a hand to her head with a grimace. "Oi… what'd we do last night?" She wondered aloud while looking around and spotted Duela sleeping on the floor, her mask gone and her suit's zipper pulled even farther down than normal… Blinking at her state of attire, Dani looked around and breathed a sigh of relief when she found they were back at the HQ. "Least I didn't wake up in some Hotel or…" She started to say before quickly looking down to make sure her own clothes were in order.

In her own defense, Duela was crazy, so there was really no telling what, or who for that matter, the Neurotic redhead was into whenever she changed her costume. Thus she breathed a sigh of relief to see she was still in the clothes Duela had managed to get for her the other night so they could go out, as Duela called it, clubbing. "Ugh, why take me?" Dani wondered to herself before turning slightly before kicking the red head in the side, causing her to grunt and open one of her eyes to glare at her Ghostling friend.

"Wha' the hell was dat for?" Duela questioned in a slur before reaching up and frowned when she noticed her mask was gone. "Wait, where'd my mask go?" Duela then asked and Dani slapped her face with a frown.

"Focus Duela, what the hell happened last night… and why does my head hurt so damn much?" Dani demanded while holding her head and Duela blinked for a moment while trying to remember what happened the night before…

"Oh yeah… I took us to get a drink at that Metahuman hang-out I told you about… so you must be experiencing your first hangover!" Duela said with a nod of her head and Dani mentally grumbled, outward rubbing her temples.

"Oh… okay… and at least now I know why so many people complain about it so damn much…" Dani said with one eye open and the other closed, the migraine she was feeling not ebbing even as she tried to soothe it by rubbing her temples. "Ugh, but I swear here and now… I am never ever going out drinking with you like that ever again!" The girl declared loudly and Duela merely shrugged her shoulders, amused by the girl despite herself. Grumbling under her breath for a few more moments, Dani then stared at Duela and frowned deeply.

"How come you don't have a hangover if I do?" She asked her flatly and Duela rubbed her chin in thought, contemplating that for a moment.

"Maybe it has to do with the fact that I have an extremely high tolerance to most chemicals and toxins…" Duela mused aloud and Dani twitched before glaring at the girl as she then crossed her arms over her chest. "Or maybe it's because I've gone out drinking a few times before last night and didn't get as totally hammered as you did!" Duela mused aloud to herself and Dani frowned deeply as the girl then twisted up onto her feet with a grin.

"Either way, it's a new day and I feel like doing something crazy!" Duela cried out before grinning widely, her eyes taking a familiar manic quality. "After all, I still need to fill my weekly quota for the random shit I do!" The girl stated and Dani rolled her open eye before leaning over to her friend with an amused look on her face.

"Well you might wanna zip up you outfit first Duela, I can see your panties… and by the way, white? Surprising…" Dani stated flatly and Duela looked down at herself and made a note that insanity and alcohol really didn't mix all that well…

"Er, right I think I'll do that." The girl agreed while zipping her suit up to her navel then started looking for her mask while Dani shook her head silently…

Elsewhere, Blackfire yawned while walking into Gizmo's workshop, blinking when she saw the tiny-terror is still working on his newest model of the X-Suit. "Do you ever sleep?" Blackfire questioned of the tiny-terror seriously, seeing as as far back as she could remember, the boy seemed to always be in his workshop. Gizmo merely mocked her for the quip, then went back to work, placing new metal plates on the suit, making the bulk of it a series of segmented plates like her own suit, only with the spinal column of plates visible on the back.

"Is the spine necessary?" Blackfire questioned and Gizmo nodded his head as he worked on the suit.

"Unfortunately it is. This is actually more of a powered Exo-Skeleton than a suit; it has a Neuralmuscular Amplification feature, as well as a Synaptic-control system, meaning if Temp can think it, the suit will do it. This increases the overall response time from the suit, and the "spine" actually distributes these neural commands through the suit for control. Obviously it's a weakness, which is why I have to make it more heavily armored than the rest of the suit…" Gizmo explained and Blackfire blinked slowly before looking at the suit and then frowned.

"What about the possibility of a direct electrical discharge into the suits control interface causing a feedback loop and frying X's nervous system… wouldn't plugging the suit into him kind of be dangerous should one occur?" Blackfire questioned of Gizmo and he nodded his head in agreement with the black haired alien.

"Yes, which is the very reason I never used that method before. It does increase response time, but as you've said an electrical impulse into it can cause a feedback loop, which can fry the wearer's nervous system. But, that's why I heavily insulated the new Synaptic-Control system in the first place. It also doesn't actually PLUG into Temp as a normal one would need to, instead the helmet scans Temp's brainwaves and translates them into signals to control the rest of the suit." Gizmo explained to the alien girl, Blackfire frowning in thought before nodding her head.

"Impressive, so you negate the ability to cause a direct feedback loop, but won't that also cause the reaction time to be off by a few seconds?" Blackfire asked, knowing more than a fair amount of technology that existed in the universe, this actually being fairly advanced even on some of the more advanced planets she'd been too over her many years of travel.

"Nope, the scanners I'm using is good enough to compensate for not being a direct link, even while remaining small enough to fit into the helmet and spinal column." Gizmo replied while reaching inside of the completed "Rib-Cage" portion of the suit and checked a few things over before nodding his head. Raising a brow as she watched the overly series midget work his magic on the suit, Blackfire yawned for a moment before crossing her arms and sitting on a nearby table.

"You know, I can't wait till you humans eventually manage real space travel. It's going to be so funny seeing how other species react to your people…" Blackfire noted mostly to herself and Gizmo blinked for a moment before giving her a look.

"Oi, in case you've forgotten princess, the JLU are always traveling out into space!" Gizmo reminded the girl with a glare and she rolled her eyes for a moment.

"Yeah, but I meant your species as a whole, not just the JLU." Blackfire replied flatly while leaning back slightly, Gizmo frowning for a few moments.

"Yeah well I don't think it'll be that great. Tourists will be hell…" Gizmo noted and Blackfire grinned slightly in amusement at that, she had to agree.

"I know, especially with all the visits Irkens, Furons, and all those other kinds of alien species are prone too. Though, you guys being in an alliance with another planet or two will at least stop silly aliens from abducting you." Blackfire noted aloud and caused Gizmo to look at her with a raised brow.

"Whoa, wait a damn minute you mean aliens really do that shit!" He demanded of the girl and Blackfire nodded her head with a smirk.

"Well, yes actually. But it's only a few races that actually do it, and usually the species they do it to is so underdeveloped they can't fight back… or there is the odd few punks who steal a spaceship and kidnap other species for the fun of it… oh and those intergalactic poachers as well." Blackfire mused aloud and Gizmo blinked for a moment before deciding that all Aliens were weird, and he was better off ignoring them all for the remainder of his life.

"Okay, I really didn't need to know that… now would you please just shut up and leave me alone so I can finally finish my work on this damn thing for Temp!" Gizmo shouted at Blackfire, causing the Alien Princess to frown as she glared at the bald midget.

"I'm actually trying to help you and your telling me to go away?" She questioned and Gizmo gave her a glare from his spot. "Fine, I'm going already…" Blackfire then said as she got up and walked out of the room, arms crossed and a slight scowl on her features. Once she was gone, Gizmo grinned to himself and grabbed something from a nearby table.

"Now then, I just need to finish up the Chakra-Conversion-Power-Core and Utility capsules before I add the active camouflage and electro-magnetic pads to this baby!" Gizmo said to himself as he took a circular device and fastened it to a few plates of the armor, then started fixing it to the rest of the armor…

(Titans Tower…)

"Titans Go!" Beast-Boy exclaims, still dressed in one of Nightwing's old Robin costumes. Grinning to himself as he points into a mirror, BB then proceeded to make mocking Kung-Fu esque sounds while posing and looking to his reflection. Jumping into a twist and punching to his side, BB then flexed his muscles and winked at his reflection, Nightwing's Staff beside of him. Grabbing the staff, BB then twirled it around with one hand, unfortunately, slamming it into his skull when he did so and swooning to the side.

Nearby, sitting on Nightwing's bed is Starfire, only now she is wearing a Robin costume just like BB is. In her own defense, it wasn't like Nightwing would ever wear the suit ever again with his new mantel… However, unlike Beast-Boy, many would say that Starfire somehow filled out the costume better… though it was a little small. On her, the red Kevlar vest was too small, thus leaving her midriff visible, the already skintight pants hugged her hips and ended at mid-calf, the cape was only knee length on her, and the belt Robin would wear was too large, hanging on her hips loosely as Raven's own belt did on her…

In any case, the girl is sitting on Nightwing's bed, an old puppet from one of their earlier adventures in her hands. Holding the control to the puppet with one hand, Starfire mentally giggled as she had fun play-acting as Robin. "Why Starfire, your hair looks especially shiny today." Starfire said while slightly lowering her voice, though it sounded nothing like Robin… Giggling lightly, the alien princess played with the Puppet, making it brush its little hand into its red hair slightly.

"Thank you, Robin! I rinsed lathered and repeated!" Starfire said in what sounded like a parody of her normal voice, though it sounded slightly off to Beast-Boy who was still recovering from his self-induced smack to the head. Rubbing his head while Starfire played with her puppet, both suddenly stiffened when a shadow overtook them. Turning to the doorway, they saw a frowning Cyborg, standing large and imposing with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Dude! Cy… uh… its not what it looks like!" BB tried to say while Starfire got to her feet as well, tossing her puppet behind her back.

"Y-Yes, friend we were just… umm…" Starfire tried to say only for both to shrink slightly under the Titanium teens gaze.

"I can't believe that you two would just barge into Nightwing's room when he's gone, dress up in his old uniforms, and pretend to be Robin!" Cyborg stated with an angry tone of voice. BB poking his fingers together as he did and Starfire drawing circles on the floor, both acting like kids caught doing something bad…

"Well…" Starfire tried to say, neither her nor BB able to look Cyborg in the eye. Inwardly laughing at his friends Reaction, Cyborg then lunged forward slightly, BB and Star backing up as he then held his hands out with a hurt expression on his face.

"Without me!" He finished and both Starfire and BB blinked for a moment before breathing sighs of relief. Laughing lightly, BB then reached to the side and grabbed a spare Robin uniform before throwing it onto Cyborg.

"Dude, suit up!" BB ordered with a grin while Cyborg took hold of the utility belt and Starfire grinned widely.

"Oh yes! Come Robening with us!" Starfire declared while stretching her arms into the air, Cyborg ignoring her as he grabbed the belt BB was wearing and added it to the one he had, clipping them both together so they would fit his admittedly large frame. When he did, BB had to quickly grab hold of his pants and hold them up, giving a look to Cyborg even as the alien princess continued. "It is most delightful!" Starfire finished while jumping into the air and flying off the ground, clapping her hands happily as Cyborg stood with both belts now fastened around his waist…

(JLU Watchtower…)

Batman walked down one of the many halls in the watchtower, a frown on his face as he looked over the compiled facts they had put together on Raven's "Father", and Batman used that term loosely. Rubbing his chin as he looked over the facts, Batman noticed several things. One, the energy from the deceased members of the Order of Scath would be used to make the portal. Two, the only ones who would be safe once Trigon came was those with Demonic heritage, or magical protection. Three, Raven was "The Gem" the portal Trigon would ultimately use to enter into their world.

'_Even for a demon, that's sick.'_ Batman thought while frowning deeply once more. He knew a few demons, and not all of them were as evil as many believed them to be. Admittedly, those he knew were all part Human or connected to humanity in some way shape or form. Clicking his tongue, Batman wondered if it would be possible to forge new Rings of Azar, however a portal to Azarath was not easy to come by. He then considered his other options for stopping Trigon from ultimately entering their world.

First and foremost, kill Raven to prevent Trigon from entering their world. In Batman's opinion, not an option, though unfortunately his old friend Zatana seemed to think otherwise. This yet again made Batman wonder about a possible familial relationship between Zatana and Raven's mother Angella "Arella" Roth, as it might explain why she took this all so personally. Option two; figure out some way to disrupt the energy coming from the deceased Cultists so it couldn't punch the hole into Hell.

Unfortunately, Dr. Fate hadn't fount much of anything on that front as it seemed even he had problems with countering Demonic Magic of this kind. He'd tried, honestly he had, but this was a centuries old spell, one that was designed specifically for this event and had absolutely no counter-spell written for it, so that none would be able to stop Trigon's eventual rise. The only other option was to kill Trigon, but then they would lose Raven, yet again, Batman wouldn't accept that.

Raven was a good girl; he knew that, beneath her cold moody exterior she was just hurt and alone… just like Ace. Even if only for a brief moment, Batman flinched at the mental reminder of that poor girl. Sitting down, Batman pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed softly. "I know your there." He stated in his average tone of voice and turned his head slightly to see Zatana sitting on the table next to him.

"Penny for your thoughts?" She asked and Batman shook his head while lacing his fingers together, a contemplative expression across his face. "Still trying to save everyone I see." She noted while looking at his notes and the frown on Batman's face deepened as he narrowed his eyes. "You can't save everyone Batman…" Zatana reminded the man and he merely turned to glare at her slightly.

"I can try." Batman reminds her and Zatana blew her breath into her bangs while shaking her head, wondering why The Dark-Knight was taking this so… personally. Thinking it over a memory flashed in her mind about a mission Batman and Hawkgirl had been on. One involving a young girl named Ace, the look on Hawkgirl's face after it had been strange, understanding, while Batman had silently retreated, vanishing back to his Batcave. Still, several members of the League never forgot and respected Batman so much more afterwards it was startling…

"She reminds you of that one Ace girl." Zatana stated while pointing to Batman, the only external signs she could see of an admission being the slight tensing of his shoulders. Ace or rather the "Ace of Clubs" had been a member of the Royal Flush Gang; she was also Metahuman with unbelievable Psychic powers. She'd been able to drive people mad simply by placing powerful hallucinations into their minds through visual contact of any kind; unfortunately her parents suffered this fate when she was still very young. Afterwards, the government took ace in for some kind of experimentation, training her to be some kind of weapon.

Joker had used her and four other members for his own use during their teen years. However, Ace escaped at some point after being recaptured only for her powers to mutate to the point she could turn her fantasies into reality. While clearly powerful, unfortunately enough Aces' powers were going to kill her. She'd made her own Royal-Flush Gang for some reason, which drew him and the JLU out to stop her. That was when Amanda Waller, Cadmus' head had of course come onto the scene. She explained that Ace's powers had mutated, but were also killing her, and that when she died the psychic backlash would kill everyone within range of her powers.

He'd been the one to volunteer to go in after her… but he'd never had any intention of killing Ace. He'd gone inside her castle and talked with her, throwing the device away. He sat with her and held her hand afterwards, staying with her in her final hours, even till her time came. She'd reverted everything she'd changed back to normal, and he'd carried her lifeless body out of the remnants of her power. Unknown to many as Bruce Wayne; he'd actually arranged a funeral for the poor girl who'd been cheated out of her childhood.

"Raven and Ace are two entirely different girls Batman." Zatana reminded the Dark-Knight and he opened his eyes, frowning slightly as he turned to the woman. "Raven was destined for this from birth, I don't really think we have to kill her, just send her away or back to her own dimension so she won't bring disaster here…" Zatana said while crossing her arms over her chest, even as a scowl crossed Batman's lips.

"No. Wherever we send her it would still summon Trigon, the only difference would be that he'd have time to gain his full strength before attacking us. With him entering our dimension, he'll be weakened and vulnerable." Batman reminded the woman flatly and Zatana rubbed her temples, honestly wondering why Batman was fighting her over this. "Now if you'll excuse me Zatana, I have work to do…" Batman then stated while getting up and making his way towards the main computer room Zatana shaking her head with a sigh as he left.

"Why is this so personal for him?" Zatana wondered of no one and turned when she heard someone sigh. Seeing a familiar redheaded woman with wings, Zatana frowned slightly before crossing her arms. "Shayera, you seem like you have something to say." Zatana noticed and Shayera shook her head and walked passed Zatana.

"You know Zatana, you could be a little more supportive and actually help him find a way to save her." Shayera noted while crossing her arms and Zatana rubbed her temples.

"It's not that easy, she's the daughter of this demon, you've seen the horrors she can unleash when she's angry, how can we be so sure she'll never loose control even with Trigon gone?" Zatana questioned of Shayera and the Thanagarian merely crossed her arms over her chest. As a soldier, she'd agree with Zatana that Raven was a very dangerous girl, her powers being near uncontrollable being the main factor… but… as Shayera Hol, a person, she understood what Batman was going through with this girl, it wasn't any duty to him, it wasn't a job… but…

"You know Zatana, for a magician, you can sometimes be a real witch." Shayera stated and got a look from Zatana for the barb, the Thanagarian walking away even as she did so. "The reason he takes this all so personally is because he doesn't want to burry another girl when she's still so young." Shayera stated while walking down the hall that Batman had gone down, Zatana sighing as she teleported away…

(Back with Naruto…)

The Blond haired Ex-Shinobi was not a happy camper right now, mostly because the Okami seemed to be an expert in evasion. _'Oi, I wish this thing would hold still and let me gut it already!'_ The blond thought to himself as he slid passed a corner and narrowed his eyes upon seeing the Okami make its way up a ladder then knock it down. _'No time to pick that up…'_ The blond thought to himself before he jumped onto the wall and ran up its length, then followed after the Okami as it continued to try everything it could to get away from him.

'_Where the hell is this thing taking me? And why is my Mindscape so damn big?'_ The blond wondered to himself as he turned down another corner, still following the Okami when it jumped onto a wire and made its way over to a circular platform. Muttering under his breath, Naruto jumped onto the wire and ran after the wolf, flipping onto the platform and looking around with a frown. A bridge to a gate was behind the wolf, but besides that the platform was circular and a seemingly bottomless pit lay all around them…

"Finally decided to stop running eh?" Naruto said with a smirk while the Okami merely crouched down and snarled towards him. "Fine by me, I was getting sick and tired of chasing you all over the place anyways." Naruto noted while taking a stance with a smirk across his lips, the Okami merely moving into a low crouch as it snarled towards the blond teen viciously. Roaring out loudly towards the blond haired teen, the Okami's body started to shudder, Naruto's eyes widening as lightning coated the beast almost completely.

Growling towards the blond for several seconds more, the Okami then lifted its head and unleashed a loud howl towards the ceiling. Raising a brow, Naruto looked to the ceiling and frowned when the mural of the moon above him began to glow. The room then started to quake, Naruto mentally groaning as the ceiling broke up into numerous pieces that fell to the floor below. When it did, Naruto moved out of the way of several pieces of rubble before looking up. Now he could clearly see a real moon hanging in the sky above them, dark-clouds hovering around it as lightning flashed and thunder boomed.

"That can't be good." Naruto noted and then watched as the Okami roared, its body suddenly glowing brilliantly while Lightning coated started to strike around their arena. "Of course…" Naruto muttered to himself as the Okami then lunged at him, lashing out with a combination of its claws, teeth, and chakra-chains. Twisting and turning around the Wolf's attacks, Naruto then kicked it in the nose, sending it over to the side where it flipped back to its feet and shook its head. Barking loudly, the beast then crouched back before launching itself forward, sending the Chakra-Chains forward towards the blond as it did.

Cursing to himself, Naruto evaded the chains and their sharp ends, only for the Okami to bite down on his arm. Gritting his teeth, Naruto fell back and threw a punch at the beasts face, however the Okami didn't release him, instead its eyes narrowed while it tried to rip his arm off. "Get off!" Naruto shouted while kicking the Okami off of himself, the beast flipping in the air and landing on its feet, a low snarl echoing while Naruto got back up and lunged at the beast. Forming a Rasengan in one hand, Naruto tried to slam it into the Okami, only to curse and move around it's Chakra-Chains once more.

Twisting and turning as he got closer and closer to the Okami, Naruto then jumped up and brought the Rasengan down on the wolf's head. The impact caused the Okami's head to slam into the ground and threw Naruto back as it tried to grind through the strange Wolf. Landing on his feet, Naruto smirked towards the Okami, only for his eyes to bolt open when he saw a semi-transparent Barrier was protecting it… _'That's a first…'_ Naruto noted

"Okay, now I really have to wonder why there so much shit in my head that wants to destroy me?" Naruto suddenly wondered to himself and the Kusanagi decided to answer him with its idea on the subject.

"_**Maybe its because you secretly hate yourself…"**_ The sword offered to its newest master, clearly amused from what Naruto could hear of its tone of voice, causing the blond to frown.

"What did I say about the talking?" He demanded and the Kusanagi fell silent once more, though Naruto still scowled deeply before turning back to the Okami. Looking back to the Lightning Wolf, Naruto's eyes widened as it howled up into the dark sky once more, Chakra forming and condensing over its body to form armor, a skull like mask with long Kyuubi-esque ears and an X cut out of it being the first portion, a "Necklace" of Tomoe shaped beads on its neck, a row of spinal plates down its back forming over its single tail and then splitting into four extra tails beside the original, a pair of bony greaves over all four of its legs finishing its transformation off.

It was then that it's four Chakra Chains began flying back like tails. And then the Chakra-Chains merged with the extra bone tails like the original tail had done, making five tails in all flailing around behind the strange creature. As this happened, the Okami roared loudly, energy spreading from its tailbone along the four extra bony tails to form five true tails with bone armor along their length…

"So I'm guessing you're where that armor always comes from…" Naruto mumbled mostly to himself while staring at the lightning-wolf as it snarled towards him furiously. Roaring out, the beast caused dozens of spheres of Chakra to shoot out of its body and into the air, Naruto's eyes widening as it did. The Chakra then started to condense, Naruto backing up as far as he could when it did, the ball growing larger and larger as it concentrated more and more Chakra into it. Once that was done, the beast then shrank the blast down, its tails arching forward as if to hold it, before biting down on it, eating the raw Chakra as Naruto's eyes widened larger then ever when the floor buckled under the sheer density of the power.

A deep growl echoed from the beast as it then braced itself, Naruto looking to either side and cursing when he couldn't see anyway to get out of the way. _**"IMARI! (MENACING BALL!)"**_ A deep and unintelligible voice roared out loudly as the attack flowed from the beast's mouth and straight towards Naruto.

"CRAP!" The blond exclaimed before quickly pulling the Kusanagai from his back, pointing the blade downwards and extended it, pushing him high up into the air as the Imari detonated behind and below him. Stopping once the blast finally vanished Naruto breathed a sigh of relief, his heart going a mile a minute. "Man, that was way too close for comfort…" The blond said to himself while trying to catch his breath and heard the Kusanagi star grumbling aloud.

"_**Closer for me!"**_ The Sword growled out and Naruto mentally groaned before glaring down at the hilt of the sword.

"You're indestructible, I'm not…" Naruto reminded the blade and got only more grumbles from it as he then looked down towards where the "Gobi no Okami" was glaring up in his direction. "Okay, it's got ten tails and a really bad attitude… still, at least it isn't the size of Kyuubi." The Blond said between pants and then released the Kusanagi, causing it to shrink back down as he fell towards the ground. Quickly grabbing hold of the Blade on his way down Naruto twisted into a stab, the blade lengthening once more and slamming into the Okami.

Landing on the ground with a smirk, Naruto watched as the blade carried the Okami all the way off of the platform, slamming it into the outer ring of walls around them and creating a massive crater. _**"This feels really familiar…"**_ Kusanagi suddenly noted, Naruto mentally groaning as the sword spoke its mind yet again. However, before Naruto could tell the blade off, his eyes widened as the dust cleared from the Okami, however much to his shock the beast was undamaged by the Kusanagi. In fact, the beast then batted the blade away with one of its tails and roared.

"_**Oh yeah, that happened then too…"**_ The Kusanagi said mostly to itself while the Okami shook its body before roaring loudly towards Naruto. Growling lightly, Naruto twisted Kusanagi around before holding it in a Reverse grip, the blade shortened down to Ninjatou length while the Okami jumped forward, flipped in midair and landed on all fours before the blond.

"What the fuck does it take to kill this thing!" Naruto demanded before lunging forward, swinging the Kusanagi at the strange beast. Instead of holding still however, it flipped back and then landed in a low crouch before suddenly lunging at the blond. Twitching lightly, Naruto flipped up and over the Okami, then twisted in the air and swung the Kusanagi at it from above. The Okami used its tails to wrap around the blade this time, and then slammed Naruto into the ground with it. Groaning lightly, Naruto twisted back up to his feet and brushed off his arms while the Okami narrowed its eyes.

Moving with unreal speed, the Okami came at him once more, swinging its tails and trying to stab their tips into him. Cursing loudly, Naruto twisted and turned around the beasts assault, eyes wide as he tried to keep from being impaled by the clearly demonic creature's tails. Flipping back to avoid a sweep from the tails, Naruto then grunted while lunging forward, slamming his fist into the Okami's mask. However it barely budged, and a single, eerie eye narrowed onto the blond.

"Crap…" He muttered as the Okami's tails lashed out like lightning, slamming into him and sending him skidding across the platform. Cursing as he came off of it, Naruto twisted in the air and dug the Kusanagi into the side of the platform to save himself. Breathing a sigh of relief, Naruto then crawled back onto the platform and glared towards where the Okami was still glaring at him. Getting back to his feet and letting out a few panting breaths, the blond then put the Kusanagi back onto his back and left his arms to hang akimbo…

"Alright wolf-breath, bring it on!" Naruto shouted at the beast, causing a familiar looking grin to cross its muzzle. "I really don't like that look…" Naruto whispered while the Okami lunged towards the blond as he concentrated and then grinned. **"ONE-THOUSAND BLADES JUTSU!"** The blond exclaimed as hundreds of wind blades formed around him, the Okami slamming into them claws first. However, his grin soon turned into a look of shock as the Okami wasn't diced into hundreds of tiny pieces, instead somehow gaining its footing it started to rip open the Jutsu from the outside.

'_Note to self, make a stronger One-Thousand Blades Jutsu…'_ Naruto thought to himself while the Okami roared and then lunged into the Jutsu, slamming into Naruto and seeming to vanish. The One-Thousand Blades Jutsu ended once he did, and Naruto stumbled back from the impact, his eyes wide as his pupils suddenly dilated, his irises turning a grey-violet color and the color slowly began to bleed into the sclera of his eyes as well…

(Forest…)

Raven was the first to feel it and her eyes shot wide open as an energy that filled her with dread and doom suddenly came from deep in the forest. Both Clone-A and B felt a millisecond after Raven, both shuddering violently when they did. Flipping to his feet, Clone-B grabbed Raven and jumped into the trees, Raven grunting as she wrapped her arms around his neck and he carried her towards the feeling. Meanwhile, Clone-A quickly got to his feet and looked to Jinx with a dead serious expression. "Stay here." He ordered simply before lunging into the air and coming down on a tree before lunging off into the forest, leaving a confused Jinx behind.

"Okay… what was that all about?" Jinx wondered to herself before shuddering as a cold chill ran down her spine. "For once… I think he might be right, but I think I'll head back to camp rather than stay here…" Jinx decided while wasting no time in putting distance between herself and whatever it was that made her feel like a small child. Meanwhile, Clone-A and B met up in the tree's Clone-A glaring at Clone-B when he saw that he was carrying Raven on his back.

"Yo, Bro, did you feel like someone walked over your grave as well?" Clone-B asked its partner while rushing towards the energy, in fact, he was pretty sure anyone within a two hundred mile radius was feeling a surge of this magnitude…

"Yes…" Clone-A hissed out for a moment before growling while Raven shivered and shook, now visibly paler than she normally was. "What the hell are you doing bringing her with you? Kara-Chan could get hurt, dobe!" Clone-A shouted at Clone-B and the clone frowned while giving its partner a flat look.

"Sorry, but I figured if this is that Slade Guy or something then we're better off keeping an eye on Kara-Chan to keep her safe… remember what happened last time we lost track of her?" Clone-B replied with a frown and Clone-A grunted as he did indeed remember what happened…

"Fine, but you do know that if anything happens to her, the boss will have both our asses." Clone-A reminds and Clone-B grimaces for only a moment before both suddenly stop as a shiver runs down the lengths of their spines.

"Okay… I'm really not digging that way creepy feeling…" Clone-B noted and Raven nodded her agreement, a fearful look on her face as all three looked up and gaped at what they could see. The sky was dark, normal for the time of day, but dark clouds had suddenly gathered in the sky, swirling and swirling like a whirlpool in the heavens, a beam of light flowing down from its center, and lightning arching across the clouds…

"What the fuck is that?" Clone-A wondered aloud, Raven closing her eyes and searching the area to sense the power more clearly… but when she did, her heart nearly stopped and she wanted to hide. Whatever it was, it seemed to be at half her father's full power at the moment and steadily raising higher and higher…

"W-We won't kn-know unless we investigate f-further." Raven stuttered out and got a worried look from both clones. "W-Whatever it is… it alr-ready has a p-power at half m-my fathers own… and its st-still growing…" Raven explained and both clones gaped for a moment before looking to one another, nodding and then heading in the direction of the strange energy source when Clone-A's eyes bolted open when he recognized what some of it really was.

"Shit, half of this is Nature-Chakra!" Clone-A stated and Clone-B gulped before thinking rationally for a moment.

"Heh he… then m-maybe it's the b-boss training w-with Senjutsu." Clone-B offered and Clone-A frowned before shaking his head with a deep scowl across his face.

"That doesn't explain the Demonic-Chakra I'm feeling… well not entirely, cause it feels weird." Clone-A stated and Clone-B had to admit that his partner had a point before both came to a stop in a large tree; Clone-A gaping while Clone-B shook its head.

"W-What do you s-see?" Raven asked the two and both clones looked to one another before answering the violet-haired girl.

"Take a look for yourself, Kara-Chan…" Clone-A replied quietly and the half-demon warily moved her head to look passed Clone-B's own head. Shivering slightly, Raven then opened her eyes, only to feel the widen in shock at what she saw below…

A tornado or something similar was spinning, and then rising up into the air, the magnitude of wind too great to be penetrated as it ripped full-grown trees out of the ground and tossed them around like twigs. The ground was in worse condition as it looked like a meteor had hit in the passed hour. A massive crater at least the size of an arena had been formed, a spiral pattern swirling outward from a single point. That same single point at the center of the massive crater was looking to be where the light in the sky was pointing too as well.

Narrowing her eyes, Raven briefly wished that she had the eyesight of Naruto, or at least his ability to increase her eyesight like he could. However, leaning forward was all she could do, and as far as she was concerned, that was enough. For at the very center of the crater, sitting within a storm of wind, resting on all fours, was a silhouetted creature. Neither the clones, nor Raven herself could see its form clearly, but they could see five shadowy tails flicking behind it along with two very long ears. It was large, though not enormous like the Kyuubi or her father, but much bigger than a normal animal was for sure…

"What is it?" Raven wondered aloud and both clones shook their heads as the wind slowly died down. The dark clouds dispersed, and above them, they could now see a full moon had come out, a howl echoing out from the distance, and Raven felt the feeling of dread fade away.

"Well, seeing as I don't feel like something just walked over my grave anymore, maybe we should go and check it out." Clone-B offered before jumping down into the crater with Raven, Clone-A slapping his face.

"Oi, what a dobe…" Clone-A said mostly to himself before jumping in to the crater and after Clone-B…

(?)

Kyuubi's eyes opened as he felt a surge of power, one that was eerily familiar to him. **"What is that? I know this power… but it's… different."** Kyuubi said to itself before closing his eyes and moving his consciousness into dream space to contact Trigon. **"Trigon, can you sense that energy?"** Kyuubi questioned while opening his eyes within the cave deep below Jump-City, Trigon's eyes opening nearby.

"**Indeed, I've never felt this kind of power before. Where is it coming from?"** Trigon wondered aloud and Kyuubi growled lowly as he tried to remember why it felt so familiar. Sifting through his memories, he compared it to Madara or even Sasuke, but it wasn't foul enough. He tried to think if it fit someone like Senju Hashirama, but it wasn't pure enough for his power. Then Kyuubi's eyes bolted open, wide in a mix of fear and fury, it remembered this power, one with foul AND pure Chakra…

"**The Rikudo Senin! (Sage of Six-Paths!)"** Kyuubi said as a snarl crossed its features and Trigon raised a brow towards the Nine-Tailed Beast.

"**Whom do you speak of Kyuubi?"** The demon questioned while Kyuubi seemed to ignore him, a furious look to his burning crimson eyes.

"**Its… no one… he's dead."** Kyuubi gritted out while dragging his claws into the ground, he didn't need Trigon postponing their escape from their prisons. Breathing out for a moment, Kyuubi narrowed his eyes, noticing a discrepancy in the power he was feeling when compared to The Rikudo Senin's. _**'Similar, yet still different… we need to hurry before time runs out.'**_ Kyuubi mused to himself before looking over to Trigon with a deep frown on his face.

"**We need to hurry, if that energy surge was of any indication then something very powerful could be coming this way."** Kyuubi states and Trigon considers this for a few moments, considering how much time they have and the fairly massive surge they just felt. He can't help but agree with Kyuubi, the power while barely half his own full power, would probably be a danger if it attacked when they were weakened…

"**Agreed, I'll see about speeding up the process. A few nightmares should be all that Raven will need…"** Trigon muses and Kyuubi breathes a sigh of relief before narrowing his eyes. _**'Yes… and then **__**my plan**__** will finally begin…'**_ The ancient Fox mused as a wide crooked grin stretched across the length of its muzzle…

TBC…


	52. Survival Training PT 5

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

**Chapter 50**: **The Quest Side-Story: Survival Training Pt. 5**…

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

(Jump-City…)

Orochimaru stood atop the tallest building in the city, a sly smirk across his lips as he looked into the distance. He then looked up when he saw the clouds, moving outwards, as if to escape something evil at their source. Lightning arched and cracked from cloud to cloud, leaving trails of electricity flying over them all. Chuckling lightly, the snake-eyed man crossed his arms with an amused smirk across his lips. _'Ah, I knew you could do it Naruto-Kun, but even I could never have imagined it would be so soon…'_ Orochimaru thought to himself with an evil sounding chuckle echoing from his lips.

"Twould seem we are no longer the only Bijuu in this dimension… eh Kyuubi?" Orochimaru said to no one before laughing lightly to himself. Closing his eyes, Orochimaru then reached out his senses, attempting to find the beast that he was sure Naruto was becoming. However, when he did a shiver ran down the length of his spine. That was no normal Chakra he felt… "This looks to be a most interesting adventure from now on…" Orochimaru mused aloud, then grinned sinisterly as he jumped into the air, only to vanish in a trail of fire…

(Watchtower…)

Dr. Fate suddenly felt a powerful surge and had to stop in one of the Watchtower's halls, a cold sweat forming at his brow. _'S-Such awesome power!'_ The helmeted man thought to himself before quickly making his way through the Watchtower, and coming out in the control room. Typing on the control consol rapidly, Dr. Fate tried to pinpoint what he was feeling, but whatever it was the energy source wasn't reading on the Watchtower's sensors.

'_Then it's either a natural form of energy, or something radically different to anything else we've encountered…'_ The man realized before feeling out with his powers and started to pinpoint its location. _'Still, if I can find it perhaps I can also find a satellite to get me a photo of the area its in…'_ Dr. Fate mused to himself before noticing a call coming from Jason Blood, thus patched him through as he continued his work. "Yes Jason. What do you need?" Dr. Fate questioned even as he tried to pinpoint the energy signature's exact location.

"Do you feel it!" A slightly panicked Jason questioned and Fate halted, and then frowned deeply. Jason was known to be calm and collected at nearly all times, the magnitude of anything that could cause him to panic as he obviously was wasn't to be taken lightly…

"If you're referring to the massive surge of Power I just sensed then yes… but where is it, that's the question I want answered for the moment?" Dr. Fate replied as he continued to try and locate the position of the power-source. However, oddly enough it was almost like it was coming from the entirety of Planet-Earth, as if something was trying to siphon off all of the worlds energy somehow…

"That's not what I mean, this power… its almost as if it wishes to crush or constrain anything with a Demonic Heritage… including Etrigan…" Jason said while trying not to sound as panicked as he was feeling, albeit he knew he was also failing miserably. However, Dr. Fate stopped at that tidbit of information Dr. Fate paused before rubbing his chin and started to switch the search parameters. This time he set it for a more celestial energy and widened his eyes when he saw an enormous surge of it in the forest of Jump-City. However stranger still was the mass of Demonic energy that seemed to be mixing with it.

"By the creator, what is this?" Dr. Fate wondered to himself before zooming in on the center most position of the cloud of raw-power. However, what he saw caused him to give pause for but a brief moment. What he was seeing was what looked like a tornado of some kind, and in the very center of it was what looked like a beast with numerous tails flowing from its backside… "Jason, do you think you could investigate this phenomena for me?" Dr. Fate questioned of the scarlet haired man and could hear the groan that Jason let out.

"Unfortunately no… at this point I'd be afraid of something happening to me if I changed into Etrigan, and possibly even if I didn't change. There's no telling what it could do to me if I were to get any closer to it. This energy, whatever it is, seems to have a very adverse affect on Demons…" Jason replied as calmly as he could though he felt like finding the quickest way of running from the power he was feeling that he could. Sighing for a moment, Dr. Fate considered his options when he realized Etrigan wouldn't be going to investigate…

'_There are a few people I could send, but we don't know what this is, and it doesn't feel like a threat to anything… well besides Demons… so what is it?'_ Dr. Fate wondered to himself while clicking his tongue, mulling over finding someone to investigate, doing so himself, or he could always just take someone with him to find out what was going on down there…

(Forest…)

Clone-A and B made their way towards the center of the massive crater. Raven still riding on Clone-B's back as they came to a halt. Moving slightly to the side, Raven could see a thin swirling tornado was all that was left of the wind they'd seen before. Above the Tornado was the full moon, its light shining down upon them all. "Why did you stop?" Raven questioned only to gasp as both clones flipped back as a blast of lightning suddenly ripped its way through the ground.

"That's why…" Clone-A replied flatly as he narrowed his eyes on the figure that lay within the thin tornado. A deep growl echoed from it, and Raven looked over Clone-B's shoulder, her eyes widening. Within the tornado was a creature, its head looking towards the moon, five long tails slowly twisting and flicking behind it, its ears were slightly long, about half the length of the Kyuubi's, and its entire form was completely silhouetted from view.

"Wh-what is that? The f-five tails was absorbed int-to the Gedo Mazo…" Clone-B wondered aloud while Clone-A shrugged only for them to stiffen as one of the beasts ears suddenly twitched towards them. It stood on four legs, all five of its tails fanning out behind it when Clone-A noticed something strange. Cursing lightly, Clone-A moved back slowly while strange bubbles formed at the beast's tailbone, before it quickly formed into another tail. When the tail formed, the beast increased in size as well, growing to stand at about five-foot tail while on all fours…

"Shit, get Kara-Chan to safety!" Clone-A ordered while grabbing a pair of Kunai, causing Clone-B to look at him as if he were crazy.

"What about you?" Clone-B demanded and a frown crossed Clone-A's features as the strange creature crouched down and an echoing growl came to his ears.

"I'll try to hold this thing off for as long as I can. All you need to do is protect is find Jinx and then protect her and Kara-Chan!" Clone-A ordered while forming a pair of Chakra-Sabers from his twin Kunai, Clone-B looking at him in shock for a moment. "I said go!" Clone-A ordered angrily and Clone-B blinked before nodding his head and running for dear life as Clone-A turned back to the beast and twisted his Chakra-Sabers in hand for a moment.

"Alright, I'm not sure what you are, but you really picked the wrong place to appear." Clone-A stated simply while lunging at the beast, only for it to zip to the side with unimaginable speed, and then slow down and launch itself at the clone. Cursing, Clone-A used a quick Kawarimi no Jutsu to escape, leaving the now six-tailed beast to crash into it. Rearing his arms back, Clone-A then sliced with both of his Chakra-Sabers, sending two "Kougenjin" blasts straight for the Beast.

The blasts fused in midair to form an X that grew closer and closer to the beast, only for it to crouch and jump in the air, and then strangely enough, it jumped a second time, flipping over the X blast before landing behind it with a roar. "Okay… that was new…" Clone-A noted to himself while the creature then shook its head and growled as another bubble formed at the base of its tailbone. The bubble quickly formed into a seventh tail, now growing to five and a half feet tall on all fours.

Clone-A's eyes widened in shock as witnessed it slam a paw into the ground, a miniature earth-quack rocking the ground and knocking Clone-A off his feet. Shaking his head, Clone-A then widened his eyes as the beast opened its jaws; dozens of bubbles began forming before it while its tails arched towards its head. "OH SHIT!" He cried out loudly while lunging out of the way as the bubbles slowly formed together into a solid sphere. Biting down on the ball, the creature braced itself as its body nearly plowed into the ground and then turned and opened its mouth.

"_**IMARI!"**_ The seven-tailed beast cried out loudly as a massive beam of raw-Chakra rocketed towards Clone-A. Thinking quickly, Clone-A grinned and quickly dug under ground just as the blast would have hit him. The blast tore a sizable chunk out of the landscape, the Seven-Tailed Beast narrowing its eyes. It then heard something and looked down, only for Clone-A to rise out of the ground with an uppercut to its chin. Flying backwards, the beast flipped in midair to land on its paws while Clone-A crawled out of the ground and formed a familiar T-Shaped hand seal.

"**Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu!"** The clone exclaimed while creating several clones around it as they all faced down the now VERY angry beast. Said beast roaring out as it crouched down, then quickly lunged forward with unmatchable speed. Growling furiously, the beast then swung its tails slicing the nearly blade like appendages clean through every clone in its path before causing five of them to lunge forward for Clone-A himself. Eyes wide for only a moment, Clone-A moved back as the five tails formed into a mock hand that tried to grab him.

When the hand missed, the Beast itself lunged out of the hand, and made to bite the unlucky clone. Using a quick Kawarimi-no-Jutsu Clone-A avoided becoming kibble as the beast bit into the boulder, its seven tails ripping into and then through the boulder, turning it into rubble before his very eyes… "I am so dead…" The clone couldn't help but whisper to himself while the tailed-beast suddenly began to shake, another series of bubbles forming at its tail bone. "Oh no… please not another one!" Clone-A said to himself while backing away when an Eighth tail formed from its tailbone…

The now Eight-Tailed Beast then howled up into the night sky before crouching as sparks arched along its entire body. Growling and snarling the beasts eight tails fanned out behind it while Clone-A quickly made a T-Shaped Hand Seal yet again, not taking any chances this time. **"Taijuu Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu!"** The blond cried out as over a hundred of him were formed this time, and then gulped audibly as he and the others watched the strange tailed beast.

"Got a plan?" The clone closest to Clone-A asked and he shook his head as the beast then lifted its head up and opened its mouth wide.

"_**AMATSU MIKABOSHI! (August Star of Heaven!)"**_ The Beast cried out as an endlessly dark essence flowed out of its opened jaws and the cloud darkness began to rise up into the sky.

"What the hell?" one of the many clones demanded loudly as the sky was soon covered in darkness, not even the light of the stars or the full moon penetrating its depths. When that happened, Clone-A looked around as all became dark, only their Chakra-Sabers giving off even the barest hint of light while the Tailed-Beast had vanished.

"This really doesn't bode well for us boys…" Clone-A noted quietly to himself until he noticed several screams as his clones were torn apart one by one. "Shit, figure out some way to make it visible again and fast!" Clone-A ordered of his own clones and they all agreed with him immediately as they tried to think of a way to see the thing.

"We should try channeling Chakra into our eyes that trick always let us see in the dark before!" One called out only for another to grunt in annoyance, as it had long turned off its Chakra-Sabers, fully aware the beast was tracking them with those glowing blades.

"Not a good idea. That only works in low-light conditions, that beast eliminated all light sources save our own. And stop using your damn Chakra-Sabers already. The damn thing is probably following our Chakra-Sabers to attack us!" The clone ordered, though Clone-A wondered why it sounded so much like Shikamaru for only a moment before turning his Chakra-Saber off and placing the Kunai into his Kunai-Case.

"Okay, does anyone have any OTHER ideas?" Another clone demanded only to scream out before the other clones heard a popping sound.

"C'mon, we talk it finds us, we attack it finds us, we do anything, it finds us! Where the hell did this damn thing find this technique? No seriously, I like it!" Another of the clones wondered aloud and Clone-A slapped his face as he wondered why all their clones had such strange personality quirks. _'These Dobe-Clones are going to get us all mauled, and I can't afford anymore Chakra to make them. Though I will admit this is a particularly useful technique… and it might actually be worth learning.'_ Clone-A admitted to himself as he closed his eyes and concentrated on feeling for the other clones around him.

'_Unless we want to be completely annihilated out here we need to regroup and figure out a way to see this damn thing before it finds us.'_ Clone-A thought to himself as he soon found one of his clones and both breathed sighs of relief. "Can you tell where that Bijuu thing is?" Clone-A asked in a hushed whisper, still wishing he could see, as the strange beast was silent as the grave.

"Not really, this Darkness is made of pure Chakra, it's making it impossible to find the damn thing… it feels almost like it's everywhere around us all at once." The other clone replied with a frown, being the one who sounded a lot like Shikamaru as Clone-A then frowned in thought for a moment.

"We need a way to make that thing visible again, got any ideas?" Clone-A asked and the clone clicked its tongue for a moment before nodding its head.

"Just one, but we'll need a diversion for it to work." The other clone replied even as they heard another clone as it was destroyed in the distance.

"Right, and that should be oh so easy…" Clone-A noted sarcastically and the other clone grunted before grumbling under his breath. However the sound of another clone popping out of existence much closer to them causing both clones to forget any annoyance and focus on the here and now. "Right, I'll go figure out some way to distract it then…" Clone-A agreed, never noticing as the other clone put a Chakra-String on him as he walked away.

"Eh, your doing well enough already, if I'm right, this thing can see Chakra so it'll follow that string either to you or me, then either way we do it, we can use my idea on it…" The other clone noted to itself, and then sighed when he heard the sound of the beast heading towards him. "Oi… mendokuse…" The clone muttered to itself even as the beast lunged at it and snapped its jaws onto him. This instantly caused Clone-A's eyes to widen and a grin comes onto his face as he turned around, following the Chakra String to its source.

'_Got ya!'_ The clone thought to itself as he lunged forward, forming several hand seals before lunging up and bring a hand down on top of the beasts back. Hearing it roar, Clone-A quickly flipped off of it, just as the seal he planted on the beast started to glow brightly, revealing the beast's location. Twisting around, the beast tried to find the source of the light, only to roar out in frustration while Clone-A grinned. "Finally!" He called out while forming a Rasengan in one hand and then lunged at the beast, slamming the swirling sphere into the beasts face and sending it flying back.

Flipping in midair, the beast landed on its feet before howling loudly, the darkness opening up and allowing the moon to shine through once more. Grunting as the light came back, Clone-A blinked several times while his remaining clones did much the same. "Oi, that was so not fun…" One of the clones noted while rubbing his eyes, the darkness that the beast had summoned slowly fading away completely while the tailed beast roared loudly.

"Yeah well right now I'm just glad that we can see again…" Clone-A stated while widening his eyes as another series of bubbles formed at the beasts tailbone, then quickly formed into a ninth-tail…

"Oh shit…" One of the other clones said with wide eyes, summing up the thoughts of its fellow clones nicely. The now nine-tailed beast then roared loudly, however didn't grow as it had before, instead its body morphed slightly, wind shaped finials flowing off of its shoulders to point back.

"I don't remember any OTHER Nine-Tailed Beasts besides Kyuubi… how bout you boys?" One of the clones asked while backing away and Clone-A narrowed his eyes as he saw the beast slowly open a pair of eyes, his mouth falling open as he realized it had been fighting without being able to see them this entire time.

"We have bigger problems, this damn thing is going to be one hell of a lot more aggressive soon enough!" Clone-A stated before looking to a clone at its side and pulled out a Hiraishin Kunai. "Lets see if we can put this stupid thing down now before it tears us all a new one!" He ordered and all the clones threw a hail of Hiraishin Kunai into the air while they came down on top of the Nine-Tailed Beast. Roaring loudly, the beast crouched back even as the first hail of Kunai came down on it, snarling as it watched the Clones started vanishing in yellow flashes… a cruel grin then started crossing its features as they did so.

Before the first clone to reappear could even blink, one of the beast's nine-tails lashed out, slicing clean through it. The next one met a similar fate, and still as even more clones appeared they all found the beasts tails waiting, slicing into and through them like sharp swords. Roaring loudly, the Beast the jumped up and spun around, fanning out its tails and causing them to spin in a circle, cleaving every clone near it in half while it came out on all fours with a roar. As the last few clones started to reappear several of them quickly jumped off of other clones and out of the way as the beast sliced into them with its razor sharp claws, Clone-A gaping as he watched the spectacle, his few remaining clones quickly moving back towards him.

"Whoa… well… looks like that was a bust." Clone-A noted, no small amount of awe in his tone as the beast then crouched down once more, another series of bubbles forming at its tailbone and his eyes widening further than before. "Oh Kami-Sama please no!" The clone pleaded for naught as a Tenth-Tail formed from the beast's tailbone, its eyes snapping open at long last… However that was just the beginning as the beast lifted its head and howled out into the night, darkness creeping off of the beasts form and into the ground before spreading out from it. The beast was as such, finally revealed, its form no longer a silhouette though the clones actually wished it was.

The beast was now a Six-foot tail wolf when on all fours, its ears half the length of the Kyuubi's own, its teeth and claws looked like the purest of ivory marble, its fur resembled the deepest obsidian black one could imagine with orange-red streaks along its sides, a mane of black fur flowing from the back of its head while wind shaped finials flowed from its shoulders as well as it forming into a pair of mock horns from its forehead, orange-red marks were positioned over its eyes in a similar way to Naruto's sage mode and three stripes like lightning bolts on its cheeks finished the only other coloring it had save for its grey-violet eyes, ones with a dilated pupil and ripple like pattern forming outwards…

"Uh… can we run and scream now?" One of the clones suddenly asked, his eyes wide in a combination of shock and extreme fear upon seeing the familiar eyes.

"Love too, but we can't let this thing attack Kara-Chan or anyone else, it might just kill them and be done with it!" Clone-A reminded while the ten-tailed beast then allowed its tails to fan out as it closed its eyes.

"What now?" One of the clones wondered before gaping as a ball of Chakra formed at each of the beast's tails…

"_**JUUBI RASENGAN! (Ten-Tailed Swirling Sphere!)"**_ The Beast cried out before lunging its tails into the ground. Looking all around the clones then scattered as the tails ripped out of the ground below them, twisting and swerving in all directions. Gritting his teeth, Clone-A rolled out of the way of one of the tails and flipped over another just as the tails connected with several of the remaining clones, destroying them instantly while the tails soon returned to the newly formed Juubi, fanning out behind it as it glared at the clones angrily.

"Oi, we haven't even touched this thing and it's nearly wiped out all of us…" Clone-A grumbled to himself only to groan as the strange beast started to shake before roaring out loud as a field of Chakra formed around it, then condensed into a familiar bone-like armor. This armor started with a white skull mask with an X cut out of it, a long series of spinal plates down the middle of its back before branching out into ten spines along its tails, Wind shaped greaves adorned each of its legs, and six Tomoe shaped beads formed around its neck like a magatama necklace…

Digging its sharp claws into the ground the tailed-beast then crouched low while Clone-A looked to the remaining clones. "Boys, we're officially out of options… time to go for the big one." Clone-A stated and three of the remaining clones grimaced for a moment.

"Oh man, but that's seriously going to drain our remaining reserves!" One of them reminded and Clone-A gave the one that spoke a glare. "Alright… but I do this under extreme protest…" The clone then said as he and two of the remaining clones got as far from the Bijuu as they could. As it did, Clone-A turned to the remaining clones with him and crossed his arms with a deep frown on his face.

"Alright men, now all we have to do is distract that thing until the others finish." He stated and several of the clones sighed, already knowing they most likely wouldn't be coming back from this alive.

"Been nice knowing me…" One of the clones quipped quietly before the mass of clones charged forward, towards the Juubi. Narrowing its eyes, the wolf then spread out its legs as they approached, a cruel grin spreading over its face as they did. Lunging forward, the clones all prepared different attacks, some a Rasengan, others their Chakra-Sabers, and one even had a Rasen-Shuriken ready. However it was all for naught as the beast roared aloud, its eyes glaring at them.

"_**SHINRA TENSEI! (Heavenly Subjugation of the Omnipresent God!)"**_ The beast exclaimed, Clone-A's eyes bolting open as he and the majority of the clones were sent flying away by an invisible force. Cursing as he and the clones were sent flying, Clone-A threw a Hiraishin Kunai to the ground while grabbing two of the clones, then used the Jutsu and brought them with him as the other clones slammed into the side of the crater, before all of them went out with a puff of smoke.

"Crap, where did it learn to do that?" One of the clones wondered while holding its head, Clone-A only wondering what it would do next. The beast then roared once more, and Clone-A yelped as he and the two other clones were pulled towards it this time. "Shit! I had to ask!"

"_**BANSHO TEN'IN! (Heavenly Attraction of All Creation!)"**_ The beast exclaimed with an evil grin stretched over its features.

"I hate this! It's like fighting a healthy version of Pein!" One of the clones noted as they were pulled closer and closer to the beast, said creature spreading its tails out before swinging them as the clones got close enough. Cursing, Clone-A managed to twist out of the way of the creature's many swings with its tails. Flipping off of one of the tails, Clone-A then widened his eyes as it lifted its head and opened its mouth, forming numerous bubbles of raw-chakra into the air.

"Crap… not again!" He exclaimed while using a Kawarimi as it fired the blast without eating it first.

"_**KOKUHO! (Hollow Canine Cannon!)"**_ The rough demonic voice exclaimed as dozens of balls of energy went flying into the air, only to curve in the air and fall back towards the earth. Looking up, Clone-A cursed while dodging and weaving around the dozens of blasts even as they tore chunk after chunk of the ground apart. Flipping back as the final blast hit, Clone-A let out several panting breaths before falling to his knees while the Juubi merely shook itself off and turned towards him, Rinnegan eyes glaring towards him evilly…

(Naruto's Mind…)

The blond was currently in an unimaginable amount of pain, his hands were clawing at his eyes as lightning and wind flowed all around his form. _**"Kid stop thrashing about like an idiot and get control of yourself!"**_ Kusanagi ordered in a hiss while Naruto struggled with the power that had forced its way inside of him.

"Ugh… easy for you to say! This shit fucking hurts!" Naruto shouted aloud, his hair having taken on an odd style, his bangs now pointing upwards like horns.

"_**Yes yes it hurts, I get it already. But what do you expect it to do to you? It's raw-power inside you that you've never mastered! You have to take control of it, or it will take control of you!"**_ The Kusanagi retorted while Naruto grit his teeth and tried to concentrate on anything but the pain of having what felt like lightning flow through every nerve in his body. _**"Come now, hurry! If you don't take control, the power will and you could very well hurt those you care about in such a state!"**_ The sword shouted at the blond, making his eyes snap open and gnash his teeth together while slowly sitting up.

Had he been able, he would've seen a change to his eyes, namely that they had completely turned a familiar grey-violet color, his pupil is dilated, and ripple like pattern stretched out from the center of each of his eyes. Gritting his now fanged teeth and clenching his clawed hands, the blond then narrowed his eyes. "I… won't… let that happen… no matter what!" The blond growled out as he slowly started to push himself up to his feet, Kusanagi egging him on.

"_**Yes, rise! Rise up Naruto! Take control of it! This power is yours, do not allow it to take your body for its own!"**_ The voice ordered while Naruto grit his teeth as a shadowy figure formed behind him, one with six glowing tomoe shaped beads around its neck, what looked like horns on its head, and a pair of Rinnegan eyes. Remaining completely unaware of the figure, Naruto roared out, purple / black Chakra exploding from his body as he threw his arms out to his sides. Instantly, the Juubi was thrown from his body and Naruto fell forward, the wolf rolling along the ground before quickly getting up and running off, ramming through a gate and up yet another stair-case…

(Crater…)

Clone-A watched as the Juubi walked towards him and looked behind, noticing his brothers had finally finished their last resort. "Finally…" The blond clone muttered under his breath while two of the clones poofed out of existence and the third one held a massive version of the Rasengan in one hand. "LATER!" Clone-A then shouted as he used a Kawarimi no Jutsu on the sole-remaining clone, causing it to grin as the Juubi glared at it furiously.

"SO LONG JUUBI!" The clone shouted while throwing its arm forward with the massive Jutsu. **"DAI ODAMA RASENRENGAN!"** The Clone shouted while shoving the attack into the creature, only to pop out of existence when it was finished, Clone-A groaning lightly while watching as the attack pushed the Juubi back.

"Finally…" He groaned out only to widen his eyes as the Juubi suddenly stopped and then dug its paws into the ground, Clone-A gaping as the attack was somehow only before it. "No way…" He whispered, only to gape as it then grinned darkly.

"_**IZANAMI!"**_ It cried out once more, vanishing in a swirl of Black-Chakra, and then suddenly reappeared to the side of the massive crater. Gaping for a moment, Clone-A then watched as the attack ripped into and then through the side of the crater, digging all the way through it where it exploded over a mile away, and water started to flow from the new "River" and into the crater to form a lake…

"Our best attack… and it was completely useless…" He muttered to himself while watching as the Juubi started to shake its body, before it then made its way towards him. Clone-A sighed as it did, and then frowned when it saw an evil grin spread across the Juubi's face. "Of course…" He muttered while slowly getting up to his feet, only to raise a brow when the Juubi suddenly halted. The beast then roared loudly, the shockwave from which sent Clone-A flying back. Cursing lightly, the clone used Chakra to brace himself on the ground and saw the Juubi start to thrash around.

Watching on in confusion, Clone-A then saw the Juubi rear its head back and halt, its eyes seemingly focused upon the moon. Dropping its paws back to the ground, the Juubi then closed its eyes before unleashing a great howl towards the heavens. As it did so, purple-black Chakra formed around its form, soon shrinking down, then swirling around and condensing itself down into a solid-black sphere. Blinking for a moment, Clone-A got back to his feet and rubbed his head while making his way towards the sphere as it dissipated from view.

"No way…" Clone-A whispered when he saw Naruto now lying sprawled out where the sphere and by proxy the Juubi had once been. Slowly walking over to the blond, Clone-A looked at him for a moment before picking him up and throwing him over his shoulder. However as he did, he noticed thunder roar, and looked up to find dark clouds forming above him. _'I just bet the Boss is doing this without noticing…'_ Clone-A reasoned while narrowing his eyes on the sky, then frowned deeply as he realized the implications of Naruto's new powers.

'_Slade better watch his back, if the Boss truly does Possess the Rinnegan, he's going to annihilate him utterly…_' Clone-A mused inwardly while looking to the dark sky, then turned around and started to limp towards the forest. Groaning and holding his side as he felt phantom pains from the dozens of Clones that had been destroyed, Clone-A rubbed his face tiredly. "I'd better get out of here before someone comes to investigate what just happened out here…" Clone-A muttered to himself before looking around their battleground, grimacing when he saw the devastation they had created…

"Oh yeah… and before someone wonders who made the new lake…" He added to himself before quickly running away, Naruto thrown over his shoulder as he did so. However, at the edge of the crater stood Dr. Fate, a slight frown across his face as he'd watched the majority of that little exhibition…

"That was quite an impressive display…" Dr. Fate noted as he looked to the devastation that the blond haired Ex-Shinobi was able to cause. "And that Transformation was also interesting… but still, he can control Gravity as well as cause massive amounts of damage… hmm. For now I'll leave him be, but, should he prove too much of a threat, I believe we'll have to take measures." Dr. Fate mused to himself before teleporting back to the watchtower. Unaware of a raven that had also watched the whole thing, only to vanish in a plume of smoke…

(Naruto's Mind…)

The blond groaned as he slowly got up, then gripped his skull, groaning as an influx of information from numerous destroyed clones hit him. "Wonderful… I feel like a Train just hit me… and my body seems to have changed into a Juubi thanks to that stupid wolf…" The blond grumbled while pushing himself up to his feet and then tried to regain his balance. Rubbing his face for a moment as he tried to sort through the information from the clones, Naruto stopped when he remembered one of them.

"Amatsu Mikaboshi? But he's the Kami of Evil and stars… weird." The blond muttered under his breath as he sifted through the memories.

"_**Indeed, twould seem that your subconscious mind took control of your body in that strange form, much like it did when you turned into that "Beast" thing a few weeks ago."**_ Kusanagi noted and caused Naruto to look towards his back for a moment, before inwardly deciding it'd be worth finding out anything he could.

"Oh really, then I suppose you also know how'd I changed like that in the first place?" The blond haired teen demanded of his sword while crossing his arms and the Kusanagi was silent for a few moments.

"_**Actually I do have a few ideas. You see master, due to containing the Kyuubi no Yoko's Yang-Chakra, your own Yin-Chakra is significantly more potent. This means, in effect, your specialty with Shape-Transformations is because you don't have enough Yang-Chakra to do most Clone-techniques or others that require Spiritual Energy to work. Although some of the Kyuubi's own Yang-Chakra has been purified and added to your own reserves, it is still a significant decrease from what one would normally have with your Chakra Capacity."**_ The Kusanagi explained and Naruto raised a brow and then sighed while rubbing his face.

"In English this time, please…" Naruto grumbled aloud and heard the Kusanagi sigh out in annoyance as he thought over the easiest way to explain it.

"_**Very well then. The "Armor" you've been creating as of late is a possible due to your high amount of Yin-Chakra, just like your mother could create Chakra-Chains. Now then, when that Wolf jumped inside of you, it manipulated the over abundant Yin-Chakra inside you to change your body into a wolf as well… though I don't know exactly how it did that mass darkness or the teleportation technique."**_ Kusanagi explained to its master, Naruto frowning as he rubbed his chin for a moment then narrowed his eyes when he saw the broken gate that the wolf busted down, and the stairway beyond it annoying him greatly.

"When I get my hands on that damn wolf, I'm going to skin it alive!" The blond growled out while lunging at the gate, subconsciously forming several plates of Bone-Armor on his left arm. Slamming his arm into a portion of the gate as he passed it, the blond ran up the length of the stairs, eyes narrowed dangerously, twin Rinnegan glaring out from where his azure eyes had once been. Behind the blond, Itachi walked onto the platform calmly before looking to where he'd gone.

"He's got quite the temper…" Itachi mumbled as he walked towards the broken gate calmly. As he did, a familiar silhouetted figure walked beside of him, his own Rinnegan eyes looking to Itachi.

"Should he allow his temper to run unchecked, it will get the best of him in the coming Battle." The man, once known as Pein noted, Itachi merely humming quietly as they walked across the bridge and passed the destroyed gate.

"True, but I have a feeling all will be well for him, Leader-Sama." Itachi replied, eyes closed as he and Pein both made their way up the stairs as well, their presence still unknown to the blond haired teen…

(Gotham…)

Batman was working in the Batcave, preferring the solitude there, to any chance of meeting up with Zatana again. He still cared for his old friend, but he honestly didn't like her input. Frowning to himself as he looked over the compiled information on Trigon and his resurrection, the Dark-Knight considered all the angles that the demon could enter their world from. Added to that he was also looking for information on an Eastern Demon of equal power attempting to do the same. Thus far, his data showed only one method Trigon could enter that wouldn't force him back to hell in an hour.

As for his search for the identity of the Eastern Demon, that was going much slower and he was turning up less and less. Besides being a High A class, with power over fire, and the ability to make a Demonic Barrier, he didn't have enough information on what it could possibly be out of a long list of Mythical monsters and demons. Unfortunately, Demonic-Barriers were VERY common trait among the upper and even mid tier demons in Eastern Demons, as it seemed they used them a vast majority of the time, mostly to keep themselves from being found.

He was currently looking over demons with some kind of Fire abilities, Kitsune, Nekomata, and several others all had that kind of power however, making it tedious at best. Thus his own search had nearly turned up nil, and he was certain that Jason was also having problems finding the right demonic entity. _'We don't have enough information on the demon or its abilities. Finding it until we do will be near impossible… and by then it could already be too late.'_ Batman mused to himself with a frown as he glared at the screen of his computer, only to turn when he felt someone was nearby.

"Quite the intriguing place you have here…" Frowning at the voice, Batman turned around and stood up, eyes narrowed on the intruder. "Although I wonder if you have enough toys or not…" Slade wondered aloud as he leaned back into guardrail, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Deathstroke." Batman growled out lowly while glaring at the masked man as he leaned forward and folded his arms behind his back.

"A pleasure to see you again as well… Batman." Slade replied with an incline of his head towards the Dark-Knight.

"How did you find this place?" Batman demanded while allowing his cape to cover the majority of his body and Slade chuckled darkly.

"I can create nano-machines that can destroy someone from the inside out, make a nuero-toxin that can induce a pseudo realistic hallucination, a suit of armor that gives me overall control of its wearer, and even a machine that can harness the very power of nature itself, and yet you find it odd that I can find this place…?" Slade questioned with a raised brow and Batman merely narrowed his eyes onto the masked madman.

"What do you want?" Batman then questioned flatly and Slade walked towards the Dark-Knight silently.

"What do I want? A great many things actually… however for now, I have certain interests in your ongoing investigation." Slade replied and quickly moved one arm to catch a kick from the Dark-Knight. "Do you always attack your guests?" Slade wondered aloud and a deep frown crossed Batman's lips.

"Only the uninvited ones." Batman replied while throwing a fist at Slade's face, the mercenary blocking with one hand and chuckling lightly.

"Yes, and I'd expect no less from the legendary Dark-Knight…" Slade admitted before backing up, Batman ducking into a crouch while raising a brow when he felt something in his hand. "Do you really intend to try and stop Trigon? He's nearly invincible you know… you'll most likely fail if you try." Slade noted coldly and Batman narrowed his eyes on the masked madman dangerously.

"That's still only nearly. Even if only slim, the chance is still there." Batman replied simply and Slade turned away from Batman, arms crossed behind his back as a portal of fire formed.

"I'm counting on it…" Slade whispered while vanishing into the portal, Batman rising up and looking to his hand, narrowing his eyes when he found a Ring-of-Azar. Turning to look at the spot that Slade had been only a few moments before, Batman clenched his fist on the ring and narrowed his eyes.

"What's your game this time, Deathstroke?" Batman wondered to himself with a frown, then placed the ring into his utility belt so he could return to his work…

(Titans Tower…)

"Bad guys beware, there's a new Robin in town!" Beast Boy said mostly to himself with a wide grin on his face as he sat on Nightwing's old R-Cycle while Cyborg used a fan to make it look like he was driving it. The Titanium teen is now dressed like Robin, however where it was too big for BB, it is too small for him, meaning the suit is stretched across his burly frame. Grinning for a moment, Cyborg then deactivated the fan on his right arm and quickly pulled his right glove back on.

"Okay man, my turn!" Cyborg stated while trying to push Beast-Boy off of the R-Cycle so he can get on it. However as they push and struggle to see who will get to play on the R-Cycle, BB ending up with Cyborg pushing his head down as he pushed the Titanium teen back though Cy still had one leg over the R-Cycle, they both hear their communicators go off.

"Robin calling Robin." Starfire's voice comes and BB pulls out his communicator with a wide grin on his face.

"Robin here. Over." He replies while speaking into the communicator and Starfire, still dressed up like Robin as well, leans over towards them from the side.

"No not you Robin, the other Robin." Starfire said while pointing to Cyborg, distracting the green Jester long enough for Cy to push him off and hop onto the R-Cycle himself. Smirking as he heard BB grunt as he hit the floor, Cyborg caught the Green Teens communicator from mid air and spoke into it as well.

"What's up Robin?" He asked while mentally snickering to himself, though was glad that no one was watching how silly they were acting. Putting up the communicator when he was certain that Starfire was not going to continue, Cyborg started to mock ride on the R-Cycle. Nearby however, Starfire dug around in the utility belt she was wearing and fired a grapple line upwards before riding it up. Meanwhile BB tried to move his cape out of his face while Donna walked into the room and blinked at what she saw.

"Okay… this is really disturbing." Donna noted while looking around with a raised brow and Starfire swung slowly over to the Amazonian warrior.

"Disturbing yet magnificent!" Starfire exclaimed while releasing the grapple and falling to the ground lightly. "You must join us, friend. I never knew wearing a cape was so much fun!" Starfire said while moving around Donna and spreading the cape wide with her arms, the Amazonian shaking her head as she does. "It is wonderful to be Robin!" The red-haired alien then exclaimed while coming out of a spin and leaning towards one of her newest friends in the tower.

"Yeah! He has all the best stuff!" Cyborg agreed with a grin as he walked over while still play riding on the R-Cycle. Looking between her two friends, Donna only managed to make an uncomfortable sounding grunt before BB sidled up as well.

"C'mon, haven't you ever wondered what it'd be like to be Robin?" BB questioned and Donna frowned as she had sometimes wondered, though she seriously doubted that dressing up like the boy wonder would help… "You know you want to try it!" BB stated while pointing towards Donna, Cyborg and Starfire looking at her from beside him. _'Somehow I know I'm going to regret this…'_ Donna thought to herself as she decided to at least humor her three new friends with their little game…

(Forest, Next-Day…)

Raven and Jinx both looked over the passed out Naruto worriedly. Clone-A had returned sometime the night before, only to find that Raven, Jinx, and Clone-B had moved to the Cave he'd found the day before due to the heavy rain. Having eventually found them, he had laid out Naruto before promptly passing out against a wall. However, when Raven and Jinx awoke to find Naruto passed out, they instantly went to his side. Thus they had been like this all morning while nearby to them, Clone-A was leaning back into a tree and groaning lightly, while Clone-B was cooking some breakfast for them.

"Is he going to be okay?" Jinx questioned of Clone-A and he opened one eye before rubbing his face with a tired sigh. Outside, rain was pouring down, completely drenching everything, while lightning flashed and thunder boomed. _'If the boss really is making that, he must be in one hell of a bad mood…'_ Clone-A mused to himself as he looked to the Rosette and sighed as she stared at him expectantly.

"I don't really know right now… but given how high our healing factor is, he should be just fine." The clone replied disinterestedly while Clone-B nodded his head in agreement with his partner.

"Then what should we do? He's passed out and I haven't been able to wake him up no matter how much I yell at him!" Jinx shouted at the blond clone, Clone-A grunting as he gave her a look while trying to figure out just how much Chakra he had left, and whether or not he was going to need to take a Soldier-Pill.

"Wait for him to wake up on his own. From what I can tell, he's probably going through our subconscious." Clone-A replied while closing his eyes, Clone-B rolling his eyes as Jinx frowned towards the clone. As they did that, Raven was looking at the oddity that was Naruto's bangs sticking up like mock horns, then frowned when she felt a strange energy flowing off of him and then into the air. Placing a hand onto the blond haired boy's head, Raven slowly opened one of his eyes; only to widen her own at what she saw.

Both the Iris and Sclera of his eye was an odd grey-violet in color, his pupil was dilated, with several rings forming a ripple pattern out from the center of his eye… Blinking for a moment, Raven then looked over to Jinx, frowning when she saw the girl was arguing with Clone-A about what they should do with Naruto when they were stuck in the middle of a storm. Rolling her eyes for a moment, Raven bit her lip as she looked back down at the eye for a moment. Sifting through her memories the girl tried to think if Naruto told her about any kind of eye thing similar to the one Naruto had now…

'_Let's see now, Naruto mentioned that there were "Three Great Doujutsu" in his world. First was the Sharingan has red irises with three Tomoe circling the dilated pupil. The "Byakugan" is a pale lavender color that takes up all but a small portion of the eye. And then there was…'_ Raven thought to herself, only for her eyes to widen as she released Naruto's eye and shivered visibly. "The Rinnegan…" The girl whispered to herself, the shouting between Jinx and Clone-A drowning it out while Clone-B shook his head, wondering when he became the straight man in the act.

Shaking her head for a moment, Raven frowned as she thought about what she knew about that "Doujutsu" from Naruto's stories. A, it allowed the use of Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Lightning, and even Yin-Yang Chakra. B, it allowed the use of abilities that could control gravity to some extent. C, it allowed the ability to see Chakra and invisible barriers. D, it gave them the ability to use the "Six Paths" Ninjutsu as well as the Outer Path Ninjutsu, though those really creped Raven out. E, it somehow allowed a person to control rain, much like the kind that was falling outside the cave at the moment…

'_My exact words when I heard of it, "It sounds scary". But when you look at them, they aren't scary, strange yes, kind of resemble a hypnotizing screen like Mad-Mod used or something similar, but they don't look especially scary… or maybe that's just because of my feelings for Naruto..'_ Raven thought to herself then frowned as she looked at the blond and contemplated how he could have possibly gained the fabled Doujutsu …

"Oi, foods done guys!" Clone-B suddenly called out with a grin and Raven frowned as she looked down at Naruto for a moment more before moving over to eat with Jinx casting worried glances over to the passed out blond.

"Can't you use one of your healing spells to help wake him up or something?" Jinx questioned of the violet-haired sorceress and Raven pinched the bridge of her nose before sighing.

"No. Because there is nothing physically wrong with him, I can't just use a spell and magically wake him up. I actually think he's in some kind of meditative trance right now. And if we disturb him, chances are we'll do more damage than good." Raven replied while taking her food from Clone-B and started to eat, an annoyed Jinx pouting.

"Then how do we know if he's really okay or not?" Jinx reminded and Clone-B decided to give his two cents as he handed the rosette her food.

"Well for one thing, if he were in any danger of dying we'd have already popped out of existence." Clone-B replied while Clone-A grunted his agreement, then reached into Naruto's equipment pouch and pulled out a Soldier-Pill.

"Oi… and I told myself I wouldn't eat these stupid things… but bottoms up." Clone-A grumbled while tossing the pill into his mouth, only to grimace while Raven leaned over to Clone-B.

"What did he just take?" She questioned of the blond clone and Clone-B grinned.

"It's called a Hyorogan or "Military Rations Pill" more commonly called a Soldier-Pill. It replenishes the Chakra of whoever takes it, as well as their stamina, and allows them to go without food for three days and nights." Clone-B replied, causing Jinx to gape at him in shock and Raven to widen her eyes before a frown crossed Clone-B's features. "Unfortunately, sometimes over extensive use of the pills also cause paranoia and minor bouts of insanity." Clone-B added and saw Clone-A grunt as it flipped back to its feet, breathing out a sigh of relief and glad to be back to full strength.

"So, does that mean that Sasuke guy ate a bunch of those things or what?" Jinx asked while looking to the blond and Clone-B snorted before snickering into his hand and grinning towards the girl. Pinching the bridge of his nose, Clone-A wondered about his partner for a moment before looking out to the continuing rain and frowning.

"Whatever, at least I can still train Jinx now… speaking of which, since it'd be a bit much to ask you to go out in this kind of weather, I'm teaching you how to cook today, Jinx." The clone decided with a nod of its head and both Jinx and Raven turned to look at the clone strangely.

"Any particular reason why?" Jinx questioned and Clone-A crossed his arms over his chest with a deep frown.

"Who in our group, and yes I mean Tartarus, besides myself, actually knows how to cook… and I mean something edible?" Clone-A questioned while remembering Blackfire and Duela's attempts at cooking… Blackfire's food was apparently "Good" when compared to Starfire's but that really wasn't saying much. And Gizmo had to dispose of Duela's cooking because it was some kind of a biohazard… how she managed that even Gizmo didn't know.

"Err… Dani." Jinx replied with a nervous smile and Clone-A frowned deeply while giving the rosette a look. The fact Dani could cook had actually been a surprise, but she was actually very good at doing so. She did mention something about her Bio-Dad having to learn to cook because his parents has actually brought food to life a couple times, but he'd decided to disregard that info… especially seeing as he couldn't believe ANYONE was capable of actually bringing food to life!

"My point exactly, which means your going to learn how to cook so me and Dani won't always have too!" He replied flatly and Raven smirked slightly, amused that only two people knew how to cook in all of Tartarus… "And you don't have any room to give Jinx that look Kara-Chan. You're just as bad a cook as Duela, and believe me when I say, that isn't a compliment." Clone-A stated and Raven winced while muttering under her breath for a moment, even as Clone-B snickered lightly while he ate his own meal…

(Back with Naruto…)

The blond was running his way to the final gate, narrowing his eyes when he saw how they'd been smashed down. Running passed the gate, Naruto quickly slid to a halt when he saw that the stairs ended, a platform standing tall in the distance. "Ugh… why me?" Naruto wondered before blinking when he felt a drop of water hit his face, looking up, Naruto then noticed dark storm clouds in the air as they poured a drenching torrent of rain down on top of him. _'Why is it raining in my head?'_ Naruto wondered for a moment before looking down to the bottomless drop, then up to the pillar in the distance.

"Now how am I going to…" Naruto started to ask when The Kusanagi decided to give him a little advice.

"_**When the true path cannot be seen, perhaps a leap of faith is needed."**_ The serpentine voice of the blade echoed out in Naruto's mind, the blond haired teen blinking before frowning deeply. _'Option A, listen to Kusanagi and possibly fall to my death… option B, don't jump, allow the wolf to get away, and never find out what's at the top of this stupid tower thing.'_ Naruto inwardly mused and frowned while taking a few steps back, then quickly jumped forward, only to land on a rising piece of earth that came rising up from the dark depths below.

"Okay, that was weird." Naruto mumbled before looking up and narrowing his eyes before running forward, more blocks rising to make a path for him as he approached the pillar in the center of the darkness. Upon coming to the pillar, Naruto ran onto its surface and slid to a halt. "Finally I make it to the top, I've already learned how to hate stairs thanks to this place." The blond muttered under his breath before looking around, raising a brow when he noticed how odd the platform looked.

At the center of it was a pool of water; a ripple pattern formed on the bottom of the pool while the rain caused dozens of ripples to form on its surface, around the pool of water is a ring of grassy terrain, four tall spikes also formed around the ring, while the Juubi no Okami was snarling angrily across from him. Smirking slightly, Naruto reached back and pulled the Kusanagi from his back as he glared towards the large, ten-tailed, bone-armor covered wolf. "Alright dog-breath, its time for you to go!" Naruto growled out while only half-acknowledging the spiked bone-armor that had formed over the length of his left arm.

The Juubi snarled lightly before roaring loudly, slamming a paw into the ground and causing numerous wooden planks to rise up to expand the platform around them, a swirl of lightning and wind spinning around them as it then crouched down low to the ground. Lunging forward, Naruto lashed out with the Kusanagi, swinging the blade at the Juubi only for it to flip over him and land on the water in the center of the platform. Growling low in its throat, the Juubi then lunged at Naruto instead, the blond sliding to a halt and narrowing his eyes as the Juubi jumped towards him.

Twisting its tails forward, the Juubi formed five of them into mock fingers, making a mock hand that reached out to grab hold of Naruto. Rolling out of the way of the hand, Naruto then held up his left arm as the Juubi lunged out of its tails and bit into the bone-armor. "Did you really think I'd fall for a stupid trick like that?" Naruto quipped and then ducked and twisted around several of the Juubi's tails lashing out at him. Twisting on his heel Naruto connected his foot to the side of Juubi's head, causing it to skip to the side, then jump up and right itself.

Shaking its head the Juubi roared out loudly before digging its paws into the ground and then opened its mouth. As it did, numerous balls of Raw-Chakra formed in the air, Naruto frowning as it then pulled them all together to form a large ball of purple Chakra. _**"KOKUHO!"**_ The beast exclaimed as hundreds of balls of energy started flying towards the blond haired teen. Growling lightly as the dozens of spheres headed his way, Naruto twisted and turned around them, then swung Kusanagi to start deflecting the orbs of Raw-Chakra before flipping back and landing in a low crouch.

"_**Dammit! Would you stop using me so recklessly? I may be indestructible but those Chakra-Bombs are still powerful!"**_ Kusanagi growled at the blond haired youth, Naruto merely rolling his eyes as he twisted the blade into a backhanded grip and shortened its blade down to Ninjatou length.

"My turn, dog-breath." Naruto growled out while forming a "Phase 2, Rasenshuriken" in one hand before quickly twisting around and throwing the Jutsu straight towards the Juubi. Seeing the incoming attack, the Juubi's eyes widened before it quickly it then crouched down and glared at Naruto.

"_**IZINAMI!"**_ The beast exclaimed while teleporting out of the way of the Rasenshuriken, causing it to explode with the outer wall of wind and lightning. The beast the reappeared above Naruto and fell down towards him with a roar. Cursing lightly, Naruto ducked out of the way as it landed and then snarled while swinging its Ten-Tails at the blond wildly. Grunting lightly, Naruto twisted and turned around the flailing tails of the Juubi before flipping back, evading a final swing from the Juubi's tails and formed a ball of lightning in his left hand.

"Eat this!" The blond cried out while hurling the ball of lightning at the Juubi, nailing it directly in the face. Landing on his feet, Naruto then lunged at the Juubi, swinging the Kusanagi and slicing cleanly through its armor. Twisting on his heel as he did, the blond kicked the Juubi in the muzzle before flipping back to avoid a swing from one of its tails. Landing on his feet, Naruto then channeled wind Chakra down to his feet and started to slide forward.

Twisting on his heel, Naruto sliced through the Juubi's face with the wind at his feet. Jumping back as the Juubi retaliated with a swing of one of its tails, the blond then lunged forward and kicked the Juubi with both feet. The attack sent the oversized wolf flying back into the air. Flipping in midair, the wolf landed on its feet and snarled while lunging at Naruto, only for the blond to smirk as he twisted into a spinning kick, making a miniature tornado throw the beast back one more. Grunting lightly as he spun around, Naruto dug the Kusanagi into the ground to stop himself and narrowed his eyes.

"_**That was new…"**_ Juubi noted and Naruto inwardly agreed with the beast as he watched the Juubi get back to its feet. _'Yeah, blame Dani and her little Kick-Blast, it gave me the idea for that attack and I kind of went overboard with it… though not only does it make me move faster, it also makes an effective offensive technique.'_ Naruto inwardly explained while keeping his eyes trained onto the Juubi as it then snarled before lifting up its head and breathed out a familiar dark mist.

"_**AMATSU MIKABOSHI!"**_ The Juubi exclaimed loudly, the dark mist covering everything and causing Darkness to blind Naruto. Cursing under his breath Naruto looked around, only for his eyes to widen when he could see the Juubi clear as day… no… he was seeing its chakra? _'What the hell?'_ Naruto wondered to himself even as the Juubi saw him and lunged at him.

"_**Figure it out later, that wolf looks hungry!"**_ The Kusanagi reminded and Naruto blinked before lunging out of the way of the Juubi while sliding to a halt. Lunging at the beast from behind, Naruto then twisted into a kick to the back of its head, sending it sprawling forward. Landing gracefully, the blond then twisted Kusanagi around and swung it overhead, lengthening the blade and bringing it down on top of the Juubi. However rather than slicing the beast open, it merely slammed down on top of it while cutting cleanly through its spinal armor.

Growling furiously, the Juubi wrapped its tails around the Kusanagi and slammed the blond into the water at the center of the platform while getting back up. Roaring out loudly, the beast then flipped back and howled into the air, causing the Darkness around them to slowly dissipate. Groaning lightly, Naruto shook his head, droplets of water falling from his hair when he then noticed his reflection in the water. His eyes widened upon seeing that a familiar pair of grey-violet eyes had replaced his normally azure orbs.

"What the hell…?" He questioned quietly while the Juubi formed another sphere of Raw-Chakra before itself. Shaking his head, Naruto then turned to the Juubi as it bit down on the condensed sphere, causing it to crouch low as its body dug into the ground. Cursing lightly, Naruto managed to stand up just as the Beast fired an "Imari" straight at him. Widening his eyes, Naruto quickly considered his options before looking to his hands and the incoming attack.

"_**Shit! Can't you do anything yourself?"**_ The Kusanagi demanded before growling lowly. _**"Listen and listen good, we only have one shot at this, first you need to adhere to the ground by pushing Chakra to the soles of your feet. Then, you'll have to feel the Chakra Flow through and channel it around you towards that blast. Then, you just hold on, and hope this works!"**_ Kusanagi ordered while Naruto shook his head and looked towards the incoming attack worriedly.

'_I really hope this works…'_ He thought to himself before forcing Chakra into his eyes, and then down into his hands. **"SHINRA TENSEI!"** The blond teen exclaimed, causing a circular field to form around him just as the Imari hit. Grinning evilly, the Juubi watched on, only for a snarl to form on its face when it saw a wide-eyed Naruto staring at a near invisible barrier of Gravity around himself. _'I really do have the Rinnegan… but how the hell do you know how to do that?'_ Naruto wondered of the Kusanagi even as the gravity shield faded and the Juubi lunged at him once more.

"_**Worry about that later, you really need to end this fight now!"**_ Kusanagi ordered angrily and Naruto mentally agreed with the sword, as he took ducked out of the way of the Juubi and looked around. _**"Think for a moment, you have the Rinnegan! Use it already!"**_ The sword ordered and Naruto twitched while sliding back and shaking his head, droplets of water falling from his hair as the rain continued to fall. Looking around, an idea suddenly came to Naruto and he concentrated on pushing Wind-Chakra down to his arms while the Juubi slid to a halt and lunged at him again.

Grinning slightly, Naruto raised his arms, a freezing wind flowing along his arms and freezing the falling rain into a pair of ice-blades. Lashing out with them, Naruto slammed his left arm into the side of the Juubi's head, and then twisted around and punched it with its other arm. _**"Excellent, use your environment to your advantage."**_ The Kusanagi stated while Naruto twisted into a kick, freezing the rain on his right foot and slamming it into the side of the Juubi's face yet again. Stumbling back, the beast shook its head while Naruto lunged at it and quickly jumped on its back.

"Alright, now we end this…" The blond haired boy growled only to grunt as the Juubi twisted and thrashed in an attempt to shake him off. Grunting lightly as he held onto the beast's mane with one hand, Naruto held up the Kusanagi before plunging it down into the Juubi's head. Gritting his teeth, Naruto then slammed it down, extending the blade of the Kusanagi and allowing it to rip downwards, straight through its head, and then out of its bottom jaw…

The Juubi stilled instantly and fell down, Naruto breathing out a sigh of relief before blinking as purple-black Chakra started flowing out of the Juubi's body. "Well that can't be good…" The blond haired teen noted to himself only to grunt as the Chakra made its way into his body. Groaning, Naruto fell down while the Juubi's body itself turned into purple-black Chakra, the barrier around them doing so as well, before flowing inside of the blond haired teen. Gritting his teeth and gripping his skull, the blond then cried out loudly, his body becoming surrounded by a black sphere of Chakra.

However as the sphere of Chakra vanished, it revealed the black and red-orange Juubi that Naruto's body had become. Blinking for a moment, even as the rain continued to pelt him, the new Okami shook itself off and then looked around in confusion. _'Okay, that felt really weird…'_ He noted before walking over to the pool of water and looked down at himself, only to look at what he'd turned into in shock. _'Crap! I'm a wolf! Wait, how do I change back?'_ Naruto wondered and heard the Kusanagi snicker to itself for a few moments.

"_**Be calm, master, I believe that all shall be well soon enough… however, while your in this form. Why not give a good little Victory Howl."**_ The Kusanagi offered and Naruto blinked at the "Victory Howl" suggestion before looking back to his altered appearance in the pool of water. _'Well… I guess it couldn't hurt anything.'_ Naruto admitted before spreading his paws and snarling in his throat as he threw his head back and let loose a loud howl into the air. Blinking, Naruto then felt the rain slowly stop, the clouds parting to reveal the moon from before hanging above, and twitched as Chakra flowed over his form, changing him back to his original shape soon after.

"Well… that was certainly interesting… if nothing else." Naruto mused to himself while looking up to the full moon when a thought came to him. _'The Juubi is said to have been sealed in the moon… is this supposed to mean something?'_ The blond wondered to himself while cupping his chin in thought, the Kusanagi chuckling lightly as he did.

"_**Indeed it was quite interesting master, though I must admit that I do hope you'll howl more often. You have such a lovely singing voice and it would be a shame if you didn't use it often."**_ The Kusanagi quipped dryly while Naruto shook his head and walked over to the edge of the platform and looked out into the darkness around it.

"You two can come out, I know your there…" Naruto stated flatly while crossing his arms over his chest, then turned around to see Itachi and Pein walking towards him. "I'd normally want to know how the hell Pein got in my head, but considering I just changed into a ten-tailed wolf not but a scant few seconds ago, I'm going to just skip it and ask what the hell is going on around here…" Naruto stated in a low tone, his Rinnegan eyes narrowed on the two and Pein walked forward, the shadows flowing away from his body…

"Please, my name is no longer Pein, call me, Nagato instead." Pein requested while Naruto couldn't help but notice that "Nagato" had the same fair skin and shade of deep crimson hair as his mother had. "Simply put, someone brought me here. But as for the Rinnegan, I believe that it's naturally yours." Nagato replied curtly and the blond haired boy looked over to where the Juubi had been only a few moments before.

"Alright, then what was up with that Juubi thing I just turned into?" Naruto questioned of the two flatly while tapping his foot lightly on the floor.

"That I can't truly explain, however that is not the point of this visit." Nagato replied while Itachi walked over to the side and sat down, closing his eyes and sighing as he waited for the two to finish. "From what I've managed to learn, it would seem a great threat is coming to this new world." Nagato states and Naruto rolled his eyes while wondering what else was new.

"If you mean Slade, well… Maybe I could use that Soul extraction thing you had on him without feeling bad… especially considering he stripped Kara-Chan down to near no clothes." Naruto mumbled to himself with a slight grin, though growled as he remembered the state he'd found the girl in. _'Can't grow back without a soul…'_ He mused to himself and Nagato shook his head for a moment before poking the blond's forehead to get his attention back on him.

"No, not the man in the mask. I sense something far more ominous at work. Slade could not have come back without some kind of help…" Nagato reminded the blond and Naruto frowned, remembering Raven's talks about her father, AKA Trigon the Terrible.

"Oh yeah, him…" Naruto grumbled out under his breath while Nagato walked over and stood beside of the blond haired teen. "So I take it this visit has something to do with Kara-Chan's old man?" Naruto asked the scarlet haired man with a raised brow and Nagato nodded his head silently.

"Indeed it does." Nagato replied and Naruto looked at the man for a moment before sighing tiredly.

"So, any words of wisdom or advice you want to give me?" Naruto asked the man and Nagato turned his head slightly, a familiar smile on his lips.

"Remember Jiraiya Sensei's teachings… as you did before. Remember the words that you told me, and that hatred can never bring peace." Nagato replied curtly and Naruto frowned darkly while glaring at the man.

"In case you've forgotten, between the two of us, you're the only one who ever forget Ero-Sennin's teachings… I never killed anyone unless I absolutely had too." Naruto reminded the scarlet haired man and Nagato nodded his head slowly.

"Perhaps, but I do have some other words of wisdom for you." Nagato then stated while walking forward and gave the blond haired teen a dead serious look. "Cherish your friends while you still can… because you never know when you could loose them." Nagato replied softly, his voice carrying the weight of his experience on that particular matter, and Naruto blinked before rolling his eyes.

"Eh, I already knew that. But speaking of friends, I really need to go make sure two haven't killed each other yet." Naruto replied with a smirk as he walked towards the pool of water, slowly fading away until he vanished without a trace once he reached it. Looking over to Nagato, Itachi then crossed his arms over his chest.

"I wonder if he can really manage to master the powers of the Rinnegan in time…" Itachi said mostly to himself and a Nagato looked over to the dead-Uchiha for only a moment before turning his back to him and looking out to the darkness.

"He need not master them all too quickly, Itachi, he has a power within him that is all his own now." Nagato replied curtly and Itachi looked over to the man for a moment before standing up and holding out one arm, a familiar raven appearing and landing on his outstretched arm.

"It seems we had someone witness Naruto-Kun's transformation, Leader-Sama." Itachi noted as the Raven vanished in a plume of smoke and Nagato silently looked to the moon hanging overhead.

"Really now?" Nagato questioned of the dark haired man and Itachi raised a brow while looking at his former leader.

"You don't sound surprised." Itachi noted and a slight smile worked its way onto Nagato's face as he looked back to the dark haired man.

"This world isn't small like our own is Itachi, but its people are far more numerous than ours ever were, the chances that no one would have seen him in that state are nearly slim to none." Nagato stated while Itachi walked over to the former Leader of Akatsuki and then looked out into the darkness.

"It would seem your time here is running out…" Itachi noted while looking to see Nagato's feet were fading out of existence.

"Yes… I'll soon return to my friends." Nagato replied before turning to look at Itachi with a serious expression on his face. "Do take care of Naruto Itachi, though he doesn't wish it, he will be needed for the coming war." Nagato ordered even as he faded away completely, leaving the Dead-Uchiha standing alone. Closing his eyes, Itachi turned on his heel and made his way towards the stairs down.

"As you wish, Leader-Sama." Itachi replied to no one before his body changed into a Murder of Crows that quickly flew down into the depths of the strange tower…

(Forest…)

Naruto's eyes slowly opened and the blond groaned while slowly sitting up and reached up to rub his head. "Oi… I really don't want to go and do that again…" Naruto mumbled to himself, only to grunt as Jinx pounced on him with a hug. However when she did, the clones got a clear view of Naruto's eyes, Clone-B gaping in shock while Clone-A frowned for a moment.

"Your okay!" The pink-haired girl said happily and Naruto grinned nervously, well aware of Raven's jealousy driven temper problems, Raven twitching to the side as she glared at the rosette. _'Don't kill her yet, she's just happy to see he's okay… if she holds on to him like that for more than three more seconds you can rip her spine out…'_ Raven thought to herself as her eyes started to turn red and Naruto wisely pushed Jinx off of himself to save her from the wrath of his girlfriend.

"Oi, Kara-Chan you're looking well. How has you training been going for you?" Naruto asked the violet-haired sorceress quickly and Raven sighed, and then stared at his Rinnegan eyes for a moment before answering.

"Fine." She offered dryly while Jinx grabbed Naruto's face and stared into his eyes for a moment. Growling when she did, Raven glared at the Rosette's back angrily, even as she tried to restrain herself lest she cause the cave to crush them all…

"What happened to your eyes?" Jinx asked the blond and Raven blinked her anger ebbing while Naruto winced slightly.

"Uh… that's kind of hard to explain Jinx… but suffice it to say, things are going to be a lot more interesting from now on." Naruto offered the girl and she pouted for a moment, only for Naruto to look to his clones and smirk. "Alright boys, how has their training been going thus far?" Naruto asked and Clone-A decided to give his report first and not worry about the Rinnegan eyes staring at him.

"Jinx has only made a little progress with tracking, clearly its not her thing, but she is better at cooking than most of the others." Clone-A reported in and Naruto nodded his head, glad that he or Dani wouldn't have to cook the majority of the team's meals when they didn't order out.

"Good. And how has Kara-Chan's training gone?" Naruto then asked and Clone-B shook his head, still gaping in shock at the Rinnegan eyes he was seeing.

"Uh… Minimal… she's really not built for physical work, but she's managed a few things." Clone-B replied and a frown crossed Naruto's lips as he wondered how he was going to fix that… "But, can I ask how you have the Rinnegan?" Clone-B then questioned and Jinx blinked for a moment when she heard THAT word.

"Samsara Eye? As in the cycle of reincarnation?" Jinx asked with an arched brow and both Naruto and his clones nodded their heads. "What do they do then?" Jinx asked and Naruto scratched his cheek for a moment while trying to think of a way to explain the Rinnegan that wouldn't freak the pinkette out.

"Besides reviving the dead, controlling gravity, rain, granting the ability to control the elements, create life, and use any of the "Jutsu" that exist in his world…?" Raven asked flatly while watching the two, Jinx gaping as she turned to Raven, Naruto giving her an annoyed look in response.

"You can't be serious." Jinx stated while looking at her violet-haired rival and Raven looked to Jinx and stared at her in the eyes.

"I'm dead serious." The girl replied and Jinx's head snapped around to Naruto as he muttered under his breath.

"You can revive the dead!" She demanded and Naruto rolled his eyes.

"No. I don't know how to do that kind of thing. And even without these eyes there were always Jutsu that reanimated corpses back home. Hell, Orochimaru used one of them on more than one occasion." Naruto responded, causing Jinx to gape for a moment before shivering violently when she remembered the snake like man.

"Then what about all the other stuff?" Jinx asked and Naruto sighed before looking to where it was raining outside and narrowed his eyes. Holding out a hand, Naruto felt some of his Chakra hanging in the air and pulled it all back into himself. When he did, the clouds slowly began to fade, the rain slowing, until finally they vanished completely and the blond looked back to a gaping Jinx. "Oh…" Jinx said demurely as she stared at him for a few more moments.

"Yeah, the rain thing is actually just my Chakra flowing into the air and then stimulating cloud growth. Not sure how some actually got into the air but at least I know that trick isn't too hard to use now." Naruto admitted while Clone-A grunted a Mendokuse under his breath and Clone-B shivered for a moment. "Anyways, are you going to be okay Jinx?" Naruto then asked his best female friend with a worried look and she slowly blinked her eyes before nodding her head and grinning nervously.

"Yeah uh… well, you certainly live up to the name "Tempest" now, huh." Jinx noted with a nervous chuckle and Naruto nodded his head in agreement with her. "So, what do we do now?" She then asked and Naruto considered that for a moment before looking to his hands with a frown.

"The clones are going to keep training you two. I've got to train to use the Rinnegan properly… and preferably somewhere FAR away from anyone I might hurt as I do." Naruto replied with a nervous grin, Raven inwardly agreeing as she could only guess how much damage learning to properly control Gravity was going to cause him.

"Are you sure Temp? I mean, you could always help me or Raven with our training…" Jinx reminded and the blond haired Ex-Shinobi nodded his head before crossing his arms.

"Yes I could, but I came out here to train as well." Naruto reminded while getting back to his feet and looked to Clone A and B and grinned. "Keep up the good work boys, I'll see you guys again in a few days." Naruto told the clones as he walked out of the cave and then sighed while summoning the Kusanagi, grunting when it ripped through the flesh of his hand. "Dammit, why does that still hurt?" Naruto wondered aloud and heard Kusanagi chuckle slightly for a moment.

"Oh shut up, now then, we need to talk about how you know how to use the Rinnegan's abilities and Jutsu…" Naruto growled at the sword as he walked into the forest, the Kusanagi groaning as he did so…

(Days Later…)

A pizza rests on the table of the Teen-Titans kitchen when someone uses one of Nightwing's old Robin Birdarangs to cut out a slice. "Do you desire another slice of the cheese, Robin?" Starfire questioned with a smile on her face, still dressed up like Robin as she hands the slice of pizza over to BB.

"Don't mind if I do, Robin." BB replies while holding out a plate for Starfire to put the pizza on. He then pulled a Bo-Staff from his belt and allowed it to flow out before pushing the box of Pizza across the table towards Cyborg. "Care for another one, Robin?" BB asked the Titanium teen with a raised brow and his friend started to rub his hands together with a grin.

"Don't mind if I do, Robin." The Titanium teen replied while taking out the rest of the Pizza and started munching on it. Next to the titanium teen is Kid-Flash, and the speedster is snickering to himself as he watches the three act as "Robin". Nearby is a familiar little slug named Silky, Starfire's pet, who has been dressed up in a tiny cape and even a mask of its own…

"I still can't believe they got you to dress up too… I mean c'mon, you of all people!" Kid-Flash snickered out to Donna as she sat next to Kid-Flash, feet propped up on the table and arms behind the sofa. Strangely, the Amazon is also dressed in Robin's clothes, however unlike the others she seems to fill the old costume out almost perfectly.

"You know Robins…" Donna started while Kid-Flash shook his head and leaned back with a smirk when he saw someone walking up behind them. "I have to admit the mask makes me feel… cool." Donna said with a slight blush, a familiar teen in black and blue standing behind the Amazon causing the other Titans to pale. "What?" Donna asked before grimacing at the wide grin on Kid-Flashes face, turned around, and then ducked over to the others when she saw Nightwing.

Hiding behind the others and looking at Nightwing with wide eyes, expecting him to yell, she and the other Titans are confused when the black clad teen smiles. "Hey pizza, sweet." The teen said while moving over the back of the sofa to sit down and grabbed a slice of pizza. Taking a bite out of the pizza, and savoring the looks on his friends' faces for a moment, Nightwing then swallows as he gives them an amused look. "You know, Robin's. The mask makes me feel cool too." Nightwing admits while taking another bite out of his pizza, causing Kid-Flash to fall over laughing while the others merely fell over in shock.

"Do I even want to know why we have a Robin convention going on in our living room?" Raven asked as she walked into the room, reading a book with a frown on her face. Grinning to himself, Kid-Flash sat up and looked to the returning grey-skinned girl.

"Yo Raven, man you missed out! Everyone was dressed up like "Robin" over here and even started playing with all his old stuff!" Kid-Flash said while pointing his thumb over to Nightwing as he continued to eat his pizza, Raven shaking her head as she walked over and sat down with her book. Seeing the girl sit down, Nightwing smirked while leaning back in his seat and propping his feet up on the table.

"So guys, did anything interesting happen around here while I was gone?" Nightwing questioned of his two friends and a sly smirk crossed Raven's features as she continued to read her book silently.

"No… not really." Raven replied as she leaned back in her seat, lightly tapping one of the gems on her Chain-Belt where Naruto had placed a Hiraishin seal before they had returned to the city…

TBC…


	53. The Prophecy

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

**Chapter 51**: **The Prophecy**…

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

(Jump-City…)

In Titans-Tower, a screen shows a replay of the Titans last battle with the newly resurrected Slade. It shows Raven running up a flight of stairs, the familiar area caught ablaze by Slade's new powers, as a large cylinder falls to the ground. "It has begun." Slade's voice drones out in a dull-monotone, the S shaped rune on his forehead blazing a brilliant crimson color…

"Freeze!" Nightwing orders while looking to the screen, arms crossed over his chest and an intent look on his face, BB sighing as he does so with a bored look on his face. "Rewind." Nightwing then orders while Beast-Boy tiredly does so, still very clearly bored with what he's being ordered to do for the former Boy-Wonder…

"Dude we've been looking at this thing all day. I'm telling you there's nothing else there." BB notes while turning around to Nightwing while planting his right fist against his cheek.

"There has to be, play it again." Nightwing orders and a tired BB sighed once more while playing the scene yet again, for what felt like the millionth time.

"Dude, would this have anything to do with the fact the JLU are helping us that's got you so bent out of shape?" BB asked of the former-boy-wonder, thus gained an annoyed glare from his leader.

"Shut up and play it again." Nightwing ordered with a slight twitch of his brow and BB rolled his eyes while turning back to the TV.

"Slade kicks butt, take three hundred and four…" BB muttered as he did as ordered, languidly sitting on the Sofa as Nightwing watched the screen like a hawk. Meanwhile, Jason Blood and Cyborg walked into the room, Jason holding a book while Cyborg frowned slightly.

"Cyborg, anything?" Nightwing questioned without turning around and Cy let out a slight sigh while walking over to his leader.

"Sort of, I cross-referenced that symbol with every data-base on the planet…" Cyborg replied and Nightwing narrowed his eyes even as Jason blood walked to the side and started work on a computer terminal.

"And?" Nightwing questioned and Cyborg clicked his tongue.

"Well… I couldn't find anything. No matches, no mentions, it was as if it didn't exist… Jason here on the other hand." Cyborg admitted while motioning over to the scarlet haired man as he brought a large version of the symbol on the screen, Nightwing frowning as he did so.

"The Symbol belongs to the Order of Scath, a cult of worshipers whose only goal is to break open a portal to allow their master entrance into our world." Jason replied while Cyborg and Nightwing grimaced visibly.

"Dude, what's a freaky demonic cult want with Raven?" BB wondered aloud and Cyborg looked to Nightwing who frowned as they both had a few ideas on that matter…

"New powers, cryptic threats, targeting Raven, and working with a demonic cult, Slades playing a whole new game now." Nightwing noted to himself as he walked closer to the screen and glared at the vision of Slade. "Mr. Blood, do you have anymore information on the cult or its master we can use?" Nightwing questioned and Jason frowned for a few moments, deciding it was Raven's place to tell them her involvement to the master of the cult, not his…

"Yes. The Order of Scath has a sister group known as the "Church of Blood" lead by a man you've had encounters with in the past…" Jason replied while lacing his fingers together and a scowl crossed Cyborgs face.

"Brother Blood!" The Titanium Teen growled out and Jason nodded his head silently while staring intently at the screen of the terminal he was using.

"Correct. Brother-Blood's mind-control powers are common among the leaders of the Church of Blood, but given how he hasn't been aiding Slade I believe he felt his powers were all he needed and wished to try to take control of the world on his own." Jason replied and Cyborg frowned, Nightwing merely narrowing his eyes as he looked towards the still of Slade.

"Dude this is like so out of our league, we are supposed to take on whack-jobs in costumes, not psycho cultists!" BB exclaimed while throwing his arms into the air and Cyborg gave the green furred Jester a look.

"Yeah well unfortunately this fell into our lap, like it or not Slade's our bad-guy, and not to mention the fact Raven's the one in danger this time around…" Cyborg reminded the green teen and he slowly nodded his head in agreement with his metal friend while Jason narrowed his eyes.

"Something wrong Mr. Blood?" Nightwing asked the crimson haired man and watched as he closed his eyes and concentrated intently. Contrary to popular belief, Night was actually glad to have Jason around right about now. It was only Batman he couldn't stand to work with anymore. He knew Jason because he was an ally of Batman's in Gotham, thus they would work together at times.

"Yes… I sense that Raven is most distressed by something… I need to get to work on some wards around your tower." Jason replied before getting up and making his way out of OPS just as Starfire, Donna, and Kid-Flash walked in. Kid-Flash got his cast off a few days earlier, thanks mostly to Raven using her healing spells, but also with an herbal potion or two Donna was able to make.

"Hello friends, have you found any news on Slade or his recent activities?" Starfire asked as she flew into the room, Kid-Flash zipping over to the sofa and sitting down with his arms behind his neck.

"Yeah, like what Slade wants?" KF questioned and Donna shook her head while sitting next to the red haired teen.

"Not really. Whatever he wants has to do with a cult known as the Order of Scath. I'm going to try and look them up on the Internet, and maybe I'll find out what their master wants with Raven…" Nightwing replied before walking out of the room, leaving the others behind while BB suddenly frowned in thought before snapping his fingers.

"Hey dudes, you guys know how Raven can teleport and use magic spells and such?" BB asked and got nods from his friends. "Well, what if this cult wants Raven to like open up a portal for that Skath thing to come through or something?" BB offered the others, only for Cyborg to frown in thought before nodding his head.

"Yeah… that does make some sense… and I don't suppose running the idea by Mr. Blood wouldn't hurt anything." Cyborg admitted and a grin crossed BB's face at the compliment. "But, I do have one question." Cy then continued and BB blinked for a moment as the Titanium teen pointed at him accusingly. "Who the hell are you and what have you done with Beast-Boy!" He demanded, getting laughs from Kid-Flash while the girls snickered, BB grumbling under his breath…

(Tartarus HQ…)

"Seriously Gizmo, why do you keep making new suits for me?" Naruto asked flatly while sitting in Gizmo's workshop, a pair of sunglasses covering his new eyes.

"Maybe because this is the final model I'll be making for years to come!" Gizmo replied with a deep frown on his face and Naruto couldn't help but doubt that even as Gizmo cleared his throat. However before the tiny-terror could continue, Duela popped her head into the doorway, dressed in her "Joker's Daughter" outfit once more.

"Hey! What are you guys doing?" Duela asked from the doorway, causing Naruto and Gizmo both to grimace when she does so.

"Nothing that involves you Duela." Gizmo shouted at the girl while Naruto rolled his eyes as the clown girl grinned cheekily.

"Oh really? I beg to differ!" Duela stated while sashaying into the room, Gizmo groaning while holding his face in his hands. Moving around Naruto, Duela then sat down on the table next to Gizmo with a twinkle in her violet eyes. "So then, what's going on that's so important pip-squeak?" Duela asked the bald midget while leaning over next to him, Naruto frowning as his Rinnegan eyes spotted a green blob hovering above them.

"Dani get down from there…" Naruto ordered flatly, causing both Duela and Gizmo to look at him before the Ghostling girl appeared with a pout. Dani is currently in her "Hybrid" form, as apparently her full-human half no longer existed, her original human form had adopted some of her Ghostly features into itself.

Her long black hair is held back by a blue band and has a small white streak in it, her eyes were odd, one being blue the other a dark green color, her skin is the fair color of her human form, and her eyes have dark rings forming around them. She is wearing a red beanie, a black midriff bearing Tank-top with a blue swirl on the front, a pair of red shorts, a blue zip-up hoodie that she's left open, a pair of fingerless black gloves, black socks and blue hi-top sneakers…

"How do you keep spotting me? I can't even turn invisible to sneak up on you anymore!" Dani complained while crossing her arms over her chest, Naruto rolling his eyes as he smirked towards his apprentice.

"My eyes see more now, than you'd ever expect…" The blond haired teen replied while Dani grumbled under her breath and Gizmo scowled deeply.

"Whatever! Now then I want you both to get out of here!" Gizmo ordered only for Duela and Dani to look to one another, then to Gizmo, before both began to shake their heads. Grumbling under his breath, Gizmo slapped his face while Naruto scratched his chin and looked at the Tiny-Terror.

"C'mon Giz, it's not like it has to be a secret from the others… it's not like they won't find out about it eventually." Naruto reminds and both Duela and Dani grin as the Tiny-Terror twitched and then muttered something under his breath.

"Fine, the bitches can stay…" Gizmo finally aloud, both Duela and Dani glaring at him for what he called them. Walking over to the side, Gizmo then stopped before something similar to a locker, only with two doors on it and clearly his throat. "Now then, Ladies and Gentleman. Without further ado, I give you the Omega X-Suit!" Gizmo then stated while pressing a button at the side of the locker, causing a pair of doors to slide open and reveal the new suit at last.

"What the…" Naruto mumbled while leaning forward, one eyebrow raised when he saw this newest version of his suit.

This suit was unlike the others, because at the moment it was totally black, the eyes a dull grey color, down the length of the spine and attached to the back of the helmet was a series of ash-grey spinal plates, along the length of either forearm were three separated metal plates, obviously replacing his old gauntlets, with metal plates on the backs of the fists, and white segmented plates on the fingers. The legs of the suit were also black, only with three separated grey plates along the shins replacing greaves, metal lining the soles of the feet, and of course the ash-grey belt that seemed to be made up of numerous plates as well, each separate from one another with a circular buckle.

"Um… if he's supposed to be "Red-X" where are the X's… or the red for that matter?" Duela asked and Gizmo twitched before reaching over and pressed two buttons on the buckle, activating the suit. Instantly, a red X appeared on the mask the two lower arms curving down over the eyes of the suit, the jagged and fanged teeth of the invisible skull silhouetted by red, another red X appearing on the chest, one on either palm of the suit, and the final two plates appearing over the tops of the feet, the crimson glow from them was noticeably dull, Naruto noticing that they didn't even seem to give off any kind of light…

"Cool!" Dani said with a grin on her face while Gizmo smirked at the surprised look on Duela's face.

"As you can see, I did a radical overhaul on the suits overall design, though kept it similar to the original. I call it an Omega-X-Suit because Omega represents "The End", and I'm hoping I'll never have to make another of these suits for you." Gizmo said before crossing his arms over his chest with a smirk still across his face. Blinking for a moment, Naruto got up and walked over to the suit, looking around it with a slim frown across his lips when he couldn't see any seams on it…

"Okay… then how do I put it on? I don't see any seams on this one." Naruto questioned of Gizmo and the bald midget twitched for a moment before muttering under his breath. Sighing for a moment, Gizmo pushed Naruto out of the way before he twisted the circular buckle of the suit, causing several latches to open while he pressed on the front of the buckle, opening the belt as the suit's metal plates started coming apart to reveal the inside. The Helmet / mask of the suit also came undone, and the plates that made up the front of the mask / helmet slid back…

"Whoa, that's new." Naruto said aloud and Gizmo smirked towards the leader of Tartarus.

"Yeah, now then, the inner portion of the suit is made up of metal plates. They are as durable as Titanium, yet three times lighter." Gizmo explained while tapping on the metal plates inside of the suit.

"Hey, what happened to the moving Jaw it used to have?" Dani suddenly asked and Gizmo twitched while glaring at the girl for a moment, and then decided not to ask how she knew about that.

"Technically, it was never supposed to have a movable jaw, that was actually a malfunction with the locking mechanisms and Vocal-Synthesizer causing vibrations that made it look like it was moving on its own. But anyways I did manage to fix that little problem yesterday." Gizmo replied flatly and Dani blinked before slowly nodding her head as Gizmo then pointed back to the suit. "Now then, the outer portion of the suit is comprised of Synthetic Nano-Fibers I developed. They not only offer some extra protection, but also repair themselves by using your Chakra." Gizmo then added with a smirk as Naruto whistled lightly while looking at the suit for a moment.

"Wait, how is it so thin if it's made of both Metal and Synthetic Fibers?" Duela asked while Dani floated over to the suit and felt how thin it was, being about as thick as Blackfire's own armor, which was only about as thick as normal cloth.

"Because I used the same Alien metal Blackfire's new suit is made out of. Therefore the armor's metal is not only thin as freaking paper, but also malleable, and as such it's extremely flexible while also retaining the overall durability of a metal. Unlike Temp however, Blackie wanted her armor to look the same as her usual armor, so I didn't have to overhaul the design for her suit." Gizmo replied while Naruto finished looking over the suit, pulling his head back and rubbing his chin for a moment.

"Not bad, you've actually managed to outdo yourself this time Giz. Anything else I should know about this thing, before I take it out for a test-run?" Naruto asked and Gizmo took a thoughtful expression for a moment before nodding his head.

"Yeah, this puppy is also designed with a built in self-defense system. If anyone tries to put it on but you, they're going to be in for one hell of a surprise. The Suit has my newest invention, a "Chakra-Converter" equipped into the belt, which basically molds your Chakra into electricity that can shock anyone trying to use it. And it also functions when someone tries to take off your mask. Oh, and its got an internal temperature control, no matter where you go, you'll be fine up until the extremes, like a volcano or even outer space." Gizmo replied while crossing his arms over his chest as Naruto looked over the inside of the suit for a moment, lingering on the back.

"What're these things along the back of the suit, Giz?" The blond asked of his tiny-friend and Gizmo mentally grumbled about making an instruction manual for future suits or devices he made for Naruto.

"Those are scanners that monitor your brain activity and also allow the use of the Neural Controller. It not only increases response time, but the suit will no longer need you to twitch or move your fingers to use its various gadgets and weapons. Or for the short version, all you have to do is think it and it'll happen." Gizmo explained to the blond haired teen as he continued to look over the all black / ash-grey suit. "Now if your done asking questions, put it on so you can give this baby a test run!" Gizmo ordered and Naruto grinned as he grabbed the suit, momentarily surprised by just how light it was considering it was armored this time, and then rushed into a nearby room…

(Titans Tower…)

It is night-time at Titans-Tower, yet none of the Titans are able to find sleep, though her friends are looking to discover meanings in a video, the Dark Titan herself rests within her room. Raven sits cross legged while floating in the air among a great deal of books in her room, and four of them floating around her, while a familiar glowing S shaped rune over the gemstone at her forehead. A light sweat coats the girl's brow as she tries to calm herself, a nightmare from Slade having completely shot any composure she might have had. "It's my destiny, there has to be a way to change it. I know there is." Raven states to herself while waving a hand, black energy forming over two of the books and causing them to flip rapidly.

"I just need a little help finding it…" Raven admitted to herself as she looked at each book only to linger on the familiar book showing the Kyuubi. _'From what Naruto told me, Kyuubi is at only half it's original power because his father sealed the other half inside himself with help from the "Shinigami"… my father is a High-A class demon, and Kyuubi is a Demon Lord, thus an S-Class demon, but with the missing portion of his power he'd only measure to be about a B to mid A class demon at best… not only that but Kyuubi is still only a Mid-level S-Class at its strongest. The "Juubi" being a High S-Class and almost on par with The Strongest Demon-Lord, Agni of Hellfire himself.'_ Raven noted to herself silently while biting her lip and crossing her arms over her chest.

'_Kyuubi is still at the very least on par with my father even with the drain. Maybe Naruto and I could convince it to help us destroy him…'_ Raven thought to herself before frowning as she thought of the numerous ways that would backfire. _'Namely it demanding its freedom and killing Naruto…'_ She thought to herself with a frown, even with the Uzumaki Life-Span, she doubted that Naruto could survive without the Kyuubi's Chakra, it'd been inside of him since birth, tearing it out of him would obviously put a strain on the "Chakra-Coils" he had inside of him.

Flipping a few pages away from the Fifth lord of hell she stopped at a picture of the Shinigami and raised a brow. While this book was from Azarath, it was clear to her that they had had encounters with Naruto's people as it detailed all of the different beasts in their lands quite well. However, from his stories, Raven gained further knowledge that all but the Nine Bijuu and the Zero-Tailed Beast or as Naruto called it the "Reibi no Menhiru" had been destroyed by the Rikudo-Sennin nearly a thousand years ago… at least according to legend that is.

Shaking her head, Raven flipped the four books around, replacing the two behind her with the two in front of her. She then pointed at the two books in front of her and made them flip through several pages before her eyes widened as they stopped at a familiar S shaped rune and gasped. "No!" She said to herself before taking hold of the book, the other three books falling to the ground as she did. "This has to be wrong." She told herself disbelievingly before looking to her door when she heard someone knocking. Closing the book and holding it to her chest Raven awaited someone to speak and mentally sighed in relief when she heard Nightwing's voice.

"Uh, any luck finding the symbol?" The former Boy Wonder questioned and Raven quickly used her powers to slip the book under her bed. Taking a quick calming breath the violet-haired girl then pulled her hood up to shadow her face and hide the symbol on her brow while walking over to her door.

"No. It's not in any of my books." Raven says shakily as she moves over to the door and mentally twitches when Nightwing opens it and looks at her worriedly. _'I thought we had a discussion about opening my door without my permission after Beast-Boy caught me after I'd just taken a shower…'_ Raven thought to herself with a slight twitch of her brow, wondering if she'd have to do to Nightwing what she did to Beast-Boy, which was let him spend a day in a Nightmare world of infinite horror…

"Are you okay Raven? You look a little… well… paler." Nightwing noticed and Raven mentally sighed, though given her earlier nightmare she could understand why she might look paler than normal… didn't mean she liked the thought.

"It's nothing, I just haven't been able to meditate lately that's all." The violet-eyed sorceress replied while placing a hand on the edge of her door.

"Look, I know Slade scared you, but we'll find out why he was after you." Nightwing told the girl seriously and Raven looked straight at the Boy Wonder for a brief moment before answering.

"Slade doesn't concern me." She stated only to look up as the Titans-Alarm went off and Starfire's voice echoed across the COM system.

"Friends, come quickly." The alien princess beckoned and Nightwing instantly ran off, Raven staying at her doorway for only a moment before following after her masked leader silently…

(JLU Watchtower…)

Batman sits at a computer with a deep frown, Green Lantern and Dr. Fate sitting to either side of the Dark-Knight. Batman had decided to move up to the watchtower because of Slade's unwanted presence in the Batcave earlier. "Why would Slade willingly give you a Ring of Azar? He must know that we are going to attempt to stop Trigon's assent to power." Dr. Fate wondered aloud while looking at the ring, making sure it wasn't cursed or trapped in some way…

"Maybe he knows that, and it's why he gave it to me." Batman replied flatly while looking over his compiled information.

"So he's planning on double-crossing Trigon? Doesn't sound like Deathstroke to put his neck on the line for others…" John Steward noted with a frown on his face and Batman narrowed his eyes on the screen.

"No he's not. But this isn't just others, not only is he in danger, but so is his son and daughter should Trigon succeed." Batman reminds, causing Dr. Fate to shake his head and chuckle lightly in his throat.

"Ah, so he can be a father after all…" Dr. Fate mused while crossing his arms as Batman continued to compile information, and then stopped. As he did, John narrowed his eyes and looked over what they had managed to compile with a frown.

"Alright, what we know so far is that Trigon has resurrected Deathstroke to do his dirty work on earth until he's finally free. Most likely old Red-Butt will then do away with Deathstroke completely, feeling he's useless to him by that point." John started to say while pointing to a still of Slade with an S shaped rune on his forehead.

"Trigon also plans on using Raven as the portal to enter our world." Batman continued for the Green-Lantern, Dr. Fate nodding his head before continuing where the Dark-Knight left off while showing a still of Raven with numerous crimson runes adorning the majority of her body.

"Add onto that, the cultists from the Order of Scath prepared for, and quite possibly intended to die in order to power the portal that would bridge the gap between our world and Trigon's prison." Dr. Fate supplied while Batman brought up pictures of the numerous Runes he and Jason Blood had found in the tunnels underneath Jump-City.

"Also The Ravager murdered the numerous members of The Order of Scath and took their rings of Azar for a still unknown reason." John reminds pointedly and both Batman and Dr. Fate nod their heads.

"Don't forget that a Demonic-Barrier was also set up by an unknown Eastern-Demon at the old Jump-City Library. The Demon also appears to be aiding Trigon in his attempt to break into our world. Most likely it's a partnership, with the Eastern Demon seeking entrance into our world as well, or possibly something else of equal value to it…" Batman added while Dr. Fate nodded his head with a frown across his face, hidden beneath his golden helmet.

"And finally, from what Jason managed to explain to me, a strange aura of some kind that attempted to either constrain or outright destroy anything demonic appeared in the Jump-City forest very recently. And, from what I could see, it was being generated by a strange wolf like beast…" Dr. Fate added to the list of facts while leaving out whom he believed the beast might've really been.

"All these happenings lead only to one conclusion…" Batman noted while lacing his fingers together and staring at the screen silently.

"And that is?" The Green Lantern questioned with a raised brow and Batman turned to the man with a deep frown.

"We're running out of time." Batman replied and Green Lantern nodded his head in agreement with the Dark-Knight while Dr. Fate rubbed his chin.

"Indeed, and we have still yet to learn anything useful about Trigon's mysterious compatriot. Should it be a Demon of above average strength, not only will we not be able to prepare, but I fear we may meet our end against the both of them together." Dr. Fate added and Batman nodded his head with a deep frown on his face, going over the vast list of different things that needed to be done.

"All we know for a fact is it's a fire demon, even it being an eastern demon is up for debate. While western demons aren't as known for it, they still must have the ability to use a Demonic-Barrier." Batman reminds and Dr. Fate agreed with the Dark-Knight, while not known for it, he was aware of at least a few western-demons who could use demonic barriers and the like…

"You know, we've been talking about solutions all night but forgot one thing." John noted and both Batman and Dr. Fate turned to the Green-Lantern as he leaned forward with his arms still crossed over his chest. "That Naruto kid Raven's dating, far as I'm concerned, he's connected to this situation as much as anyone." Green-Lantern reminded the two and Batman frowned deeply while quickly bringing up a surprisingly short file on the mentioned blond.

As of now, all they knew was he was trained in some form of Ninjutsu and was classified as a Shinobi, he was a "Sage" of some kind where he was from, he also had wind / lightning based elemental attacks, had several attacks that were made of pure energy, could increase his strength speed durability or even his agility at will, wielded the Legendary Kusanagi no Tsurugi itself, has an ongoing relationship with Raven of the Teen Titans, and seemed to currently be some kind of Mercenary.

"I must admit he did prove capable enough in fighting Slade and protecting Raven for a short while." Dr. Fate replied and Batman frowned once more while looking to the information he had on the boy.

"Perhaps… but he's also a wild-card. He only gets himself involved when he feels its absolutely necessary." Batman reminds the two while gazing coolly at the file and Dr. Fate frowned in thought for a moment.

"True, but he's also shown himself to almost always come to Raven's aid when she needs it. I highly doubt he'd refuse to aid her in this kind of situation." Dr. Fate reminds the dark-knight and Batman grudgingly agrees with him before closing his eyes as he considers his options…

"He would be useful if we actually have to outright fight Trigon and his new buddy. Hell, if nothing else he might just least level the playing field a little." Green-Lantern noted and Batman let out a slight sigh before rising up from his seat.

"Agreed." Batman finally relented while turning around with a swish of his cake to face the two men. "However we don't know where to find him. Nor do the Titans. Whenever he makes an appearance, he always does so of his own accord." Batman reminds the other heroes flatly and both nodded their heads slowly. Before the conversation could continue further, Wonder Woman suddenly burst into the room and rushed over to the three.

"Jump-City is under attack, and Deathstroke has been spotted in the area." Wonder-Woman stated and Batman narrowed his eyes before looking to John, the man nodding his head before all three looked over to Dr. Fate.

"You three go on, I'm going to look into a few things here…" Dr. Fate replied and Batman silently nodded his head before he, John and Diana made their way to the transport room. Rubbing his chin in thought, Dr. Fate then sat down at the seat Batman had been in prior and began to look into some Japanese Mythology. Not only to find their rogue demon, but also to confirm a growing theory he had on the truth behind the many "Shinobi" of Naruto's world…

(Tartarus HQ…)

Naruto stood in the New "Omega-X-Suit" a pair of straps attached to his twin Ninjatou added onto it. _'Man, this thing feels weird…'_ Naruto noted to himself while flexing his fingers in the suit, then stretched out his limbs. Finished with that, the blond haired teen then crossed his arms and looked upwards. "Alright Giz, start up the simulation so I can try this baby out already." Naruto ordered and smirked at the odd dark sounding voice the new Vocal-Synthesizer made.

"Alright alright, keep your panties on. First I should mention this baby has a HUD like the last few. The HUD not only monitors your current location, but also your energy levels, physical health, and mental state all in real time." Gizmo shouted over a COM and Naruto twitched at the crack as the Tiny-Terror activated the room. As he did, Naruto found himself standing in a vast forest, a city appearing in the distance. "Also, you really don't need your Ninjatou for this…" Gizmo stated and Naruto frowned before crossing his arms over his chest.

"Hey, I like using the Kusanagi as much as the next guy, but I am not summoning it when it has to tear its way through my hand, which is covered by armor for the moment." Naruto retorted and Gizmo muttered something under his breath before then clearing his throat.

"Not what I meant but whatever… Now then, the first feature I need to mention is that this suit has three different modes. Basic, Stealth, and Assault." Gizmo started to explain over the intercom, Naruto raising a brow as he does so.

"Three modes? And why would I even need an assault mode in the first place, why not just make an all around mode?" Naruto asked the tiny-terror and Gizmo slapped his face before grumbling under his breath about annoying blonds.

"First of all, with all the hell you've put yourself through recently I felt a heavy-armored setting was prudent. Also Temp, its one damn suit, it's still all-purpose, but it has three settings because the armor hardens or softens based on whichever setting your using. If you turn on Assault, more energy is pumped into the armor, hardening it, if its on Stealth, less is to make it more flexible, with the Basic setting being in between those two." Gizmo explained with a frown on his face and Naruto blinked before thinking back to the past few fights he'd had in the X-Suit. A Plant-invasion that had managed to span the entire city, heading to Gotham, fighting an armor of The Ravager's killer robots…

"Uh, yeah, I guess I could always use more armor…" Naruto admitted while rubbing the back of his neck as Gizmo nodded his head.

"Now then, Temp, look down to your belt-buckle." Gizmo ordered and Naruto frowned before doing as told, noting it had an Ash-grey button on the top and bottom, and the entire front of it was the button that would release the clasps of his suit. "Alright, unlike your weapons, your suits settings will only change if you press the buttons on your belt-buckle. Just like how the locking mechanism is integrated into the buckle, the suits setting will shift based on which button you use. The top button activates the Stealth setting, which your currently in. The lower one activates Assault. And pressing them both activates Basic." Gizmo explained to the blond haired teen and then cleared his throat as Naruto looked to the mentioned buttons.

"Alright Temp, activate the Stealth feature first." Gizmo then ordered and Naruto rolled his eyes before pressing the required switch, and then blinked as the ash-grey plates that covered his arms and shins slipped under the black Nano-Fibers. Blinking for a moment, Naruto then pulled out one of his swords and looked at his mask, raising a brow when he saw his mask and suit were now completely black. Looking over his form, Naruto then realized this version was solid black, save only for the belt buckle at the center of his waist.

"Now as you can see, Stealth mode turns the suit black and the Armored Plates of Basic-Mode fold down into the Underlay of the suit, this mode also has a sound-dampening feature, making all your footsteps completely silent. It also has a Stealth Camouflage feature that will completely conceal you from vision. However, only the Nano-Fiber overlay will actually become invisible, any of your normal armor will remain completely visible, hence this mode is to optimize the stealth features of your suit." Gizmo explained while Naruto sheathed his Ninjatou and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Now try the Assault mode." Gizmo ordered and Naruto pressed the button, blinking as even more plates of metal folded out from his suit, completely covering his forearms and shins / calves in ash-grey metal, another plate forming over his heel and the front of his toes. Afterwards, several plates that resembled a rib cage folded up over his chest, covering most of the Red-X that had been on his chest, and a metal plate folded out over each of his upper-arms, three forming over the sides of his thighs. Several plates also folded out of the spinal-plates of his suit to cover more of his back, and even more formed into the classic jaw-less Skull with an X cut out of it over his face.

Blinking for a moment, Naruto then pulled one of his Ninjatou from his back and looked at himself. _'This actually looks sort of like my mutated form when I managed to take control of it.'_ The blond realized as the metal plates took on the same basic shape and formation over his body as the bone armor that had when he first mutated almost a month earlier. "Is there a reason it looks like my mutated form?" Naruto asked while noticing the red X's of the suit had also reformed when he turned on this setting.

"Yeah, I thought it looked cool for one thing, and it vaguely resembled the X-suit for another, albeit a demonic one." The Tiny-Terror replied while Naruto then flexed his arms and legs with the suit in this setting, making sure he lost no mobility. "Also, this setting completely loses the sound-dampening field and Stealth-Camouflage feature seeing as you'll obviously not need it if you get into a fight and need to use this setting. However as a trade off it's three times tougher than your Basic armor, and it also increases your overall strength at least two fold." The Tiny-Terror added while Naruto crouched down and then flipped back before landing in a crouch, humming lightly as the armor was rigid, yet still allowed for him to move about as he normally would…

Switching back to the "Basic" setting, Naruto watched as the numerous plates that had been added to the suit by the Assault setting started to shift and move, folding back under the black Nano-Fibers that made up the top portion of the suit and leaving only the light amount of armor he'd started off with, leaving his mask black with a Red X and a red silhouette of the skull's teeth. "And now for the Basic or Default setting. This one has elements of both the Assault and Stealth mode. However obviously they are less effective during this setting because it wasn't built specifically around them." Gizmo explained and Naruto nodded his head as he moved around in the Default version.

"Now for weapons, these don't change in any of the suits various settings. The first and foremost is your X-Shuriken, all you have to do is think of what Shuriken you want and it'll form in your hand." Gizmo explained and Naruto narrowed his eyes, forming a normal X-Shuriken into his hand.

"Wow it actually works…" Naruto mumbled while looking at the non-descript X-shuriken for a moment before throwing it at a tree. Thinking of an explosive-X, Naruto then threw that Shuriken as well, and then watched as it exploded upon impact with the tree. Nodding his head slowly, Naruto then formed a Static-X into his hand and threw the weapon towards the same tree, the weapon exploding in a shower of sparks upon impact with the holographic tree.

"Good. Also, you also have retractable claws in this suit since I know how often you use them for that one "Glass-Cutting" thing you do like Cat-woman. All you have to do is just think of them extending and they will." Gizmo added suddenly, Naruto looking to his hands before thinking about the claws extending, causing the white-segmented armor on his fingers slid forward to reveal sharp claws. "Okay, next up is your Thermal-Blasters, they are positioned at the frontal plates on your arms." Gizmo then stated and Naruto held his arms forward, narrowing his eyes before smirking as the two black cylinders that made up the front of the Thermal Blasters folded out of the plates.

"Nice." Naruto said with a grin before twisting around and firing one of the blasters, tearing a chunk out of the dirt below him. "What else does this puppy got in it Gizmo?" Naruto questioned while flexing his fingers for a moment, only to blink when he heard an alarm go off somewhere. "What the hell just happened Gizmo?" Naruto demanded and heard the Tiny-Terror curse somewhere deep inside of the base before finally replying.

"Shit! Temp, Slade's just been spotted setting the abandoned section of Jump-City on fire!" Gizmo replied loudly and Naruto's eyes briefly blazed red before narrowing dangerously as he looked upwards.

"Gizmo, how does the new teleportation feature in this thing work?" Naruto asked flatly and the Tiny-Terror was silent for only a moment before finally replying.

"Just think of the place you want to go, if it's within a one-hundred mile radius you should be able to make it. However the thing is still a little glitchy when it comes to long-range transports so I'll just preprogram the coordinates for you…" Gizmo replied and Naruto muttered an of course under his breath before blinking as he was teleported out of the room in a flash of red…

(Jump-City…)

Naruto landed on a rooftop in the city and stood up with his arms crossed over his chest. _'Now I just need to find candy-corn face…'_ The blond haired teen thought to himself before an idea came to mind. _'Well, THAT Jutsu could help me find him, and it'd at least help with his damn fire based powers…'_ The blond haired Ex-Shinobi mused before taking a deep breath and forming several Hand seals. _'Bird. Rat. Ox. Monkey. Rat. Snake.'_ Naruto thought as he finished the seals and then raised his hands up into the air. **"Ukojizai no Jutsu! (Rain Tiger at Will Technique!)"** The Blond exclaimed as Chakra rose off of his body and into the air.

Instantly, a hail of rain began to fall down onto the village, a smirk crossing Naruto's lips even as it did so. _'Alright Candy-Corn Face, lets see you get away from me now…'_ Naruto thought to himself before his eyes widened beneath his mask, feeling the presence of every single living thing out and about in the massive city. _'H-holy shit… is this what Pein felt whenever he used this Jutsu? And does Kara-Chan feel like this in a crowded room?'_ Naruto wondered to himself before feeling a dark-presence to the south of his current position. Frowning deeply, Naruto made his way across the roof before jumping to the next one over and landed in a low crouch.

Looking to either side, the blond then blinked as a small explosion of fire go off to the side. _'I'm going to go out on a limb and say he's over there…'_ Naruto thought to himself before lunging forward, jumping from roof to roof and landing on a building. Narrowing his eyes at a small explosion of fire, Naruto made his way to the edge of the building and looked down from it to see Slade calmly walking out of a wall of fire. The Rain seemed to be putting out the small fires, however that from Slade himself was clearly too hot for even the heavy rain to put out.

"I do love my job." Slade mused to himself in a dull monotone as he formed a ball of fire into his right hand. Turning to throw it, Slade grunted as a Sonic-Blast from the side knocked the fireball out of his hand.

"Vandalism? I'd say you've hit an all new low, Slade." Nightwing noted while standing before his team, Slade merely narrowing his sole eye on the group.

"The Teen Titans. How nice of you to drop by." Slade noted coldly, Raven shivering as he then gave a mocking bow. "But as you can see I'm right in the middle of something. I'll deal with you in a few minutes." Slade told the teens curtly while slowly leaning back Naruto narrowing his eyes on the man and considering his options. _'Attacking right now wouldn't be the best option, not enough room around here for me to go all out normally… and with my new suit and abilities I'd cause way too much damage.'_ The blond mused inwardly, mentally cursing even as he did so.

"No. We'll deal with you now." Nightwing stated as BB changed forms and Starfire powered up her Starbolts. Raising a brow under his mask, Slade merely held his hands to the sides, causing a pair of fireballs to form in his hands.

"You can't always have what you want, Nightwing." Slade mused aloud, then quickly threw his hands towards the ground, producing a jet of flames which he rode straight passed Nightwing and the Titans.

"Titans, split up and take him down!" Nightwing ordered before the team rushed after the masked villain, unaware of Naruto following closely behind them. Jumping from roof to roof, the blond kept an eye on Slade as he fought with the Titans even while evading them and then waited for his moment to strike. Seeing Slade's back to him at last, the blond quickly jumped from the roof he was positioned on and lunged towards the masked-madman. Gripping his hands together, Naruto then slammed them down into Slade's head, slamming the man into the ground and creating a small crater.

Landing in a roll, which he quickly came out of, Naruto twisted on his heel and tossed an Explosive-X-Shuriken directly towards Slade. The weapon exploded on impact and Naruto narrowed his eyes dangerously as he watched the man to get back up. A crackle of lightning suddenly flashed across the sky, making Naruto wonder if he caused it for only a second before watching as Slade slowly rose to his feet, only to stumble for a moment. Off to the side, the Titans looked at the black-clad thief in no small amount of surprise, BB being the only one to voice this.

"Dude! Like what's X doing here?" BB demanded while the black clad thief moved like a bolt of lightning, grabbing hold of Slade by his throat and slamming a fist into the side of his face. The force of the blow sent the man flying to the side, skidding across the ground before impacting with the side of a building. Seconds before Slade could reorient himself, Naruto rammed his shoulder into the man, ramming him through the building at high speeds.

"Off hand, I'd say he's doing our job for us." Kid-Flash offered with a shrug of his shoulders before quickly rushing passed the others to find the two. On the other side of the building, Naruto continued forward, ramming Slade through the next Building, and then the next after that before finally stopping, sending Slade skidding across the ground to land in a ditch.

"My my my, I didn't expect to see you here… at least not so soon." Slade noted calmly even as he pushed himself back to his feet, standing with his back noticeably hunched. "Ah, Red-X, and I see you have a new suit…" Slade noted while pushing himself to stand up straight, then tilted his head slightly while gazing at the blond. "Impressive, but I must ask, who's your tailor?" Slade quipped dryly and Naruto silently held up his right arm and aimed his thermal blaster at the man.

"Would you just shut up…" The blond growled out darkly while firing the weapon, ripping out a chunk of Slade's torso as it tore through the man. Frowning when Slade merely braced himself before standing up once more, Slade calmly brushed off his arms as the hole in his chest healed up.

"Charming. However, the dismemberment tactic didn't work the last time my friend… do you honestly think it'll work now?" Slade questioned aloud and Naruto blinked before growling low in his throat when he realized what the man meant.

"How did you figure it out?" Naruto demanded and Slade calmly crossed his arms over his chest, his single eye gazing towards the blond coolly.

"Let's just say my daughter has more than a healthy interest in you and leave it at that…" Slade replied and Naruto briefly wondered if he was starting to get Fan-Girls before shaking that thought off.

"Well shouldn't daddy disapprove of his daughter doing such a thing?" Naruto asked even as he started to circle Slade from a distance, the masked-madman folded his arms behind his back as he did the same, each keeping their eyes glued onto the other.

"Actually I find it rather cute. Besides, her obsession has proved itself to be of benefit to me…" Slade replied coldly and a guttural growl echoed from Naruto's throat as he glared at the masked madman.

"So what, are even your children pawns in your games, Slade?" Naruto asked while coming to a stop and spitting out the man's name as if it were poison. In response, Slade chuckled lightly while keeping his sole eye locked onto the blond and coming to a stop as well.

"Of course. Everyone is but a simple Pawn to someone in some way… though… I suppose your more of a Rook or a Knight than a mere Pawn… perhaps your even a King of sorts." Slade replied and Naruto twitched at the analogy before hitting the switch on his belt-buckle, changing his suit to Assault mode. "My, my, someone really has gone all out this time." Slade noted while Naruto merely through his arms to his sides, a pair of obsidian black blades shooting out from his wrists and causing him to pause momentarily.

'_So that's why Giz said I wouldn't need my Ninjatou…'_ The blond realized before quickly shaking that off and lunged at the masked madman, dragging the tips of the blades along the ground and causing sparks to fly. Roaring out as he neared Slade, Naruto swung one of the blades at the man, the masked-madman merely moving back to evade. Twisting on his heel, Naruto swung at the man once more, Slade blocking with the armor on his left forearm. Growling lightly, Naruto swung his other arm and cut Slade's head from his shoulders before twisting into a kick, knocking the man's body back.

Watching as Slade's head fell to the ground, Naruto picked it up and glared at the man, only for his eyes to widen as Slade's eye turned bright red. _**"Really now, you're going to have to do better than that…"**_ A demonic version of Slade's cold monotone echoed out before Slade's body rammed into Naruto while grabbing hold of its head. Quickly putting its head to its neck a brief flash of red was all that alerted Naruto that he was back to normal. Narrowing his eyes, Naruto flipped into a kick to Slade's chin, causing him to stumble back while Naruto landed in a crouch.

Disengaging the wrist blades, Naruto then lunged forward, slamming his fist into Slade's gut. The one-eyed madman grunted and buckled forward, Naruto twisting on his heel and throwing him into the air. Jumping up, the blond then brought his foot down on Slade, plowing him into the ground and not paying attention to a shocked Kid-Flash as he watched on silently. Reaching down, Naruto grabbed Slade by his throat and lifted him up into the air, a sly smirk hidden under his mask. Throwing him into the air once more, Naruto then grabbed one of his legs and slammed him into the ground.

Groaning, Slade kicked out at Naruto, a jet of fired pushing Naruto back. Sliding back for a short distance, the blond then grunted as he impacted with a wall. _'I need to thank Giz for the assault mode later._' Naruto thought to himself while watching on as Slade twisted into a spin and landed on the ground, eyes narrowed onto the blond.

"This little game we seem to be playing is beginning to grate on even my nerves my friend…" Slade stated while glaring at the blond and Naruto merely rolled his eyes before lunging forward once more. Growling lightly, Slade fired two jets of fire towards the blond, only for him to flip to the side and run along a wall before twisting into a kick to the side of his head. Grunting, Slade stumbled to the side before cracking his neck back into place. Grunting the man then held out a hand, forming a ball of fire in it and narrowing his eyes as numerous tendrils lashed out from the ball and reached for the masked-thief.

Cursing lightly, Naruto flipped out of the way of several of the tendrils before activating one of his wrist blades to slice another, then narrowed his eyes. The blond then quickly formed a Rasengan into his hand and lunged at Slade, slamming it into the man's chest where the attack ground and shredded it's way straight through him. Twitching as he noticed Slade was still standing even with his arm in the man's chest, Naruto turned on his heel throwing Slade to the side, where the madman landed in a heap. "Remind me… not to fight you… when I'm not immortal…" Slade managed to get out as he pulled himself to his feet a deep frown on Naruto's features before he looked up to the sky and narrowed his eyes.

'_Oi, I really wish I'd learned a few Suiton techniques… with my ability to create rain it'd be real useful right about now.'_ Naruto thought to himself while Slade shook his head and then glanced to the side as The Titans, sans a gaping Kid-Flash, finally showed up. However, Naruto noticed no sign of Raven, causing a thin frown to cross his features as he wondered where she went. Among the teens, Beast-Boy shook his head with a frown, even as his furry features grew more and more matted down.

"Dude, like what is up with all this rain? The weather man said it was going to be sunny all week!" BB demanded while Nightwing narrowed his eyes on Slade, then glanced over to Naruto and raised a brow. _'X is back now, and he's got another new suit… this one looks more armored, but a minute ago it was less armored.'_ Nightwing noted silently while narrowing his eyes on the two as they glared at one another.

"Bart report." Nightwing ordered and Kid-Flash shook his head for a moment before answering.

"Report what? The beating X just gave Slade? Or how Slade got up after having his head cut off!" Bart demanded of his leader and Nightwing blinked before frowning at that tidbit, though had seen Slade diced into more pieces by Naruto.

"What are you planning, Slade?" Nightwing demanded of the man from his point and Slade turned his eye over to the former Boy Wonder.

"I'm not planning anything…" Slade replied before forming an S shaped run in midair and then a fireball around it. "I'm merely providing a needed public service…" Slade replied while taking hold of the ball of flames and holding it over his head. "Illumination!" He exclaimed while hurling the ball of fire towards the Titans, Naruto cursing lightly as he moved to intercept the ball of fire, his forearms raised to shield his face. His new suit easily took care of both the force of the blast and the heat, allowing Naruto to lower his arms only to growl as he saw Slade was getting away.

"Dammit! Get back here!" Naruto shouted while lunging after Slade, closely followed by the Titans. Naruto then jumped upwards, landing on a building's roof and disengaging his Assault mode, his suit shifting back to its basic mode. Lunging forward, Naruto leaped from roof to roof and spotted Slade landing in front of a building up ahead. Jumping down, Naruto landed behind Slade just as Raven appeared from her Soul-Self and floated down to land on the stairs to the building with a frown.

"What do you want, Slade?" She questioned and the man backed up slightly while keeping his eye on her.

"Only what every messenger wants… for his message to be heard." Slade replied coolly and then watched as Raven landed on the ground, Naruto raising a brow, wondering what they were talking about. "It's time your friends learned the truth. And if you don't tell them… I will." Slade stated darkly and Raven narrowed her eyes on the masked madman.

"Leave them out of this." Raven ordered while Naruto turned to see if the Titans had caught up and caught Kid-Flash by the back of his suit.

"Wait, something's going on here…" Naruto stated and placed a hand over Kid-Flash's mouth to keep him from speaking.

"I didn't bring them into this." Slade stated while holding his hands out and then pointed an accusing finger towards Raven. "You did. The day you came into their lives." Slade reminded simply and then backed up while keeping his eye glued to the girl. "Tick Tock, Raven. Time is running out…" Slade stated while raising his arms, a swirl of fire forming and rising up around him, Raven quickly making a shield to block it while Kid-Flash's eyes widening while Naruto's narrowed as the man vanished into a swirl of fire…

"Eh, I've seen it before…" Naruto muttered while releasing an incredulous Kid-Flash while walking over to Raven. Only to brace himself as the ground began to shake and rock, Kid-Flash cursing as he ran over to the two.

Elsewhere Nightwing grit his teeth and quickly pulled out his communicator while looking around. "Titans, do you read me?" The former Boy Wonder demanded and Cyborg braced himself while BB stood at his side in the shape of a bloodhound.

"I read you but I don't see you…" The Titanium Teen replied while in the sky, Donna and Starfire looked down at the city in shock.

"I see you all… and something else." Starfire replied while she and the Amazonian looked down at the city, the rain doing little to douse the roaring flames that had been spread over the city in the shape of a familiar S shaped rune…

Back with Naruto, the blond shook his head before walking over to Raven and helping her up to her feet. "You okay?" He asked and Raven raised a brow upon seeing Naruto, more confused by the fact he was in an X-Suit than anything else.

"Yeah, but what are you doing here X?" She asked while looking over to Kid-Flase and Naruto chuckled slightly while crossing his arms over his chest.

"Lets just say an old pal of mine sent me to keep an eye on you." The blond replied with a sly smirk across his face, only to grunt when he felt several more people walk up behind him. _'Crap, the kid and his team are here…'_ Naruto thought to himself while turning around and sighed for a moment. "Oi, kid what took you so long to get here? Candy-Corn face already made his big dramatic getaway without you…" Naruto noted while Nightwing frowned as he glared at the masked thief.

"Here's a better questions. What are _you_ doing here X? Are you working with Slade?" Nightwing demanded of the masked youth and Naruto twitched before giving the dark haired teen a flat look.

"Oh yeah, I'm totally working with the guy whose head I just cut off not even five minutes ago…" Naruto replied sarcastically and Nightwing narrowed his eyes onto the thief. "Jeez kid, Naruto asked me to look after Raven for him while he's working on mastering a few new techniques to take down that zombie freak." The blond replied and saw a frown cross Nightwing's lips for a moment. "Is that alright with you, or are you going to throw me in jail for doing my job?" Naruto then questioned flippantly and Raven mentally sighed before looking to the thief with a frown.

"Is Slade still in the city?" She asked and Naruto closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment, then growled lightly.

"No… I can't even feel a trace of that nasty energy he was putting off either…" The blond replied and the Titans exchanged looks before all of them turned to the building Slade had stopped at.

"Dude, since when can you sense things like that?" BB asked while looking to Naruto, Nightwing listening in as well, and he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Trade secret, green bean." The blond replied while looking to the library and narrowing his eyes on the building. _"Yo, Kara-Chan you sensing the same bad vibes from this place as me or what?"_ Naruto asked in his head and Raven blinked for a second before mentally sighing.

"_Unfortunately, yes."_ She replied while Nightwing walked towards the building, BB moving over to its side, and Cyborg opening his wrist-top computer.

"Everything in a three block radius has been destroyed, accept this… Slade left it standing for a reason." Nightwing noted with a frown while looking to a large building with the word "Library" on the front of it. Cyborg made to check something on his computer, however Naruto turned around, causing the Titans to follow his gaze.

"Yes he did." Batman stated as he, Green-Lantern, and Wonder-Woman walked towards the Titans, Nightwing growling in his throat as they did so. "This was originally the Jump-City town Library, it was closed down after a group of cultists broke in and a young girl was raped inside during a ritual." The Dark-Knight stated, noticing the slight wince of Raven and then snapped his eyes onto Naruto, the blond tilting his head.

"Oi, Guano-man's here now, why is it so many people from Gotham are paying me a visit so much recently?" Naruto wondered aloud, an amused smirk crossing Night's lips at the crack and Batman merely rolled his eyes.

"We're here to help." Dianna offered while Naruto gave the Amazonian warrior an annoyed look.

"In case you haven't noticed, you're just a wee bit late for that babe." Naruto told the Amazon with an annoyed tone and John sighed for a moment before holding up his hands in a placating manner.

"In any case this isn't the time to be fighting amongst ourselves or arguing with each other. We have more important matters to deal with." John reminded the others while looking to the two groups, Cyborg nodding his head in agreement with him.

"Yeah, I'm with GL on this one, we can use all the help we can get." Cy said while nudging towards the man, BB nodding his head in agreement from where he stood off to the side.

"Yeah, especially if we have to search this place, it's a total dump." BB noted while kicking a column, causing it to fall down. Yelping, BB quickly moved out of the way as the entire front of the building collapsed, revealing a familiar bright red S shaped rune below where the original sign had been hanging.

"The Mark of Scath…" Nightwing said with a frown and saw a look of shock on Raven's face. "Mister Blood mentioned it earlier." Night said in explanation, though it clearly did little to ease the girl's frazzled nerves while Naruto closed his eyes and tried something else.

"_How you holding up Kara-Chan?"_ Naruto asked in Raven's mind, the violet haired girl blinking before releasing a sigh in her mind.

"_Not good, my nerves are more or less shot thanks to all this…"_ Raven replied inwardly, while Batman walked towards the building, Nightwing moving to follow him inside and making her eyes wide. "Wait!" She called out, drawing the attention of not only Batman and Nightwing, but the other's as well. "We shouldn't go in, it might be a trap." Raven tried to explain and a thin frown crossed Batman's lips for a moment.

"It's not trapped as far as the main room, any deeper is left for debate, me and Jason found this library a few days ago, the only reason we didn't search it completely was due to some kind of barrier in our way." Batman explained simply and Nightwing frowned for a moment before mentally relenting.

"It's also our only lead." Nightwing reminded before looking to Starfire and Donna, both girls nodding as they walked to the doors and pushed them open, illuminating the building in a pale glow while Batman pulled a flashlight from his belt. Frowning at the low amount of light, John used his ring for some extra light and Cyborg activated a flashlight on his shoulder as the group walked inside.

"Dudes, even without the creepy librarians, I'm not digging this place." Beast Boy mumbled as they made their way into the building, Naruto turning on his Ultra-Violet vision setting, causing the eyes of his mask to turn Violet as he does so.

"There's some kind of Demonic Barrier up ahead, when Jason and I tried to enter we were burned by it." Batman stated while pointing his flashlight towards a wall, a scarlet colored field of energy completely covering it.

"Wait… something like _that_ is all that's keeping you guys out?" Naruto asked with a noticeable amount of humor in his tone and got looks from the gathered heroes. "Tch, you guys wouldn't have lasted five minutes back on my world…" Naruto mused while shaking his head, then walked ahead of them and started looking around, arms crossed over his chest as he did so.

"Umm, what are you looking for?" Donna asked the teen and he narrowed his eyes, following the Demonic essence that made up the barrier and finally found its source on a wall to the side.

"That's simple. All barriers in my world require a medium to keep them running, in this case, a seal. You see, unless it is constantly maintained by the physical presence of its creator, a Barrier would only last a couple minutes before burning out." Naruto explained as he walked over to a wall and wiped away some dust, chuckling when he found several Kanji written on the wall. "People can get around this by creating a seal to maintain it for them, thus allowing them to protect something like treasure or a family heirloom indefinitely…" Naruto finished explaining while still looking around and BB looked at the masked youth, clearly confusion.

"Uh, so, what does all that mean, Dude?" Beast Boy questioned while scratching his head and Batman grunted while crossing his arms.

"It means if you destroy the seal keeping the barrier maintained, you also destroy the barrier itself." Batman replied and Naruto nodded his head, smirking as he did so.

"Correct Guano-Man, nice to know you have a brain in that pointy eared cowl of yours." Naruto quipped, Nightwing smirking at the annoyed look on Batman's features. Ignoring that, Naruto then held up his hand, a purple seal appearing on it as he slammed his palm onto the wall. "KAI!" He exclaimed, destroying the seal and causing the Barrier to fade away instantly. "Also, since that the seal was outside of this barrier, that generally means that someone wanted this thing to be broken at some point." Naruto added more as an afterthought than anything else, a frown across his lips as he did.

"Meaning it could still be a trap." John realized and Naruto nodded his head silently, turning only when he heard Raven sigh.

"It's still a dead end…" Raven reminded and Naruto muttered something under his breath before looking around for something else. Mentally sighing for a moment, Raven frowned before feeling a familiar S-shaped rune appear at her brow. When she did the same S shaped rune appeared on the wall where the barrier had been and a stone door slid down into the ground. Looking to the new passageway, the group saw a long dark path of stairs leading down into the depths…

"Uh… cool, secret passage." Kid Flash mumbled while looking at the newly opened doorway and then zipped over to Naruto and pushed him towards it. "You go first!" Kid-Flash insisted and got an annoyed glare from the blond before he muttered something under his breath and walked into the passageway, soon followed by Batman and the others. Making their way down, Naruto soon walked out into a large circular room and switched his vision setting to Night-Vision, his mask's eyes turning green as he does, raising a brow at what he saw.

The room is large and circular with large seals and runes carved into the stone, several arches over doorways, and numerous evil looking statues, each one dressed in a hooded robe with a skull like face. _'Ugh, whose the decorator, the same guy who designed Dracula's castle?'_ Naruto wondered to himself while looking around, Starfire shivering slightly as she saw one of the statues when Cyborg's light passed over it.

"I did not realize your Libraries housed such unpleasant sculptures." Starfire noted aloud and Batman narrowed his eyes while looking around.

"They don't." The Dark Knight stated while Cyborg opened up his wrist computer and narrowed his eyes.

"This part of the building is old… I mean OLD old, as in before the city was even built." Cyborg stated and Batman nodded his head while walking forward and looking around with his flashlight.

"The Order of Scath built this around the same time this area was first settled. The Cultists came here to perform rituals and rites in an attempt to summon their master to this world in hopes that he would grant them power." Batman explained as he looked around, Dianna shaking her head as she heard that.

"How can people believe such beings would ever help them?" She wondered aloud and Naruto shrugged his shoulders while looking around.

"People are idiots… I should know, I met my unfair share of them back on my world." Naruto replied simply and got looks from some of the others, Raven slowly walking into the room, before stopping as the rune appeared at the center of her brow again. _'Oh no…'_ She thought while her eyes widened as the numerous seals and runes around the room began to glow a bright burning red. The glowing seals and runes spread around the room, ending on the opposite side of the room and causing the eyes of the many statues around the room to start glowing. Cyborg hit a record switch on his arm as it did so and looked on as something started to happen.

"_**The Gem was born of evils fire."**_ A plethora of voices echoed out as ghosts seemed to float out of the statues, Naruto shivering as they did so. _**"The Gem shall be his portal."**_ The ghosts echoing voices continued while hovering around the room and looking down at those gathered below them. _**"He comes to claim, he comes to sire, the end of all things mortal."**_ The spirits finished while floating back down into the statues, while Raven's body began to glow, the numerous seals and runes that Slade had put on her body glowing fire red once more. Noticing it, Raven gasped and quickly closed her cloak, Naruto blinking when he heard her…

"Raven?" He asked and the girl quickly turned and ran back up the stairs, Naruto cursing as he ran after her, soon followed closely by Nightwing. The other Titans, Batman, John, and Dianna stayed back however, the Dark Knight taking pictures of the seals and runes around the room with a deep frown. Meanwhile Raven ran up the length of the stairs, only for Naruto to reach her and place a hand on her shoulder. "Kara-Chan!" Naruto said, instantly drawing the girl's attention and looked at her in concern. "What's wrong?" The blond asked with worry clear in his tone and the girl looked down.

"It's this place… it's… I shouldn't be here… it's all wrong." She replied vaguely and Naruto would've said something only to be shoved out of the way by Nightwing. _'Er kid, I swear I'm going to pound you into the ground someday…'_ Naruto thought darkly while Nightwing walked towards Raven.

"What's going on Raven, what aren't you telling me?" Night questioned while walking towards his Violet haired teammate and she slowly backed away from him.

"I can't explain, I just need to leave, I can't go back in there…" Raven replied while changing into a black silhouette and flowing up into the roof.

"Wait!" The former Boy Wonder cried only for the girl to vanish without a trace, leaving Nightwing confused while Naruto frowned towards him.

"Leave her be Wonder Bread, she's probably got a reason for not going back in there, and if she's freaking out like this, I don't want to know what it is." Naruto states while turning around and walking back down the length of stairs, back into the room where Batman is studying the many runes and seals. _'That was the prophesy of Kara-Chan's birth… this is so not good.'_ Naruto couldn't help but think to himself while walking into the large room, where Cyborg was replaying what the apparitions had said.

"It appears to be some form of… prophecy." Donna noted as she watched a recording of the ghostly apparitions Cyborg had made.

"Whatever it is, it doesn't sound good." Cyborg noted with a frown while BB looked from the seals and runes on the walls to his friends.

"This is some serious evil, even for Slade." Beast Boy noted and Naruto scoffed while walking over to them.

"This sure as hell isn't Candy-Corn Face's work kid. I'm thinking this is from whoever it is that's pulling his strings." Naruto noted aloud and BB looked from him to Nightwing as he walked back into the room as well.

"As much as I hate to admit it, I think X might be right. And we all already know who he's working for." Nightwing reminds while walking over to his friends and Starfire nods her head.

"Scath." She says lowly, and then looked over to where Batamn and the other two JLU members where standing. "Please, Mister Man of Bat, you know much of this do you not? Would you please enlighten us with what you know?" Starfire asked the man and The Dark Knight turned while stowing away his camera with a frown.

"All I know currently is that Scath is coming, and this Prophecy speaks of a ritual already conducted by the cultists who caused this building to be abandoned eighteen years ago. One to create the Gem which shall bring Scath into our world, allowing him to reign over it for the rest of eternity." Batman replied and Nightwing grit his teeth before twisting into a kick, knocking down a wall where the S shaped rune was. "Dianna, I want you and John to head to Titans Tower and get Jason, have him look over these runes while the rest of us continue to look around." Batman ordered the Amazonian and she looked to the Titans for a moment before nodding her head.

"We'll be back as soon as we can." Dianna replied while flying off, John frowning as he looked to Batman, the Dark-Knight merely glaring at him. Understanding what the man wanted, John sighed before flying after Dianna, leaving Batman with both X and the Titans.

"Wait a second, where's Raven?" Kid-Flash suddenly asked while looking around and Night clenched his fists before answering.

"She's not coming…" He stated and then ran into the darkness of the cavern, Naruto following after him at a sedated pace, with the rest of the group following their lead, Batman at the head of them. Walking through the darkness for a long while, the large group soon came to a downwards-leading spiral staircase; Naruto whistling when he saw how far down it seemed to go.

"Man, just when I didn't think this place could get any weirder…" Naruto noted as BB knelt down and looked into the deep pit, Cyborg frowning as he looked down from behind the green teen.

"So, how far down do you think it goes?" The Titanium Teen questioned and Naruto produced a basic X-Shuriken before letting it fall down into the pit. Listening for it to make a sound, it was a full ten seconds before they heard a light clatter, Cyborg's eyes widening as he realized how far down it had to be. "That's far…" He stated and Naruto had to bight back a sarcastic remark when Batman walked passed him and down the flight of stairs.

"We all probably shouldn't go down, our combined weight might be too much for these old stairs." Naruto noted and Nightwing nodded his head in agreement with the black clad thief. Turning around he walked over to Donna and Bart and pulled them to the side while Naruto walked over to Batman, the Dark-Knight looking around with a scanner of some kind clutched in one hand. "So, do you have a better idea of what's going on than the kids or is it just me?" Naruto questioned while looking around and Batman nodded his head silently while putting the device away.

"Alright, I'm having Donna and Bart hang back and guard the entrance in case the rest of us need to make a quick exit." Night explained while Naruto rolled his eyes, and Batman let his cape drape around his form and started down the staircase.

"Then we better get started." Batman stated simply while draping his cape around his arms like a cloak, BB scratching his head from behind the man.

"So do you think that Gem thing is down there?" The Green jester questioned of the Caped Crusader and Batman seemed to ignore him completely. "Uh, right, forget I asked…" Beast Boy replied while sighing and Nightwing walked beside of his old mentor with a frown across his face.

"Do you have some idea of what we'll find down here?" Nightwing questioned and Batman narrowed his eyes before finally replying.

"Yes." He admitted flatly, causing the frown already on Night's face to deepen even more than before.

"Then are you going to share your idea?" Nightwing questioned, yet Batman remained silent this time, causing the former Boy Wonder to mutter something under his breath while Naruto walked behind them.

"You know, I think those two have several major issues that they really need to resolve…" Naruto noted aloud, Donna, Cyborg, and Kid-Flash all agreeing with him as they followed behind the two former partners. Moving further down the spiral staircase, Nightwing soon stopped when a strange sound reached them from below.

"Sounds like we've got company." The Former Boy Wonder noted aloud and Naruto had to bite back another sarcastic remark as he looked into the pit with a frown. Looking down into the Darkness, Naruto whistled upon seeing numerous Apparitions rising up from below, both Starfire and Beast Boy screaming as they saw them. Turning around as the apparitions rose up, Naruto raised a brow. They were all a pale blue, with four crimson eyes, wore tattered robes, a scythe clutched in thin gnarled hands, a long beak like face, and skeletal wings coming off of their backs.

'_This is new…'_ Naruto mused to himself while the Apparitions started to swing at them, Nightwing flipping forward to evade before taking a swing at the creatures, his fist passing through it harmlessly. "I can't hit them!" The masked teen exclaimed while rolling out of the way of another swing from the astral scyther, Batman twisting and turning around them with a frown while Cyborg was knocked to the ground by one of the strange specters.

"But they can hit us!" Cy stated loudly as the same specter tore a chunk out of the ground with its scythe only for the Titanium teen to move out of the way. Flying into the air, the creature did a full U-turn to slam back into Cy, knocking him back into a wall and passing through both him and the wall. Grunting as he fell to the ground, Cyborg then unlocked his Sonic-Cannon and moved over to BB and Star before firing at a specter, only for it to reform after he hit it. Powering up her Starbolts, Starfire fired a constant stream out towards the specters, while BB turned into a Kangaroo and tried to kick them.

The Green Jester nearly fell instead as he passed through the specters, then quickly turned into a bird and flew back up to join his friends. Watching all this even as he evaded the apparitions that came at him, Naruto mentally groaned. _'Ghosts… we're fighting ghosts… ugh, I really wish I had Dani here about now.'_ Naruto couldn't help but think to himself before remembering one of the many abilities his Rinnegan allowed him to use, only to shiver as he did so. _'Well, it would help, but I don't know if it'd work on all these ghosts…'_ Naruto couldn't help but think while Batman and Nightwing moved up towards the rest of the Titans.

Nightwing quickly swung his Bo-Staff at the apparitions to disperse them temporarily, while Batman reached into his belt and turned around, swinging his cape and slamming it into the apparitions as a weapon of some kind and causing Naruto to twitch. _'Does he have anything on him he can't use as a weapon?'_ Naruto wondered to himself before deciding not to question it while twisting into a kick to one of the strange apparitions, then grunted as they started coming out of the floor, Cy screaming as they nearly dragged him down. Roaring out loudly, the Titanium Teen then fired a spray of his Sonic-Cannon while Batman and Nightwing ducked behind him.

However, while Cyborg successfully dissipated the apparitions for the moment, he also tore a sizable chunk of the stairs out with them. "Nice work Stone-Head…" Naruto grunted out while Cy winced slightly and Batman merely frowned before jumping off of the stairs and falling down the long shoot. Not one to be outdone, Nightwing moved to do the same before turning to his team.

"Follow me." He ordered while jumping down into the shoot, Starifre and BB following while Cy slapped his face.

"Uh, maybe you didn't get the memo, Night, but you and me can't fly!" The Titanium Teen shouted loudly, Naruto grunting as he saw several apparitions heading straight towards them.

"Well you better learn quick." Naruto stated as the apparitions surrounded them, Cy groaning as he took a deep breath before jumping into the pit, Naruto following after him and unsheathing his twin Ninjatou. _'I'm really starting to wish I knew how to do that damn Iwagakure Flying Jutsu!'_ Naruto couldn't help but think to himself as he rolled in midair to evade an apparition, then sliced one with his swords. Spotting the Titans below himself, Naruto watched as Batman and Nightwing both fired a grapple to the side. Turning in the air, a smirk crossed Naruto's features when he saw a stone with the familiar S shaped rune on it.

'_Nice.'_ He thought while activating his teleport feature and landed next to the stone while Batman and Nightwing zipped over. In the shoot, Starfire gasped as Cyborg continued to fall downwards, then moved quickly and grabbed the teen before hefting him up just before more of the ghostly apparitions would've gotten hold of them. Beast Boy then landed next to Batman and Nightwing as they pulled on their cords at the same time, yanking down the stone and revealing a new passageway.

"Another passage, this way!" Night ordered while ducking inside with Beast Boy hot on his heels, Batman and Naruto watching for Starfire and Cyborg. Seeing them coming, Batman ducked into the passage as well, Naruto waiting on as Starfire tossed Cyborg inside then ducked in while Naruto fired his thermal-blasters into an oncoming stream of apparitions before moving into the passageway as well. Noticing the apparitions following them, Naruto then formed an explosive-X in one hand before twisting around and throwing the object towards the apparitions.

Turning and making his way from them as it exploded, a smirk crossed Naruto's features as he entered into a circular room with numerous arched doorways. "Uh, which way is the gem?" BB asked while looking around and Batman narrowed his eyes before spotting the S shaped rune on one of the arches.

"There! Follow the mark!" He ordered and then ran into the doorway, followed by the other Titans while Naruto looked around and then threw another explosive X into each of the doorways, just in case, and then ran into the doorway the other's had gone down as the X's exploded. Spotting a staircase down the passageway, Naruto mentally groaned when he heard the apparitions were still coming. _'Don't these things ever just give up and die?'_ The blond haired teen wondered to himself while spinning around and slicing into the apparitions, only to grunt as two slammed into him.

"Dude, there's no mark here!" BB exclaimed while Naruto landed on the ground and growled while kicking the apparitions off of himself.

"Just shut the hell up and pick one of them already!" The teen exclaimed while flipping to his feet and charging at the apparitions, slicing them apart while BB started looking at the doors with wide eyes as the other Titans and Batman prepared for combat. BB looked at the doors, noticing different shapes were on each of them, albeit each was also very distorted.

"Ummm… eeny…" BB said while pointing to the door with a distorted human face carved into its keystone. "Meeny…" He said while pointing to one that had a dragon on the front of it. "Miney…" He continued while pointing to one with what looked like a Wolf carved into it. "Moe!" He then exclaimed while pointing to one that had an eagles head carved into it and ran inside while the Titans held back and Naruto flipped back to them and groaned lightly as the apparitions continued coming at them. As they prepared to fight, the group heard BB scream and turned in time to see him running from an even larger amount of Apparitions hot on his tail.

"NOT MOE! NOT MOE!" The green teen exclaimed as he jumped forward, the apparitions that had been behind him joining with the others as Cyborg and Starfire fired a volley of blasts into them. Twitching for a moment Naruto grunted before looking back at the doorways and then narrowed his eyes on a keystone with a wolf on it. _'Well, that is my lucky animal as of late…'_ Naruto thought before looking to the one with a Dragon and narrowed his eyes. _'But a Dragon is always connected to the demonic in some way…'_ He realized while also noting that the Dragon was curled in an S like shape.

"This way!" He cried while ducking into the passageway, soon followed by Batman and the Titans while a stone slab fell down and sealed off the exit, leaving them all trapped in darkness. Frowning, Batman, Nightwing, and Cyborg all turned on their lights, Starfire growling as she pressed on the stone slab, only to exhale when she was unable to move the stone slab.

"It appears that we cannot get out." Starfire noted aloud as she pushed on the stone slab for a moment, Cyborg scratching his head as he looked around for more of the apparitions that had been chasing them.

"Yeah, but at least those things didn't follow us in." Cyborg reminded and the girl nodded her head even as Batman, Night, and BB stood over to the side.

"Uh guys, you kinda need to see this…" BB cried while looking out of the passageway and Naruto made his way over, sheathing his Ninjatou on his back as he did. Coming out of the passage, Naruto whistled upon seeing a large alter in the shape of a clawed hand with its fingers splayed, large arched shapes are arranged along the walls around the room, and a shaft of light flying from the center of its palm and into the air.

"I'm getting a serious de'ja' vu vibe here." Cyborg noted as he looked around and BB frowned as he looked over the room.

"Not only that, but something about this place seems really familiar." The Green Titan noted while looking around, causing Naruto to slap his face and wonder if he was ever that stupid, then muttered under his breath. Meanwhile, Starfire flew up to one of the arches and her eyes widened upon seeing it resembled Raven's raised hood, a faceless head set within them…

"Yes. It looks like… Raven." She said aloud and Naruto narrowed his eyes before teleporting to the palm of the large alter, followed by Batman who used his cape to glide Over. Night followed suit with his own glider wings, BB flew down in the form of a Raven and Starfire carried Cyborg down last.

"The Gem!" Night cried while looking to the hand, a scowl crossing his features when he saw nothing was there. "It's gone!" Nightwing cried out and Naruto's eyes widened when he sensed a familiar presence, his eyes shooting upwards.

"You must be disappointed." The calm cold monotone voice of Slade echoed out, Naruto groaning when he saw the man standing atop one of the hand's fingers. _'Ugh, talk about De'ja' vu… I thought I'd seen enough of that crap…'_ Naruto couldn't help but think to himself as he remembered the Akatsuki commonly stood atop the fingers of the King of Hell statue…

"Where's the gem!" Nightwing demanded of the masked madman and Slade tilted his head to one side.

"Not here." He replied simply, and then jumped from his finger to land before the group, a frown crossing Batman's features. "But, much closer to you than you think." Slade noted while walking forward, his body noticeably slouched down and hunched forward, arms hanging at his sides. Growling, Night made to attack the immortal madman but Batman held out an arm and glared towards Slade.

"Exactly what do you get out of helping Scath, Deathstroke?" Batman demanded of the man and a smirk crossed Slade's hidden features.

"Wouldn't you like to know… though sadly, you wouldn't be around long enough to find out." Slade replied before holding up both of his hands and sending a stream of fire towards the group. Crying out, Cyborg and the other Titans quickly jumped out of the way while Slade managed to tear a chunk of the alter with his flames. Upon landing on the ground, Night and Star turned to see Cyborg with BB over his shoulder, Batman looking to the side where Naruto stood up as Slade came down at them. "Now, Titans, you're just delaying the inevitable." Slade mused aloud and Nightwing lunged at the man, swinging into a kick towards him.

"We're not leaving without that gem!" Night growled towards the Man and Slade narrowed his eye while throwing the teen to the side.

"You don't understand. You're not leaving at all." Slade replies darkly, only for Starfire to come at him trying for a headlock but only managing to throw him into a large statue to the side. Focusing her eyebeams, Starfire then cut the statue in half, causing it to fall on top of the man. Quickly flying over to the statue, Starfire looked around for the masked madman, only for the girl to gasp when she saw him crouched on top of the overturned statue. One of Slade's hands then began to glow bright red before a beam of heat slammed into Starfire, smashing her down into the ground.

Jumping down to the ground, Slade held up a hand and formed another ball of fire around his outstretched limb, aiming for the disorientated alien princess, however Cyborg quickly fired his Sonic-Cannon into Slade, knocking him back. Slowly getting up, Slade narrowed his eyes and marched towards a shocked Cyborg, the Titanium Teen gritting his teeth as he fired several more blasts towards the masked madman. However, with speed that defied logic, Slade evaded the many blasts before dodging several punches from Slade, only for the undead madman to grab him by his arm and then slam him into a wall to the side and sent him flying back.

Turning around, Slade watched as Beast-Boy came charging at him in the form of a triceratops and narrowed his eyes. Forming a fireball in either hand he then fired a stream from both, slamming them into Beast-Boy and sending him flying back into Cyborg, knocking the Titanium Teen to the ground as well. Blinking for a moment, Slade then rolled out of the way as Starfire began hurling Starbolts at him and flipped back as Batman lashed out with a quick punch. Scoffing mentally, Slade then rammed into The Dark-Knight and slammed his fist into his stomach.

Batman slid back from the attack and fell to one knee, a frown on his face while Slade then twisted around. Swinging his arm, the masked-madman created a crescent of fire that flowed towards Starfire. Gasping, Starfire quickly flew out of the way, landing next to a groaning Nightwing while Slade frowned. "Is that all?" He questioned and then looked to the side as Naruto quickly pulled his Ninjatou from his back and marched towards the masked-madman silently. "Ahh… so we meet again my young friend." Slade noted while tilting his head over to the side and Naruto scoffed lightly and then leaned one of his swords along his shoulder.

"So, I guess this means its time for round two, eh Candy-Corn face?" Naruto quipped while looking to the downed Titans and walking towards Slade, the masked Madman chuckling lightly as he held up a flaming hand.

"Indeed it does. However, you simply must allow me to take care of the peanut gallery before we begin our… rematch." Slade replied before slamming his fist into the ground, causing a wall of fire to form around him and Naruto, then spread out to separate them from the Titans. Cracking his neck, Slade then stood straight and crossed his arms over his chest while Naruto lowered his arms, a Ninjatou grasped in either hand. "Now, let us begin." Slade offered and Naruto lunged forward with lightning quick speed, swinging one of the blades at the masked madman…

Dodging the attack, Slade slammed his fist into Naruto's side, only to narrow his eye as the masked blond chuckled lightly. Twisting around, Naruto kicked Slade back and then swung his Ninjatou, creating a massive blade of wind that flew straight towards the masked madman. Rolling out of the way, Slade slammed his hands into the ground, causing two hands of fire to rise up and reach out for Naruto. Raising a brow, Naruto merely twisted around, forming a shell of wind-Chakra around his body, which the hands of fire were unable to penetrate.

Coming to a stop soon after, Naruto blinked when he saw Slade had vanished then narrowed his eyes as he went over what he'd been able to find out about Slade in his head. _'He's an expert in hand to hand combat, not to mention most types of firearms and melee weapons, he's got enhanced strength and physical abilities, mentally he's more advanced than almost anyone in the mercenary business, and if I remember correctly he also likes to play mind games…'_ Naruto thought to himself while looking around and frowned when he couldn't even spot a shadow.

'_Got to give him one thing, he really knows his stealth…'_ The blond admitted if only to himself and then frowned when he finally heard something. "It's amazing really, so many things you can learn about someone from his many enemies trapped in hell…" Slade noted to himself from seemingly everywhere, Naruto's eyes narrowing as he looked for the masked-madman. "The little things that have built him up to be the man he is today…" Slade mused aloud and Naruto turned around, frowning when Slade didn't appear to be anywhere, not on the giant alter, not behind the crimson flames, nowhere!

"Ah yes, your mother was murdered right in front of you when you were still only eight years old… wasn't she?" Slade asked and Naruto's eyes twitched, a deep growl echoing from his throat as he looked around once more. "Then, you ran away, scared out of your mind and were nearly killed yourself… until the assassin cornered you and in a fit of rage, you ripped him apart limb from limb. And years later a boy named Haku, that you befriended sacrificed himself to save his master, and of course his Master also died." Slade continued, the growl growing as the old memories started to come to the surface.

"Would you shut the hell up and show yourself!" Naruto demanded angrily and Slade chuckled from seemingly everywhere at once.

"Oh, but then years later, the man you considered a grandfather was murdered by his own student, that Orochimaru fellow I believe…" Slade mused aloud and Naruto twitched once more, his eyes darting all around in search of the man. "Not even a few months later, your best friend betrayed your home-village, and nearly killed you by shoving his hand straight through your chest, dangerously close to your heart I might add." Slade continued and Naruto put a hand to his head, his left eye twitching rapidly as he tried to calm himself down.

"Seriously Candy-Corn face, shut the hell up before you really piss me off!" Naruto warned loudly while looking all around, only for Slade to continue, clearly unconcerned, and given his immortality, Naruto knew why.

"After that, the Sensei of your good friend was murdered by men hunting you down, leaving his lover and unborn child without him…" Slade continued and Naruto bit his lip as he remembered Asuma… "Of course after that your own Sensei was murdered in cold blood, by one of his former apprentices." Slade continued as Naruto remembered Jiraiya. "And after all that, a man with power beyond imagining came and destroyed your entire village in a single day, leaving nearly no one left, and even murdered a girl who proclaimed her love for you and drove you mad with rage…" Slade continued and Naruto clenched his fists at his sides, his eyes twitching violently.

"That same man would later die to revive the fallen dead, because of a few mere words you spoke to him." Slade continued and Naruto remembered Nagato as he died with that strange smile on his face. "And finally, the woman, the man's "Angel" she died defending both his body, and because she wished to protect you… to think her noble sacrifice was worthless in the end." Slade noted darkly while still remaining hidden and Naruto twitched violently as he briefly remembered Konan, and then grit his teeth.

"Is there a point to any of this Candy-Corn face? Besides bringing up a lot of memories from my time as a fucking hero that I'd _really_ rather forget!" Naruto demanded loudly, teeth gritted in anger and looking all around for the man.

"Simple, from what I can tell, you bring nothing but misery and death wherever you go… Your mother, your friend and his master, your "Grandfather", your other friend's sensei, your own sensei, both a powerful man who sought peace through destruction and his friend, and then your own father… all of them died and were connected to you in some way. But I must wonder, is it all merely just a simple coincidence that they all knew you in some way?" Slade quipped from the shadows and Naruto took several deep breaths before closing his eyes.

"Candy-Corn face…" Naruto started to say before opening his Rennigan eyes and clenching his fists at his sides. **"Don't say I didn't fucking warn you!"** The blond growled out, his tone becoming Demonic at the end as he twisted on his heel and held out his hands. **"You want destruction, I'll give you destruction! ****SHINRA TENSEI!****"** The furious blond roared out while spinning around and causing a mass wave of gravity to press down in a wide circle that soon encompassed the entire room. Slade fell to his knees as the blond did so and then looked up to see him walking straight towards him, the eyes of his mask glowing a furious red even without the thermal setting…

"DUDE! What is this? I can barely move!" BB exclaimed as his body was pressed down into the ground, Cyborg growling as he barely managed to kneel before using an arm to hold himself up, his teeth gritted as his body struggled with the enhanced gravity.

"I think X somehow increased the gravity around us!" Cy gritted out while Nightwing and Batman both tried and failed to rise up from the floor. Starfire however managed to stand with a slouch, only to yelp and fall to her knees while looking passed the flames to see Naruto, red eyed and marching towards Slade.

"When did the Red-X acquire the power of gravity?" Starfire questioned of her friends while BB turned into a gorilla and grit his teeth as he tried to stand up.

"Who knows? X shows a new power every time we see him! For all we know he could always do this!" Night shouted in reply while he and Batman both used some nearby rubble to push themselves up.

"I'm more interested in what Slade was saying… and if what he's saying about his past is the truth." Batman said and Nightwing only mentally agreed with his former Mentor as he watched the masked thief march towards Slade.

"Judging by his damn Reaction to the shit Slade was spouting, then yeah I'd say it's the fucking truth!" The Titanium Teen managed to grit out, Batman agreeing with him fully as the reaction clearly stated that what Slade had said about the masked thief was true. However at that moment, Naruto snapped his fingers, causing the weight of gravity to lift off of them and BB let out a relieved sigh.

"Dudes, I mean seriously, if I ever piss off X _or_ Nar, shoot me first… it'll be a lot less painful that way!" The green teen mumbled while rubbing his head, Cy half agreeing with him as Naruto swung both of his Ninjatou. A blast of Chakra flowing from either blade and then cutting into Slade, slicing off his arms and making him fall to his knee once more. Looking up with a wide eye even as his arms started to reform, Slade gasped as Naruto lunged forward and shoved a Ninjatou straight through the middle of his head before lifting him up by it. Sheathing his other sword onto his back, Naruto then narrowed his eyes onto Slade's face furiously.

"**I warned you candy-corn face!"** Naruto growled out furiously towards the man's masked face before forming a Rasengan into his left hand and slamming both it, and Slade into the ground at the same time. Ripping out his Ninjatou as he did so, the Rasengan easily ripped it way through Slade's masked face and then his head before leaving nothing but a pulverized mass of mush and gore. However, Naruto then flipped back as Slade's head started to reform, the blond throwing his arms forward and creating a thick casing of bone-like armor over his right arm.

"**FUUTON: RASENSHURIKEN! (Wind Release: Swirling Shuriken!)"** The blond roared as a swirling sphere shaped like a Shuriken formed into his right hand. Quickly lunging forward Naruto slammed the attack into Slade's chest, the attack exploding outwards and shredding everything in its path down to their very molecules. Gritting his teeth, Naruto constantly shifted his Chakra to his right arm to repair the bone armor, making it denser and denser while hoping to keep the damage to his arm to the bare minimum.

Flipping back only when he was certain he'd not only hit Slade but hopefully ripped apart any possible part of him that could reform, Naruto panted lightly while looking down to his right arm. The Bone armor seemed like it was steaming from heat, however it also looked warped, as if it had been twisted around and then melted down, given numerous molecules had probably been destroyed by what he just did, he considered himself lucky it hadn't failed entirely. Breaking down the armor into a fine mist, Naruto then reabsorbed it's chakra and looked to the massive gaping hole that had once been the wall behind Slade…

"DUDE!" BB shouted and got nods of agreement from the Titans while Batman frowned for a moment.

"That won't stop Slade." He stated flatly and Nightwing turned on his creator with an incredulous expression.

"In case you didn't just notice but that attack has taken out the entire far wall and some of the roof with it!" Nightwing shouted at his mentor and Batman frowned deeply while Naruto shook his arm, trying to get feeling back into the limb.

"Slade was resurrected when his body was melted down by molten lava, if he can reform from that, this will be no different." Batman replied and then narrowed his eyes, as a tiny speck of crimson light appeared where Slade had been only a moment before. Soon the red light expanded, a skeleton slowly forming where the speck of light was hovering only to give out a deep groan / moan. Growling low in his throat, Naruto closed his eyes and began to pull Nature-Chakra into himself while the skeleton finished forming itself. The skeleton then threw its arms to the side, causing two jets of fire to flow from its arms as a familiar costume and mask slowly formed over its body, Slade falling to his knees as he tried to regain his breath.

"_**You can cut me apart…"**_ Slade said in a low demonic growl while glaring at the blond haired teen. _**"Grind me to dust…"**_ The masked madman continued to growl before rising up to his feet shakily and then glared towards Naruto. _**"Burn me alive…"**_ He continued while cracking his neck and then glaring at Naruto. _**"Or even destroy my body completely…"**_ Slade continued in the same demonic growl and then chuckled lightly while folding his arms behind his back. "No matter what you do, no matter how hard you try, you just can't kill me." Slade finished, his voice returning back to normal as Naruto opened his eyes and glared at the masked madman.

"**Oh really? Well let's just see about that, shall we!"** Naruto replied while chuckling as six Bone-like Magatama beads formed around his neck. **"Senjutsu: Sennin Modo!"** The masked thief stated darkly, several orange marks appearing on his suit, Slade grimacing slightly as he knew what that meant. However, Naruto then held his hand out and narrowed his eyes dangerously as he glared towards Slade. **"Bansho Ten'in!"** Naruto growled out while twisting around on his heel, causing the entire room's gravity to decrease. Widening his eyes, Slade grunted as he floated off of the ground, the Titans doing so as well, only Starfire unaffected by the loss of Gravity.

"Dude! I'd really like to know when X picked up all these Gravity abilities!" BB exclaimed while trying to right himself as he floated upside down, Batman and Nightwing firing a grapple to the ground as a sort of tether. Batman then grabbed hold of Cyborg to keep him from flying away, Nightwing grabbing Beast Boy for the same reason.

"Whenever he picked them up doesn't matter, right now he needs to stop using them on such a grand fucking scale! I can't take being pressed into the ground or thrown into the air like this much more today!" Cyborg complained loudly while Starfire merely giggled as she watched her friends struggle with the loss of gravity for a moment, before turning to where Naruto was marching towards Slade as he also clearly had trouble with the loss of gravity as well. Reaching the masked madman, Naruto then yanked Slade over to face him and gripped him by his throat, gravity returning in the room as Naruto ended the technique, a furious look in the glowing blood red eyes of his mask.

"What now? Are you going to break me in half? Crush me again? Or would you prefer more useless dismemberment?" Slade quipped dryly and Naruto narrowed his eyes onto the man before glaring at the S shaped rune on his forehead. _**'Master, you still have THAT ability…'**_ Kusanagi suddenly reminded in the blond haired boy's mind, and a nearly evil grin passed Naruto's lips, as he looked at Slade dangerously, the man noticing the change in his demeanor almost instantly.

"**Oh no, nothing so simple for you, this time… I have a **_**special**_** technique reserved just for you!"** Naruto replied in the same almost demonic tone his voice had become before placing his hand onto the man's head. **"Calm down Slade, don't even bother struggling… besides this won't hurt a bit."** Naruto hissed darkly then pulled his arm back, gripping onto something as he did so, Slade's eye widening as a transparent blue essence started to flow from his body. **"Now your soul is **_**mine**_**!"** Naruto hissed out darkly, Slade's eye widening as he then looked down to see his feet crumbling to dust as Naruto pulled the strange blue essence from his body, his legs quickly following suit.

However, before Naruto could finish ripping out Slade's very soul from his being, Raven formed out of a portal to the side, crimson runes covering her skin and body. Looking around for a moment, she gasped seeing Naruto and then flew straight at him, ramming into him from the side and causing the blond to release Slade's soul. _'Naruto!'_ Raven cried in his mind and the blond struggled to get up, Raven quickly using her powers to hold him down. _'Naruto it's me! Naruto, please, you have to calm down!'_ Raven told the blond as she grabbed his shoulders and Naruto blinked upon seeing her and then groaned while clutching his head.

"Oh man my head seriously hurts… Oh, and please remind me to get some anger management in the future…" Naruto muttered quietly and Raven released a relieved sigh before turning to look at Slade, the man groaning from the ground.

"I thought I told you to leave my friends out of this!" Raven growled out towards Slade and he sat up, placing a hand to his head and giving the violet haired girl a look.

"_This_?" He asked while motioning around to the destruction around the room. "You honestly think I caused _any_ of this myself?" Slade questioned dryly even as he climbed up to his feet and steadied himself, making a note to _never_ let Naruto grab his head again for the foreseeable future. "Well I'm sorry to report I didn't cause this, or at least not ALL of it… the majority of this was caused by _him_." Slade Stated while pointing to Naruto as he stood up and glared at him angrily. "It's just as I told him, he brings nothing but death and destruction to all those around him…" Slade stated simply and Raven narrowed her eyes onto the man as he then started to back away.

"So long as he's here, there will only be destruction, all he can hope to cause is death or destruction. It's all his power is good for, and all he's capable of bringing… but then again, you're the same way… aren't you Raven." Slade mused aloud, a furious growl leaving Naruto's throat only for Raven to hold him back. "Got him on a short leash I see. Good, he needs someone to reign in his temper." Slade mused aloud and Raven had to turn and push Naruto back at the crack.

"I'll show you a temper, Candy-Corn face!" Naruto shouted at the man and Slade chuckled lightly while looking at the masked thief.

"I rest my case…" The one eyed man replied flatly and Raven mentally sighed, though wondered what Slade did or more likely said to rile up the blond so much… "Now if you all will please excuse me, I really _must_ be going. But I'll be sure to give _him_ your fond regards." Slade then told the girl while slowly flowing into the ground, Raven narrowing her eyes as he tried to get away.

"_I'm_ not finished yet." Raven stated while placing a black-coated hand to the ground and lifting it up, causing Slade to rise up with it. Coming back to his feet, Slade narrowed his eyes onto the girl and formed a pair of fireballs into his hands.

"You _really_ don't want to do this…" Slade warned darkly and Raven scoffed before marching forward.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" Raven demanded while Naruto blinked as she walked closer to the masked-madman. "Aren't you going to attack? Reduce me to ashes?" Raven demanded while walking to stand in front of the man. "Or did your _master_ forbid you from hurting me?" Raven questioned and Slade remained silent, gazing down at the girl coldly. "Did he order you to keep his precious _gem_ safe?" Raven continued to question, loud enough for the Titans to hear her and Cyborg scratched his head.

"So wait, Raven has the gem?" Cyborg asked and a frown crossed Nightwing's lips as he realized what Slade's words, and the numerous scarlet runes littering Raven's body meant.

"No. Raven _is_ the gem." Nightwing stated while Slade released his fireballs and glared down at Raven with a frown.

"What do you want?" Slade questioned coldly and Raven held up her hand, encasing Slade in black energy and lifting him from the ground.

"This time I have a message for you." Raven replied before throwing Slade back, slamming him into a wall and then twisted around, throwing him to the other side while Naruto blinked. "You tell him he'll have to destroy me before I'll help him!" Raven stated while floating passed her surprised friends, Naruto whistling as he saw her unleash her own temper for once.

"You can tell him yourself… the hour is near…" Slade replied while looking up at the violet-eyed girl, only to mentally groan as she slammed a large stone slab down on top of him. The girl then grunted as she threw her arms to the side, throwing Slade out of the rubble and into the ceiling, grunting once more she threw Slade down into the ground. Raven then quickly raised Slade to hover in midair before slamming several boulders into him from all sides and allowing him to tumble to the ground in a heap. Though Slade inwardly admitted to himself that this was actually by far less painful than what Naruto had done to him earlier.

Looking up towards Raven, Slade mentally groaned as she then formed her Soul-Self before hurtling it towards him. _'This just isn't my day…_' Slade noted inwardly as the massive Raven slammed into him and exploded on impact, kicking up dust and debris all around. Slowly standing back up and cracking his neck back into place, Slade watched as Raven hovered towards him silently. "I'm not afraid of you anymore!" Raven declared and Slade silently looked over her shoulder before narrowing his eye onto the girl.

"You might not be afraid of me, but look who's afraid of you…" Slade uttered darkly, Raven turning around to face her friends and the masked Madman quickly made his escape. _'If I never fight her and the boy together, it'll be too soon…'_ Slade inwardly admitted to himself with a shiver as he vanished without a trace soon after…

(Tartarus HQ…)

It had been an emotional evening for Raven, after freaking out her friends; she'd finally explained the truth to them about her family, and her destiny. Surprisingly however, they didn't seem to care and took it in stride, and while she wouldn't say it, she was grateful to them all for sticking by her. However now she was going to visit Naruto to see how he was holding up from his freak out on Slade. As such Raven appeared in Tartarus HQ and sighed while walking through the living room.

"Hey Raven…" Dani said while holding up a hand as if it were the most common thing in the world to see her. _'I really do visit too often to be healthy.'_ Raven couldn't help but think to herself as she entered the many hallways around the base, passing by Kid-Wykkyd who looked more pale than normal. _'Didn't he go visit a relative in Silent Hill? Wonder if it's someone related to Aunt Alessa…'_ Raven mused to herself while remembering one of the few things she knew about her family on earth.

Shaking her head and deciding it wasn't worth over thinking about, the violet haired girl made her way to Naruto's room. Blinking as she approached, Raven sighed when she saw Jinx sitting outside of Naruto's door with a worried frown on her face. "You know… you're really starting to seem like a stray puppy…" Raven noted aloud while looking at the girl with a shake of her head and Jinx glared at her rival angrily.

"Yeah well Temp hasn't come out of his room all day and I'm getting worried!" Jinx replied while pointing at Raven accusingly, the violet-haired sorceress frowning lightly as she walked forward and opened the door. "Hey! You can't just…" Jinx started to protest before blinking when she noticed no one was inside. "Wait… when did he leave? No, better yet, HOW did he leave?" Jinx questioned aloud and Raven looked around the room before shaking her head.

"With him, it's impossible to tell…" She replied before closing her eyes and feeling out for the blond haired teen. Not feeling him inside of the base, though made a note that Duela felt weird, she did notice something on the roof and mentally sighed. _'He always goes to the highest place he can to think…'_ She mused to herself while Jinx crossed her arms and gave the girl a flat look.

"Find him?" She asked and Raven breathed out a sigh before flowing into her Soul-Self and rising up through the ceiling. "Hey!" Jinx complained before huffing and crossing her arms over her chest.

"You really need a new hobby…" Duela noted from nearby, sitting on the floor and eating a cup of ramen… Staring at the red haired girl for a moment, Jinx huffed while crossing her arms and walking away from her.

"Who asked you?" Jinx shouted while walking away, more because she still had a bit of a thing with clowns and Duela smirked as she left.

"Is it just me readers, or is she seriously too serious to be good for her health?" Duela asked the "Readers" with a grin and then ate some more of her Ramen before continuing. "I mean seriously, how serious can one chick be before its unhealthy? Oh, and I need to say hello yet again! Nice to be back and talking to you guys! Did you miss me? C'mon did you miss me?" Duela suddenly asked while leaning forward with a wide grin and looked towards the "Readers"…

Meanwhile Raven found herself on top of Tartarus HQ, then saw Naruto sitting at the highest point possible, his eyes locked on Jump-City. Seeing the intent look on her boyfriends face, Raven shook her head for a moment before walking over to stand before him, though he was still above her. "Look too intently and you won't see what's right in front of you." Raven noted aloud and caused Naruto's eyes to shift down to her for only a moment before returning to the city.

"Yeah well, sometimes I just feel like staring into nothingness…" Naruto replied while gazing forward intently, his eyes briefly creeping out Raven. Shaking her head of that, the girl flew up and sat down next to him, looking out to the city for a moment before sighing. "Something wrong?" Naruto asked while continuing to look out at the city as if there was something interesting out there.

"I finally told my friends about Trigon and the prophecy…" Raven admitted and Naruto turned his eyes to his girlfriend with a worried look.

"And?" He asked and a smile crossed Raven's lips.

"Actually, they took it pretty well." She replied and a smile crossed Naruto's features even as he looked back to the city.

"Yeah, true friends will always look passed stuff like that…" Naruto replied and Raven leaned to the side, her head landing against his shoulder while he raised an arm over her shoulders. "Scared?" Naruto asked while looking to her again and Raven raised a brow while looking to the blond.

"What makes you think I'm scared?" She asked him and the blond smirked.

"You leaned into me, you don't normally do that on your own." Naruto replied and watched as a small smile crossed Raven's lips.

"When did you start knowing me so well?" Raven asked and Naruto took a thoughtful expression for a moment.

"Hard to tell actually." He replied with a smirk, Raven letting out a tired sigh while she closed her eyes. "Still, you haven't answered my question." Naruto reminded and Raven kept her eyes closed even as she answered him.

"Just stop asking questions…" She whispered and Naruto blinked before pulling her further into his side while looking back out to Jump-City with a frown. _'And so the end finally comes… and I have to wonder, are we ready for this?'_ Naruto wondered to himself before looking to the sky and letting out a deep breath as he nearly ripped out Slade's Soul… _'And I have to wonder, just what am I becoming?'_ Naruto wondered to himself before leaning his head down on top of Raven's silently…

(Unknown…)

Deep below the earth's crust, Slade kneels down before a stone with a familiar S shaped rune emblazoned upon it. "The prophecy has been revealed…" Slade says while looking up and narrows his eyes. "The portal has accepted her fate. And the boy remains in the dark to the truth of his own." Slade continues while four glowing crimson red eyes open up above him, followed by Kyuubi's eyes opening up behind him.

"**You serve us well Slade."** Trigon's deep voice suddenly echoed out across the underground cavern. **"Continue to please us, and we shall honor our deal. I shall return what you have lost."** Trigon continued while narrowing his eyes onto the masked man, Slade looking to one of his hands silently as he did so.

"I am depending on it…" Slade replies even as the Mark of Scath upon his brow glows brightly…

TBC…


	54. The End Pt 1

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

**Chapter 52**: **The End Pt. 1**…

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

(Jump-City…)

"**The Time has come. The Prophecy shall be fulfilled. Tonight at dusk, when the planets align, the portal will be open!"** The deep demonic voice of Trgion echoed out in the depths of his subterranean lair, Slade kneeling down as his master spoke. **"Finally I shall be free of this prison, and the earth shall be mine!"** Trigon then declared and Kyuubi opened its eyes in the depths of the earth, narrowing them onto Trigon dangerously.

"**You mean **_**we**_** will be free, and the earth will be **_**ours**_**!"** Kyuubi growled out at the four-eyed demon, causing him to wince.

"**Yes… of course, do forgive me but I have been waiting for this day patiently for over eighteen years."** Trigon reminded and Kyuubi snorted while narrowing his eyes onto the other demon, a cruel grin crossing his face as he did. _**'Oh, don't worry Trigon, you'll have your freedom… for a time… muhahahaha…'**_ Kyuubi thought to himself as he watched Slade lift his head to look at Trigon.

"I will make sure that Raven realizes her destiny." Slade declared while looking to the familiar stone with the S shaped rune emblazoned on its surface. "And in exchange for bringing you your precious gem, I expect you to keep your end of the bargain and return what is precious to me." Slade replied while looking above the stone to the four crimson red eyes that seemed to float in mid air.

"**You will bring us the gem, and you will get what you deserve…"** Trigon replied while causing dozens of S shaped runes to encircle the massive room he lay within.

"Deal." Slade agreed while standing up, Kyuubi grinning darkly behind the man as he narrowed his crimson red eyes onto his back. _**'Foolish Ningen, don't you know the first rule of working with a demon of any kind… they always stab you in the back…'**_ Kyuubi thought to himself, a dark chuckle echoing from his throat as he watched on silently. "It's a beautiful day for the end of the world!" Slade declared before suddenly vanishing in a burst of fire… the day was finally upon them, the time for freedom had finally come…

(Titans Tower…)

The sun slowly rose upon the horizon, its warming rays filtering into the room of the dark "Titana" herself Raven. The sun soon raised up high enough to completely blanket the girl in a warming aura, her face scrunching up as it did. _'Why does the sun have to be so…'_ She started to think until her eyes bolted open as a strange feeling welled up within her, one she was becoming increasingly familiar with. Throwing her covers back, Raven sat up and looked down at her body in shock upon seeing dozens of familiar crimson red runes were covering her body.

"No!" She half whispered in horror upon realizing what the markings meant. Closing her eyes as she did, the girl then bowed her head in defeat, already well aware of what would happen today… on October 10th of all days… Shaking her head, Raven then looked around before getting out of bed and quickly pulling on her things. Finishing with her usual blue cloak Raven then flew up and phased through the ceiling, soon coming out onto the roof. Letting out a sigh as she saw the still rising sun, the violet haired teen made her way over to the edge of the tower and looked to the rising sun silently.

'_I wonder, would a fall from this height be enough to kill me?'_ Raven briefly wondered while looking at the runes on her arms, considering it only for the fact it would be preferable to the utter destruction of all life on the entire planet…

"What are you doing up so early?" Nightwing questioned as he walked up from behind the girl with a slight smile on his face.

"I could ask you the same thing." Raven replied demurely, eyes closed and her body covered by her long cloak.

"I love sunrise. The promise of a new day, anything's possible." Nightwing replied simply and Raven gazed over towards her leader for a brief moment.

"You always so cheery this early?" The violet haired Titana asked and Nightwing smirked slightly to himself.

"Pretty much." He replied honestly while crossing her arms over his chest, causing Raven to look to the side. "Looks like its going to be a beautiful day." He noted mostly to himself and Raven lowered her eyes and sighed softly.

"Yeah." She whispered quietly and then had a thought cross her mind. _'If… if this is going to be the last day for everyone… I should at least make it special for my friends… and those closest to me…'_ She thought to herself before breathing lightly and turning to Nightwing with a small smile across her face. "Hungry?" She asked, the slightest uplift to her usual tone drawing the dark-squires immediate attention away from the slowly rising sun…

(Tartarus HQ…)

Naruto grunted as he walked out of his room with a deep scowl across his face, muttering something under his breath as he crossed his arms over his chest. Oddly, he was wearing the Omega X-Suit today, the helmet having broken apart and slid to cover the back of his head. Not only did this leave his face completely viewable, but it also allowed the scowl on Naruto's face to be seen by all. Oddly he was wearing a pair of dark-sunglasses over his eyes, and a long tattered black trench coat with the sleeves rolled up passed his elbows, his usual twin Ninjatou stationed on his back.

"Hey Temp." Mammoth greeted with a slight raise of his hand only to get an angered grunt in response as the blond walked passed him. Blinking for a moment, Mammoth opened his eyes and looked back to where the blond was making his way towards Ops. Blinking at the inexplicable rage he was sensing from his normally carefree leader, Mammoth raised a brow before walking towards Gizmo's shop to see if he'd know why Naruto was so pissed.

In Ops, Duela was happily bobbing her head from side to side while sitting at the table where some syrup soaked pancakes rested, only to blink when she "Felt" some seriously bad vibes heading towards her. Looking to the door, Duela raised a brow as the pissed off looking Naruto walked into the room. "Hey Boss-man, why you looking so pissed?" Duela asked with a tilt of her head, Naruto snapping his eyes over to the red haired girl and growling lightly.

"October Tenth…" He replied in a low growl while walking passed the red head and sat on the sofa, the scowl never leaving his features as he turned on the TV and started to look for something to watch. Blinking for a moment, Duela scratched her head as she tried to remember why that day sounded significant. Snapping her fingers a moment later when she remembered it was the blond haired youth's birthday, Duela then stopped and a wide grin crossed her features.

"COOL!" She exclaimed while running out of the room, right passed Jinx who shivered slightly as the clown girl passed. Running down the hall, Duela then slid to a halt when the doorbell was rang and looked around. "I'll get it!" She exclaimed loudly before running to the door and opening it up, only to blink upon seeing no one there. Looking down and half expecting a baby, she was pleasantly surprised to see a small satchel with a note attached to it. Picking up the sack, Duela then opened up the note and read it to herself.

"Here's something to help in the coming storm, one for all but the strongest of you so that you may remain safe…" Duela read aloud and ooed while looking at the back then opened it up with a grin, only to tilt her head when she saw several familiar gold rings with red lettering on the band… "Weird, oh well, might as well give these to the guys!" Duela mused to herself while turning around and made her way further into the HQ, looking for the other members of Tartarus…

Meanwhile, just shook her head when Duela was gone, Jinx then walked into Ops and over to the sofa. Flipping over the back of the sofa the pink haired girl sat down with a light sigh. Closing her eyes for a moment, she only then noticed a slight weight to the side and looked over at Naruto in surprise for a moment. Seeing the angry scowl that was stretched across his features, the girl mentally shifted a bit away from him. "Uh, Temp, why do you look so pissed?" Jinx questioned and Naruto merely muttered something under his breath while glaring at the TV as if it'd done something to him recently.

"It's October Tenth and I want to leave it at that…" Naruto replied while glaring at the TV, causing Jinx to briefly remember that it was not only Naruto's birthday, but also the anniversary of his mother's death. Shifting uncomfortably at the blond haired teen's side for a moment, Jinx tried to think of something that wouldn't rile the blond's clearly shortened fuse…

"Jinx…" Naruto said, breaking the terse silence and causing his pink-haired friend to yelp slightly before looking to him with a raised brow. "I just… wanted you to have this for putting up with me and the shit I seem to make you and the guys deal with…" Naruto said while reaching into his coat and pulled out a long "string of beads", all of the beads being an off brown save only for the largest of them which was ivory in color with a red swirl on it. Taking the beads, Jinx raised a brow at the length of the string, as she was easily able to encircle her entire arm with them.

"Prayer beads?" She questioned of the blond with a raised brow and Naruto cleared his throat while rubbing the underside of his nose.

"Uh yeah… my… my mom gave them to me when I was really little. Said that no mater what, so long as I kept them with me no one would be able to harm me. Unfortunately I kind of sealed them after that and put them under one of the floorboards of our place so I didn't have it with me for the longest time…" Naruto admitted uncomfortably while Jinx's eyes bolted open and she stared at the blond for a moment.

"Wait, then why don't you give them to, Raven?" She asked the blond in surprise and an uncomfortable look crossed Naruto's face.

"The thing about that, they kind of burn her…" Naruto admitted uncomfortably while rubbing his biceps and Jinx raised a brow, wondering when he figure that out. "I… might have taken one of the beads off of it and touched Kara-Chan with it… clearly, she didn't like the results. My mom always said the String of Beads is a "Kamikazari" or in English…" Naruto started to say but Jinx grimaced, as she was easily able to translate that word for him.

"Meaning that it's a Holy Artifact, and Raven is about as far from holy as they come…" Jinx realized before looking to the ancient relic in her hand and Naruto nodded his head reluctantly. "But where did your mom get something like this? If it really is a Kamikazari and if I didn't know better I'd almost say it was the Yasakani no Magatama." Jinx questioned of the blond while looking to the prayer beads, wrapping them around her arm enough times to make three X's along the underside of her forearm.

"I think mom once said she found the beads individually over the years and then made the string herself…" Naruto admitted with a shrug of his shoulders and Jinx raised a brow, finding it odd for someone to look for a bunch of Stray Beads that were just lying around…

"Well in any case, thanks Temp." Jinx then offered with a smile and Naruto waved it off while looking back to the TV silently. Looking down to the ivory bead upon the string for a moment, Jinx then bit her lip before sighing. Turning to her blond haired friend she smile slightly and leaned over to him. "Still, I don't see why you'd give something like this to me, I thought you liked to collect things. Besides, aren't I supposed to be the one giving you something today?" Jinx reminded with a slight smirk on her lips and Naruto blushed lightly before rubbing his nose.

"Yeah well… you've put up with me and my quirks for so long… I mean, just look a the hell I've put you through, I'm dating a Titan whose supposed to be your enemy, I've pretty much taken control of this entire group and turned us into mercs without really talking to you or the guys about it, admittedly you guys don't seem to mind, but I've also repeatedly caused more than a little hell in the form of the Shinobi, Harley and Ivy, that freaky transformation of mine, now Slade, and who knows what else!" Naruto replied and Jinx shrugged her shoulders while fingering the String of Beads on her right forearm lightly.

"C'mon Temp, you've been there to help all of us. You've given Gizmo someone who always uses his weapons and tech. You've given Mammoth a friend he can rely on when he can't turn to others. Given Private HIVE, Seemore, Kid, and even Duela a home. You've saved Billy from The Joker himself. Taken in Dani as your apprentice to help her grow. And even fought off the Titans on your own to help Blackfire. And sure you boss us around, but that's what a Leader does, and you do it well." Jinx stated while poking the blond haired boy in his chest, Naruto merely smiling slightly in response.

"Sure… and I bet putting up with Raven, since she is essentially our enemy, has been a piece of cake for you guys as well." Naruto retorted and Jinx nodded her head lightly, admitting that was a bit of a problem as the other's were becoming more than a little used to Raven as a result of her near-constant presence around the HQ.

"Okay, you got me there…" Jinx admitted before crossing her arms over her chest. "However, thanks to that Job we pulled in the Mall with Harley and Ivy, we really haven't been strapped for cash as of late so that's not much of a problem. Besides that, Giz has been sending the guys out on small missions for the last couple of months, easy little things we figured no one could screw up. But its still making us all more than enough to keep us going for a long time." Jinx explained and Naruto blinked for a moment while leaning back on the sofa, a thoughtful expression crossing his features.

'_So __that's__ how we keep going without doing any big jobs, should've known Giz would want a steady income… he's anal about that kind of thing.'_ Naruto mused to himself before sighing as he leaned back in his seat once more. "Okay, that makes sense… but do you really want me to take that back?" Naruto asked with a sly look on his face and Jinx chuckled nervously before whistling innocently.

"Who me? No… I like it." Jinx replied and Naruto rolled his eyes while leaning back and closing his eyes. Watching the blond for a moment, Jinx fingered the String of Beads once more before mentally sighing as she tried to come up with another conversation starter… "So Temp, how's your training been going lately?" Jinx questioned of her blond friend and Naruto mumbled something under his breath while crossing his arms behind his neck…

"So… have you really been making a big rain-cloud to water your garden for you like Giz has been saying, Temp?" Jinx asked and Naruto's eyes shot open, a nervous grin crossing his face as he turned to the girl.

"W-Wha…? Why would I do a thing like that? How can you even think I'd do something like that, let alone say I'd abuse my powers in such a silly way!" Naruto exclaimed, Jinx frowning when she noticed how defensive he was being about it.

"Tempest…" She stated flatly and Naruto groaned while hanging his head.

"Alright, yes I've been doing that… but in my own defense, I don't get to water my plants all that often lately…" Naruto said in his own defense before whistling for a moment as the slightest of smiles crossed his features. "It was also a good way for me to learn how to use the rain Jutsu in the first place." Naruto added and Jinx shook her head with an amused look across her face.

"Temp you're like a kid with all your powers." Jinx stated and nodded her head while Naruto reached up to lower his sunglasses to the bridge of his nose and glare at the rosette with a frown.

"Oh really, and just how am I like a kid?" Naruto demanded of his pink-haired friend and she grinned towards him.

"Because you use your powers to do your work for you…" She replied and Naruto gaped at her for a moment before thinking about it, frowning when she kind of had a point as he still used Kagebunshin to do maintenance on his weapons while he would train…

"Yeah well fine then, I'm a kid with god-like abilities…" Naruto stated and nodded his head as if that was that, Jinx snorting before snickering into her hand as Naruto smirked towards her.

(JLU Watchtower…)

Batman, Dr. Fate, and Shayera Hol sat before a computer, Batman frowning as Dr. Fate typed on the consol. "It is as we feared Batman, the time is finally upon us… the planets will align tonight at Dusk… and then…" Dr. Fate left off even while showing a projection of the planets on the screen, Batman's frown turning to a scowl as he saw that they would align within a matter of hours… "The End will finally be upon us." Dr. Fate whispered and Batman leaned forward and stared at a countdown on the screen for a few terse moments.

"Any luck finding more Rings of Azar?" Batman questioned and Dr. Fate shook his head while Shayera crossed her arms over her chest.

"Then how are we going to fight this menace if we'll be susceptible to his powers? I thought he was planning to turn all mortals to stone once he escape his prison." Shayera questioned of the man and Dr. Fate silently lowered his head while lacing his fingers together in a thoughtful expression.

"Only you, Batman, myself, and Etrigan will be able to fight Trigon should he actually manage to succeed with his plans, I'm afraid… I don't have the power to protect any more people or I risk us all… Batman's Ring of Azar shall keep him safe from the stone spell. Etrigan is not affect by Demonic-Magic. And I shall cast a spell to protect the two of us from its affects." Dr. Fate explained to the winged woman before Batman frowned deeply while looking to the man.

"That plan is tenuous at beast, even your powers have limits. Chances are you'll stop the spell from turning either of you to stone, but drain yourself and be too weak to be of any help to us in the main battle with Trigon himself." Batman reminded the helmeted man flatly and Dr. Fate silently nodded his head in agreement.

"True, but hopefully Shayera's Nth-Metal Mace will be an adequate weapon to combat Trigon. He may be a demon, but as we all know from passed experience, her mace can do tremendous damage to otherworldly creatures and the like." Dr. Fate reminds, and Batman nodded his head, being well aware of just how damaging her mace would be to such a being…

"But what about the other Demonic Members of the league, certainly we can call to them for aid." Shayera reminded and Batman shook his head with a deep frown across his face.

"Unfortunately no. The League is spread thin at the moment and each of them is on a mission. Besides that, only Blue Devil is a demonic being, and he's not powerful enough to help us against Trigon. His ability to send souls to hell might help, however Trigon would instantly see him as a threat and most likely crush him before we had a chance to weaken him sufficiently." Batman replied casually as always, Shayera frowning to herself while Dr. Fate continued his work on the consol for only a moment longer before sitting up.

"It's almost time… we best be off. The Titans along with Jason created a containment room in their tower for, Raven. It should keep anything Demonic from getting to her and allowing us some small chance of protecting her and keeping Trigon from entering our world altogether." Dr. Fate explained and Batman nodded his head while turning and walking out of the room, Shayera and Dr. Fate following behind the Dark-Knight as he made his way to the transport room…

(Tartarus HQ…)

"What do you mean it's Temp's Birthday?" Gizmo demanded loudly while Duela snickered slightly at the face he was making. After remembering it was her leaders birthday, and somehow hearing Jinx's little speech from the Author, Jinx decided she need to get everyone together to give the blond a party. Thus, she'd literally dragged everyone to the Holo-Room and then explained the situation to them.

"Well Tarnation, why didn't he tell us bout his birthday!" Billy wondered aloud, his clones nodding in agreement with him.

"Yeah, we could've gotten ol' Grim to stop by with one of his presents!" One of the clones suggested only for two of the clones to jump on it and start trying to shut it up, visibly pale and with wide eyes.

"While totally ignoring the random statement from Billy. I still have to agree with him, how come Temp didn't tell us?" Mammoth wondered aloud while frowning, and then remembered the sour mood the blond had been in earlier. "And for that matter why is he so angry today?" Mammoth wondered aloud while crossing his arms over his chest and Duela popped up over his shoulder.

"Maybe he's pissed someone forgot his big day!" The red head suggested and caused Seemore to blink before snapping his fingers.

"Well when you think about it, he's closest to Dani, Jinx, and Raven." Seemore reminded and they all nodded before looking over to the ghostling girl as she hovered in the air. Blinking for a moment, the dark haired girl looked around before frowning deeply as they stared at her.

"What? He didn't tell me it was his birthday… and Duela somehow knew about it…" Dani reminded and the others looked to the clown girl as she blinked for a moment and then grinned widely.

"Yeah he told me and Jinx about it… then mentioned something about being nineteen today…" Duela mused aloud and the others frowned, as that really didn't make any sense…

"Okay, so Temp is Nineteen today, it's his birthday, and he's pissed about something." Gizmo mused aloud while sitting on one of Mammoth's shoulders and rubbing his chin with a frown.

"What does that tell us?" Dani wondered and Gizmo held up his finger for a moment, before frowning deeply, as he couldn't think of anything.

"Nothing really, Jinx would kill herself before forgetting something important about Temp." Gizmo said aloud, getting nods of agreement from the others as they all knew how Jinx felt about the, as Dani often called him, "Clueless" Blond. "And Raven can't always escape her team to visit or I'm sure she'd be here as well." Gizmo then added and Private HIVE snorted while crossing his arms over his chest.

"Don't know about you maggots, but I think she'd be better off changing camps to our side. She fits in better, we don't ask questions, and its not like we really do much thievery lately, though personally the mercenary work we do is really more my speed." PH stated with a nod of his head, getting some agreements from around the room while Duela shook her head with a smirk.

"She doesn't want to be evil because she's half demon already…" Duela stated simply and got the attention of those in the room. "What, wasn't it obvious?" Duela asked and got shakes of the head as her response from all but Kid Wykkyd, the grey skinned teen rubbing his face with a frown.

"Oi, in any case we still have the problem of it being Sensei's birthday, he's unhappy, and we're just sitting around doing nothing!" Dani stated while glaring at the others around the room, Gizmo nodding his head.

"For once I'm with the bitch! Temp's been our leader and friend since day one! When we needed someone to help he was there! So let's put together the biggest bash in history!" Gizmo cried with a grin, the guys whooping in agreement save a silent Kid-Wykkyd who merely nodded his head. "Now then we need to spread out and get everything ready quick!" Gizmo stated only for Duela to snap her fingers and fish around in her backpack, pulling out a sack after she did.

"Oh yeah, and I found these on our doorstep!" Duela added while fishing out a familiar gold ring with glowing crimson marks around the band…

"What do you mean you found them? People don't just leave jewelry lying around for no good reason… or do they on this place?" Blackfire questioned while snatching one of the rings and looking it over with a frown.

"I mean I found them with a note at our doorstep, there's one for each of us but the note said not to included X." Duela replied with a grin and the guys looked to one another before taking hold of the strange rings. Gizmo frowned as he pulled out a scanner and held it up over the ring for a moment, and then narrowed his eyes.

"I don't know what these are but these things are putting of a small amount of magical energy…" Gizmo noted to himself while flipping the ring in hand and then stowed it away in his pocket.

"Who did you say left these?" Blackfire questioned even as she slipped the ring on and smirked while looking at it. Frowning in thought for a moment, Duela tried to keep her train of thought, memories, and everything else straight however failed and thus shrugged her shoulders.

"Like I said, I found them with a note… And the note said that they would help with the "Coming Storm" or something like that." Duela replied and Gizmo looked over to the other members of Tartarus for a moment before they took them as well and looked at the strange rings.

"What do ya'll reckon these things are for? I mean, how could they help us with a storm? They just a bunch a rings… and for that matter, who in tarnation left a bunch a silly little rings for us?" Billy wondered while looking at the ring with a little too much scrutiny to be normal.

"Who cares, they're free remember!" Seemore stated while pocketing the ring and got nods of agreement from several of the other members of Tartarus before Gizmo growled lowly.

"Alright enough distractions! Lets get to work already!" The Tiny-Terror cried out and the rest of Tartarus huddled up and listened to him as he described what they were going to be doing…

(Jump-City…)

Naruto walked through Jump-city, still wearing his Omega X-Suit though it is set to Stealth mode, his swords sealed away, and his coat worn over top it and buttoned up in order to give the illusion that he was dressed in an all black outfit. Sighing softly, the blond haired boy adjusted his sunglasses as he walked down the street, a black / red bucket hat over his head as per-usual. _'What to do, what to do…'_ Naruto considered silently even as he made his way through the city, stopping only when he felt the ground shake beneath his feet.

Blinking for a moment, Naruto turned to the side and shook his head when he saw a spot of red hair, a spot of green, and a spot of violet all sitting on the upper floor at Domino Pizza. _'Looks like either Starfire or Donna wanted the last slice…'_ The blond mused to himself since whenever either girl wanted the last slice of pizza, they either got it or there was going to be pain for someone in the very near future. Clicking his tongue for a moment, Naruto then grinned as he jumped onto a street light before jumping over to Domino-Pizza and landing on the outer rail of the balcony.

As such, he couldn't help a slight smile upon seeing the titans sitting down, Starfire squirting mustard onto a slice of pizza while BB and Cy sat crying to the side, both having obviously wanted it for their own. Grinning inwardly, Naruto then raised a hand when Donna and Kid-Flash noticed him behind, Raven. "Yo Titans, what brings you out and about today of all days?" Naruto questioned with a wave, drawing the teens attention to him and Raven blinking in surprise.

"Naruto? What are you doing out, I thought you had… issues with today?" Raven questioned and Naruto briefly twitched, a slight scowl marring his features.

"Yeah well I decided not to mope around about it. So I'm trying to find something to let out my misplaced aggression on… any baddies out of prison I should know about?" Naruto asked with a wicked grin across his face cracking his knuckles ominously as he did, causing Nightwing to roll his eyes and shake his head.

"You just missed, Plasmus." He replied and Naruto snapped his fingers in mock-disappointment while BB slipped over to the blond.

"Dude, what's with all the black? You finally acting like a real Ninja or what?" BB questioned and Naruto knocked him on the head lightly, the green Jester yelping and rubbing his head when the older teen did.

"Nah, I'm in a bad mood and feel like hitting something…" Naruto replied with a slight smirk and BB chuckled nervously before sliding over to the side. Soon enough Starfire finished her slice of pizza and smiled happily before grabbing Naruto into a hug and grinning at the blond brightly.

"Please! You must come with us Friend Naruto, friend Raven has even suggested that we go and do the "Hanging out" at the park!" Starfire exclaimed, causing Naruto to raise a brow since that was really out of character for Raven. _'When did I become "Friend Naruto"…?'_ The blond also had to wonder since he wasn't exactly around the bubbly red haired alien too often.

"Uh…no offence meant to Kara-Chan, but isn't that kind of odd?" Naruto asked and Starfire considered it for a moment before nodding her head.

"Yes, I do believe you are correct, but perhaps friend Raven is merely used to us all at long last!" Starfire suggested Raven rolling her eyes at that while Naruto crossed his arms over his chest and considered his options. _'Option one, lock myself in my room like I do every year, option two, say no and walk aimlessly around and look for a fight, option three, follow them and at least have Kara-Chan's company… while waiting for the inevitable fight to find them.'_ Naruto thought to himself before sighing slightly as he mentally decided that Option Three was really the only choice he had.

"Fine I'll come with, besides, knowing you kids I'll end up in a fight soon enough." Naruto said with a nod of his head, Raven mentally groaning, as she knew he was right, they seemed prone to danger after all…

Thus the now eight teens found themselves walking through the park, Naruto half asleep as he followed the titans, and was unfortunately bored out of his mind. _'Why couldn't they do something that would give me something to hit? Seriously, I need to let out my aggression soon or I'm going to go X and attack them for the hell of it!'_ The blond haired teen thought to himself, Raven hearing the thought and mentally groaning as she tried to ignore his issues with today.

"Dude!" BB suddenly exclaimed and Naruto looked to the green teen, only to lightly growl when he saw him hold up a penny. "Find a penny pick it up… something something something… good luck! It's my lucky day!" BB cried out with a grin and started to do a silly dance. Watching the green teen for a moment Naruto then pinched the bridge of his nose with a frown.

"Yeah its your lucky day and the worst day of my life…" Naruto muttered bitterly, Kid-Flash blinking when he heard the blond.

"What's that mean?" Kid-Flash questioned while drawing the attention of the other Titans onto the blond. Feeling them looking to him Naruto grunted before crossing his arms over his chest with a frown.

"None of your damn business red…" He grumbled out and then marched off, Raven sighing as he marched off from the group. Following behind the teen there was a noticeably terse silence before Cyborg cleared his throat.

"Anyone up for a game of extreme Stank-Ball after lunch?" The metal man questioned while taking a ball made of old sweaty / stinky socks out of the drawer on his chest plate.

"Yeah sure." Raven allowed with a slight upward lilt to her tone, Naruto stopping in place when he processed what the girl said. As a result Raven passed him, leaving him with the others staring after the violet haired girl.

"But you hate anything extreme…" Kid-Flash noted with a raised brow and BB popped up at his side.

"Or Stanky…" The green jester added as more an afterthought than anything else and Raven stopped, mentally cursing even as she turned arond to look at her friends.

"Maybe I never gave it a chance…" She offered and Starfire flew up to her from the side with her hands clasped together.

"Raven, would you still have time to join me in the painting of the toenails later today?" Starfire questioned with a smile and Naruto narrowed his eyes on his girlfriend, already knowing something was seriously wrong with her.

"Sounds like fun." Raven replied with a slight smile and Naruto was in front of her faster than the flash. Poking her on the forehead with a flat look the blond haired teen leaned forward with a frown.

"Alright, did one of your other personalities take over or what?" Naruto asked flatly, BB snickering as Raven gave the blond a look. "No seriously, even I have to admit your acting weird Kara-Chan." Naruto stated and Nightwing nodded his head in agreement with the blond haired Ex-Shinobi.

"Yeah what's up Raven, Pancakes, Pizza, Stank-Ball, Toenails…" Night started to list and Kid-Flash decided to drop in his own two cents as well.

"Yeah, and she hasn't called BB stupid all day." Kid-Flash noticed, the green Jester nodding his head in agreement with his red haired friend.

"I know! Did someone like replace Raven with a robot or what?" BB asked while looking to the grey skinned girl suspiciously. In response to the unwanted attention, Raven flew to the side, her back to the looks she was getting from her friends and of course her boyfriend.

"I just want everyone to have a nice day today." Raven offered while not allowing any of them to see the downcast look in her violet orbs. "C'mon we have a lot to do before sunset." Raven then stated causing Naruto to raise his brow and wonder when they ever had anything they had to do… However his attention was then drawn to the sun as it slowly started to turn black, a frown crossing Naruto's features. _'I've got a bad feeling about this…'_ Naruto thought to himself as the sun was soon completely blocked out, the sky turning dark as day suddenly became as night.

"Dude what's going on?" BB asked with wide eyes while Naruto lunged forward and caught the girl before she could hit the ground, numerous familiar red runes having formed over her body.

"Is she okay?" Nightwing questioned while walking up behind Naruto, however someone else chose to answer him instead.

"No…" Batman stated as he and Shayera walked over to the group from behind, a grim frown upon the Dark-Knight's face. "Because today is the day…" He started only for Raven to finish for him, tears welling up in her eyes.

"The end of the world…" She whispered while allowing her tears to fall at last, a scowl crossing Naruto's features as he held her close.

"Batman, what are you…?" Nightwing started to question while the Dark-Knight walked over to Raven as Naruto stood up, holding the girl bridal style.

"Dr. Fate uncovered a date for Trigon's coming, at dusk today when the planets align, the portal shall be opened." Batman explained simply and Starfire flew over to the Dark-Knight with a worried look on her face.

"P-Please mister man of bat, is there no way to save Friend Raven?" The red haired alien questioned of the older hero and batman was silent, Shayera eventually answering for him.

"We don't know yet." She replied and the alien girl looked to her friend with visible worry, Naruto looking to Batman with a deep frown on his face.

"I've only got one question. What do we do next?" The blond asked Batman and the Dark-Knight narrowed his eyes before replying.

"We return to Titans Tower, Dr. Fate and Jason have finished something that should at keep, Raven safe… for the time being." Batman replied while turning on his heel and marching towards Titans Tower, followed closely by the Titans and Naruto… Unseen by any of them however, and watching on silently from the sky, was four eyes belonging to Trigon…

(Titans Tower…)

The Titans, Naruto, and the JLU members with them walked through the halls of Titans Tower, a frown on Nightwing's face. "Okay everyone just as we planned." The Dark-Squire ordered as they wondered deeper into the tower, Raven looking around from Naruto's arms with a confused expression.

"Where are you taking me?" She asked and

"You said there was nothing we could do." Nightwing reminded while turning his head to look to his friend then turned around as they approached a door. "We didn't agree, so we've been preparing for this day." Nightwing finished while placing his hand onto a pad at the side of the room, opening up a doorway to a strange room that was predominantly blue, inside of which, Jason and Dr. Fate were putting some finishing touches on the numerous seals lining the strange room.

"You did all this for me?" Raven asked of her friend, clearly touched by the gesture and Kid-Flash smirked.

"Your our friend Raven, of course we'd do all this and probably even more." The speedster replied with a smile, Nightwing nodding his head in agreement.

"We're ready to defeat, Trigon." Nightwing added and Jason Blood scoffed while walking over to the group with Dr. Fate.

"We're nowhere near ready for such a thing Nightwing. To battle an A-Class demon such as Trigon requires power which we do not currently have available to us." Jason stated, Dr. Fate nodding his head in agreement with the scarlet haired man.

"Perhaps you are right but hopefully it won't come to that. Our plan is simple. Raven is the portal, she is the key to Trigon's escape." Donna reminded and Cyborg took over for the Amazonian warrior.

"So if Trigon can't get to the portal, he can't take over." Cyborg continued and Starfire took over the explanation from there.

"So all we must do is keep the Trigon from getting to Raven." Starfire finished with a smile and Batman thought of roughly a dozens holes in that plan while Dr. Fate nodded his head slowly.

"You can't…" Raven said with an exasperated sigh and Nightwing narrowed his eyes while looking to the girl.

"We will, and that is what this room is for." Night replied while walking inside, Naruto watching as Dr. Fate shook his head.

"Yeah, I've equipped only the most state of the art equipment in here. Nothing alive is getting in." Cy explained while walking inside and Starfire smiled while floating over to Raven and Naruto.

"And the symbols mister Blood found in your books shall hopefully keep out everything else." Starfire finished and Raven looked skeptical for a moment, Dr. Fate deciding to speak up at that moment.

"This room shall protect Raven so long as she is inside of it yes…" Dr. Fate admitted but then looked to the violet haired girl stoically. "However, should she leave it of her own accord it will do her little good, and we shall find ourselves with little choice but to battle the beast himself." Dr. Fate reminded the teens and Naruto rolled his eyes while putting Raven back to her feet and letting her walk into the room. Looking around, the violet haired sorceress looked at the many symbols and seals on the walls before turning to her friends.

"This is all… great. But it's not going to make a difference." Raven stated while turning and walking towards the back of the room. "Today the prophecy will be fulfilled, Trigon is coming there's no stopping him." Raven stated softly, eyes closed and Naruto frowned deeply. However before he could speak, Nightwing walked forward, a determined look across his face.

"There's never been a villain we couldn't stop before." Night stated and Raven shook her head solemnly while turning to her eyes towards her leader.

"Trigon isn't a villain, he is the incarnation of evil, the source of all darkness, the…" Raven tried to say only for Naruto to stop her with a frown across his face.

"I don't care if he's an even bigger pain in the ass than Madara was, if this fucker thinks he's touching you with me around, he's got another thing coming!" The blond declared with a scowl across his face, Raven shaking her head as she heard her boyfriend.

"You don't know Trigon, Naruto, he's more powerful than you could possibly imagine." Raven told the blond and he scoffed, a sly smirk crossing his features as he looked to the violet haired girl.

"Somehow I really doubt that." The blond replied and Batman walked forward with a frown across his face.

"In any case we should head out. Stay in here, you'll be fine so long as you don't leave the room. We'll be close by on the off chance you need us." Batman stated while turning around, walking out of the room, soon followed by the others. BB stopping for a moment and then quickly turned around and ran up to Raven.

"Here…" BB stated while placing something into the girls open palm. "For luck." He explained while rushing out of the room, followed by Naruto whose arms were crossed over his chest as the door to the room slid shut. Opening her hand and looking to what BB left her, Raven found the penny that the green changeling had found only a short while ago in the park.

"All the luck in the world won't help us now…" Ravne said to herself solemnly, then sighed while looking around the room for a moment and leaned back into a wall…

(?)

Deep beneath the earth's crust, within the tomb Slade found himself more and more often, the masked madman awaited. _'Good, Rose has given the rings to Tartarus, no doubt Raven will protect the Titans, and the JLU most likely have ways to protect themselves… all according to plan.'_ The masked man mused to himself while Trigon's eyes suddenly appeared on the wall. "The hour is approaching." Slade declared while looking up to Trigon's eyes. "The Army is ready." He states simply, even as Kyuubi's own eyes open up and peer down at him.

"**You had best perform."** Trigon ordered darkly and Slade rose to his feet while gazing towards both demons.

"I'll do my job, you better have my payment ready when I get back." The masked madman stated, Trigon's eyes narrowing on him while Kyuubi twitched. _**'Stupid mortal, to dare make orders of his masters…'**_ Kyuubi couldn't help but think to himself, his twin red eyes narrowing as Slade raised his hands upwards. "Rise!" Slade ordered darkly, the earth bursting open to reveal dozens upon dozens of flaming wraiths, all of the creatures bearing demonic red eyes as they flowed forward.

"**Bring me the portal!"** Trigon ordered with finality to his words, Slade walking to the front of the army with a dark glare.

"Warriors, march!" Slade cried out to the army and then made his way forward, followed by the army of fire-wraiths. Row after row of the beings moving forward until a portal opened before Slade, then stretched out, allowing all of them to march through it…

(Jump-City…)

Naruto stands atop Titans-Tower with a deep frown on his face, looking to the sky for a moment with narrowed eyes. "You seem troubled." Shayera noted as she walked onto the roof and looked at him strangely. Turning slightly, the blond scoffed for a moment before reaching up for his hat. Throwing the object from his head and off of the tower completely, he then turned away from the winged woman with a deep frown stretched across his face.

"Not at all Tenshi-San… I'm just evening the playing field with ol' fire-puss… by making a little Deluge." He replied before forming several Handseals and holding up his hands towards the sky. **"Ukojizai no Jutsu!"** The blond cried out as he spread his Chakra into the air, the clouds darkening and gathering above, causing Shayera to look up only to widen her eyes as it began to rain upon the entire city much as it had the week before…

"You… you can control the rain?" She questioned and Naruto silently turned around, removing his Sunglasses at the same time, and unintentionally causing the woman's heart to briefly stop. The Rinnegan eyes were not something she had expected, in pictures she'd seen a clear azure blue as the color of his eyes, but she was also aware of the "Sharingan" that the ones known as Sasuke and Kakashi were supposed to have from reading a report on them, but the eyes of the blond were completely different from those eyes… something about them just put her on edge…

"Yes… and so much more…" Naruto replied coldly while forming a familiar t shaped hand seal with a frown. **"Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu!"** Naruto cried, causing three more of him to appear before he looked to them seriously. "Spread out across the city, you know what to do…" Naruto ordered and the three clones nodded before they each vanished in a plume of smoke.

"What was that?" Shayera demanded while looking to the blond haired teen and Naruto silently turned and sat down, legs crossed under himself and took a deep breath.

"What that was doesn't matter, what does is that soon our enemy will show himself, and I wish to be prepared for that event." Naruto stated simply and then held one hand forward; concentrating on the Omega X-Suit he had the plates at his palm shift away and then threw his arm to the side. **"Kusanagi no Tsurugi!"** The blond exclaimed, the familiar blade tearing its way through the flesh of his hand where he quickly gripped it's hilt as the plates on his hands reformed over his palms. Leaning the blade along his shoulders, Naruto ignored Shayera's presence as he felt the Kusanagi speak to him.

"_**Master, tis good to be outside once more. I prefer the battlefield to being hidden away like an old relic."**_ The Kusanagi hissed into the blond haired teen's mind and Naruto merely hmmed for a moment while opening his eyes. "He's here…" Naruto whispered while looking to the ground below, Slade crawling out of the water around the tower, steam rising off of his form. Naruto slowly stood up as Slade approached; the Titans rushing passed him and jumping from the Tower to the ground below. Looking down at the scene for a moment, Naruto then turned to see Batman, Dr. Fate, and even Jason Blood walking out of the Tower.

"Slade, we're ready for you!" Nightwing declared while pulling two of his Bridarangs from his belt and gripping them tightly. Instantly a pair of blades shot out from them, making two swords each of which he in one hand.

"Give me the girl." Slade ordered in a no-nonsense tone and Nightwing narrowed his eyes onto the man.

"No way!" Kid-Flash declared boldly, the rest of the team getting ready to combat the masked madman.

"You don't really have a choice in the matter. I'm taking her." Slade stated darkly while glaring at the teens, BB scoffing as he did.

"Oh yeah, you and what army!" The Green Jester demanded and Slade reached up with one hand to obscure his face. The S shaped rune on his forehead began to blaze even as the rain hitting his body steamed. Instantly the dozens upon dozens of Fire-Wraiths appeared and formed all around the Titans, BB gaping as they did so.

"You just had to ask, didn't you?" Cyborg muttered to himself while looking at the vast number of enemies around them.

"Attack!" Slade ordered while pointing to the Titans, the teens lunging into action while Naruto cracked his neck.

"So it was you who made the rain…" Batman guessed and Naruto was silent as he then stepped off of the tower and towards the ground below. Frowning for a moment, Batman looked to the Justice League members with him with a frown. "Ready?" Batman questioned and Shayera didn't answer, instead she lunged into battle, followed by Dr. Fate as Jason took a deep breath.

"Change! Change, o' form of man! Release thy might from fleshy mire! Boil the blood in the heart for fire! Gone! Gone! The form of man! Rise, the demon Etrigan!" Jason exclaimed before his body was consumed by fire, grasping his head as he was changed as well, a pair of hellfire red eyes soon glowing from the flames before Etrigan roared loudly. The new being had ruddy orange skin, two small horns forming off his head, a pair of fin shaped ears, sharp claws and fangs, and a gaunt face, he wears a red outfit that covers his torso and the upper portion of his legs, leaving them bare from the mid thigh down, with a black belt around his waist, black bands with studs around his forearms, a blue cape with a silver clasp, and a pair of old faded red boots over his feet.

"Nice to see you again, Etrigan though I wish the situation weren't so dire." Batman noted simply and Etrigan merely grunted before lunging into the fray, slashing at the fire wraiths with his claws while Batman jumped down behind him, then reached into his belt and pulled out a pair of electrical brass knuckles… As soon as they landed, the JLU lunged into action, attacking the Fire-Wraiths while Naruto passed them all, moving to the side to avoid Nightwing as Slade sent him flying. Walking towards Slade while the Titans and JLU dealt with the Fire-Wraiths, Naruto felt lightning surge down his right arm before quickly dispersing it.

"Ah Mister-Uzumaki, how nice to see you again." Slade noted upon seeing the blond haired teen, only to stop when he saw the almost deranged looking eyes that the blond haired youth now possessed. "Although, perhaps I should wonder about those new eyes of yours…" Slade stated aloud and Naruto silently stopped before the man and closed his eyes, one of his Clones in the distance having finished gathering Nature-Chakra quickly dispelled itself…

"**Senjutsu: Sennin Modo!"** Naruto stated flatly, only for a burst of power to flow off of him as two spikes of hair raised up form his head like horns, red-orange markings then appeared beside of his eyes and over his whisker marks. Slade narrowed his eyes as white bone-like armor began to form over the blond. First it formed into a pair of wind shaped greaves and forearm guards, then six magatama beads formed around his neck, a series of spinal plates formed down the back of his coat before branching out into ten lengths that ran the length of his coat, giving the illusion of ten tails, finally, a white bone like mask formed over his face, this one only covering the left side of his face…

"I see your pulling out all the stop this time." Slade noted, only for Naruto to vanish in a flash and land a powerful left hook to the man's jaw. The force of the punch sent Slade flying across the bay, skipping over the water for a time before he threw his hand back and created two jets of flame from them. Propelling himself back to the island, Slade rammed into Naruto, however the blond dug the Kusanagi into the ground and rammed his arm into Slade's back, plowing him into the ground. Growling lightly, Naruto then grabbed Slade by his bandoleer and lifted him out of the ground, holding him in the air with one arm and a deep scowl on his face.

"I am DONE playing around with you!" Naruto exclaimed furiously while twisting on his heel and throwing Slade into the air. Growling lightly, Naruto twisted into a Makyou Kaiten first before adding a "One-Thousand Blades Jutsu" together, forming a swirling torrent of spinning wind-blades… **"Tatsumaki no Jutsu! (Tornado Technique!)"** The blond exclaimed loudly as the dozens of blades began to rip and shred Slade into pieces while he was still in midair. Soon enough Naruto landed on the ground and threw his arms out, dispersing the wind and sending the dozens of individual pieces of Slade flying apart.

However not long afterwards, beams of heat flowed into the air from the pieces of Slade and connected together. The beams of heat then drew the man's body back together, Slade grunting as he reared back his completed arm and formed a sphere of flames into his open hand. _**"Come now, you didn't really think it'd be that easy did you?"**_ Slade mocked coldly while throwing the ball of fire down towards Naruto, the blond haired teen slamming his forearms together and freezing the rain falling towards him, causing a shield of ice to form over his forearm guards. Growling lightly as he blocked the fireball, Naruto dug his feet into the ground and threw his arms to the side.

Throwing the Kusanagi into the air, Naruto then smirked as he remembered one of Orochimaru's Jutsu with the weapon. **"Kusanagi no Tsurugi: Ku no Tachi!"** He exclaimed causing the blade to obey his command and fly towards Slade before spinning around like a buzz saw as it approached him. _'This is just not my day…'_ Slade thought to himself even as the flying sword ripped through his body before turning around and slicing through him a second time as Naruto caught it in his outstretched hand with a deep frown on his face. Falling to the ground in several piles, the one-eyed man then reformed once more and slowly got up and glared towards Naruto.

"Keep this up boy and your little secret will be out in the open for all to see…" Slade noted aloud and Naruto merely looked back and smirked when he saw Cyborg powering up several weapons on his body.

"Looks like I won't have too…" The blond noted while vanishing in a plume of smoke, reappearing with the Titans and the JLU. "Fire!" Naruto shouted and Cyborg roared while firing two massive cannons from his arms towards the man, while also tearing through the remaining Fire-Wraiths near him… Falling to the ground with a groan, Cyborg looked up with the others, the Titans gaping as Slade appeared unharmed, snapping his neck back into place while Shayera gripped her mace as more and more Fire-Wraiths started to pop up around Slade.

"As if we didn't have enough problems…" Shayera noted while Etrigan growled and lunged forward, soon followed by Naruto and the others, lunging into the fray and wildly attacking both the Fire-Wraiths and Slade. Naruto mentally twitched even as he ran towards Slade, forming a Rasengan into his free hand and ramming it into the man's head when he got close enough, shredding it to pieces before landing in a low crouch behind him. Twisting on his heels Naruto then sliced Slade's legs out from under him as the Titans and JLU tried to deal with the never-ending amount of Fire-Wraiths.

"_**Haven't we gone through this before?"**_ Slade questioned as he reformed his body and turned to face a deeply scowling Naruto. "You can tear my body apart, but you can never destroy me." Slade reminded only for Naruto to grab the man by his neck and glare at him furiously.

"Me destroying you is going to be the least of your problems, Slade! Do you honestly believe that Trigon is going to help you? He's a demon! They betray anyone they make a deal with and turn it back on them!" Naruto shouts at the man and Slade narrowed his eyes before slamming a sphere of Fire into Naruto's gut, sending the blond flying back before skidding along the ground. Grunting, Naruto twisted the Kusanagi in hand and dug it into the ground, sliding back to a halt before he would've fallen into the oceans depths. Growling angrily, Naruto got up and lunged at Slade with a roar, only to slide to a halt as Slade threw his arm to the side, revealing the Titans held by the Fire-Wraiths.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you…" Slade Noted darkly and Naruto growled lightly, then saw Etrigan, Batman, Shayera, and Dr. Fate back down as well. "Now then. Drop your weapons." Slade ordered flatly and Naruto frowned before dropping the Kusanagi to the ground, Shayera doing the same with her mace, Batman dropping his electric knuckles to the ground as well while the masked-madman chuckled lightly.

"Stop!" A voice cried and Naruto turned to see Raven walking out of the tower.

"Kara-Chan?" Naruto wondered before shaking his head and giving the girl a look. "What the hell do you think your doing?" Naruto demanded as the girl neared him and she stopped briefly to look at him sadly.

"What I need to do in order to protect my friends…" Raven replied and Naruto gaped at the girl as she flew over to Slade and stood before him. "I will go with you." She told the man and Naruto clenched his fists while walking towards her.

"Are you out of your pretty little mind?" The blond haired youth demanded while walking towards her, unaware of the gravity sporadically increasing and decreasing around him.

"Please you must return to the safety room!" Starfire tried to coerce and Raven shook her head, only for Naruto to stand before her and glare at her.

"For once I'm with her, even if you go with this guy, chances are we're all still going to die when Trigon comes! It's better for all of us if you stay safe, at least that way the big-red fucker won't rain Armageddon down on our collective assess!" Naruto reminds and Raven sighs while turning to the blond haired boy and giving him a look.

"Maybe, but I don't want their last moments to be spent fighting… I can't hide from my destiny any longer." Raven stated before quickly throwing her hand forward, black lightning bolts stretching from her hand and into her friends, Naruto and the JLU. The lightning crackled and arched around all of them, knocking all but Naruto out completely and laying them on the ground. Groaning as he looked to Raven for one moment longer, Naruto then passed out as well, Raven looking to them all silently.

"Goodbye… be safe." She whispered before walking over to stand at Slade's side silently. "Let's go." She stated simply and the two walked off, passed a sea of fire-wraiths and leaving all of them behind…

(Jump-City…)

Orochimaru stood with a frown while looking to the eclipsed sun, his snake like eyes narrowed dangerously. _'Now I wonder what new apocalyptic event is about to occur?'_ The man suddenly wondered to himself, arms crossed and an amused smirk crossing his features. He'd done a little research on the history of this world, and wasn't surprised when he found dozens of apocalyptic events had occurred, only to be thwarted at the last second. _'Hmm… I really must speed up my research… if only I had my original notes…'_ Orochimaru thought to himself while turning and walking into a building with a deep frown across his face.

Among other things, he'd also broke into a place called "Cadmus" recently and stolen every file from them that he could. Doing so had been almost painfully simple given his years of experience with infiltration and stealth. _'Yet again, something I share with, Naruto-kun.'_ Orochimaru mused to himself with a sinister grin crossing his features as he entered into his lab. Unlike his lab in Oto, or any of his previous labs, this one was completely sterile and clean. He'd taken a note to do so when he saw that bacteria and germs could have an overall adverse affect on certain serums and the like.

It also made it a might sight easier for him to keep track of his notes, something he found useful. He actually couldn't fathom what had made him use such grungy, dark, and dirty labs in the first place. Well, the only thing being that he was going to be using whatever he created on the field, which would thus cause a similar reaction. However, at the moment he wasn't trying to create a chemical weapon. Instead, he was going back, back to the basics of Shinobi and Chakra. He needed new hosts, and while bringing his Chakra from body to body was part of the Jutsu, he need to make sure that the body could also survive the transfer.

He'd been lucky when he'd possessed the man he currently resided in, he was a bit of a health nut from what Orochimaru could tell. This ad helped the man's body resist falling apart as Orochimaru was forced to force Chakra-Coils to develop just to inhabit the body. The process was as painful for the host as it was for Orochimaru, which was another reason he wanted to go around it, as he disliked pain immensely. However, Orochimaru wanted to be careful in this world, thus he needed a body that was in peak condition and could develop Chakra-Coils fairly easily. Thus the man had started his research to do just that.

However, besides himself and Naruto, and possibly Tsunade's apprentice Sakura, there was no one who had Chakra coils. And he didn't possess true DNA from there world so couldn't study it without attempting to find one of the two. Naruto would be easiest as he did have some capabilities as a Sensor-Ninja, just not to the great extent that that Karin girl had been too. Orochimaru also made a note to find some worthy candidates to train as soldiers / bodyguards like he had with Oto. None of those worthless henchmen he saw working for the villains of this world, but true warriors hand trained and able to fight off more than a couple of police.

Unfortunately, before he could do that he'd need to be able to make normal humans capable of using Chakra. And while he had an intimate knowledge of the DNA of his people, due to his research and study, Orochimaru knew he couldn't simply recreate the effect. Instead, he was going to have to find a supply of DNA from a Chakra user who was still in his original body. And as he knew before, there were only two candidates in that regard, neither of which would be very interested in giving him their blood so he could create an army. Frowning to himself, Orochimaru sat in a seat and drummed his finger on his table.

"In the words of the Nara men, how troublesome…" Orochimaru grumbled out before swiveling in his chair and closing his eyes silently. He was aware that something big was coming; yet he was also aware of many other things. After all, one doesn't come to be nearly un-killable like he was without learning many things… _'What will happen next I wonder… I sense something, possibly more powerful than little Naruto-kun on the horizon… this should prove most interesting.'_ Orchimaru mused to himself with a twisted smirk as he sat back, relaxing silently and awaiting what should be the "End of Days" he was sure, but would also be stopped… this world was just predictable like that…

(Titans-Tower…)

Naruto pushed himself up with a groan, and then shook his head as he got back to his feet. Looking around, the blond narrowed his eyes upon the eclipsed sun in the sky with a deep scowl across his face. _'If you think I'm letting that red fucker take you away from me, you have another thing coming Kara-Chan.'_ Naruto thought darkly before noticing that Batman was up as well, rubbing his head while Shayera looked like she had a migraine from hell.

"Why haven't you guys gone after Kara-Chan!" Naruto demanded of the Dark-Knight and Batman stood up and then walked over to the side where Etrigan appeared in a burst of flame.

"Know where she's going?" Batman questioned, making Naruto blink as the orange Demon nodded his head.

"**Yes it is, the place is known. For she goes, to the Demon's Throne."** The demon replied in a rhyme, causing Naruto to have flashbacks of Kira-bi… _'Oi, why are their so many things similar to my world, yet so radically different as well?'_ The blond haired teen had to wonder before walking over to the two with a frown.

"By Demon's Throne I'm guessing you guys mean that one giant hand we found the other day, right?" Naruto questioned of the Dark-Knight and the Demon-Etrigan with a frown, only the demon looking to him.

"Yep." Batman replied simply and Naruto nodded his head while turning around.

"That's all I needed to hear." The blond then stated while lunging forward, running across the bay and towards the city proper. Frowning for a moment, Etrigan narrowed his eyes on the retreating blond before looking over to Batman.

"**Knight of Darkness, what have you unfurled? The boy holds power, that will end this world."** Etrigan stated in another rhyme, Batman raising a brow for a moment before ignoring him as Nightwing and the others began to come too…

(?)

Slade stands within a ring of fire with his arms folded behind his back, Raven having started on the path to her destiny on her own. _'Something tells me that will be the least of my worries soon enough…'_ Slade couldn't help but think to himself while looking up to the four crimson eyes of Trigon hovering within the chamber of rock. "The portal approaches. The hour is near. It's time for my payment." Slade states simply and Trigon appears to gaze at Slade in confusion, Kyuubi snickering to itself at the sheer and utter stupidity of some mortals.

"**Payment? For what?"** Trigon questioned while narrowing his eyes onto the one-eyed human dangerously. **"The Gem returns of her own free will. You did not deliver her. I did."** Trigon declares while looking down at the one-eyed man, Slade growling lightly even as he feels the ring of azar on his ring finger lightly…

"We had a deal. I held up my part of the bargain." Slade reminded while glaring up at Trigon coldly, his slate grey eye glaring into Trigon's four hellfire eyes. In response to the one-eyed man's declaration, Trigon laughed darkly while looking down at the one eyed man. Roaring out in fury as Trigon laughed at him, Slade formed a fireball into his hands before hurling at the demon's eyes. He then quickly conjured more and more of the fireballs and began to throw them at the wall where Trigon's four hellfire red eyes glow ominously, glaring at the man coldly.

"_**I**_** granted you these powers, and **_**I**_** can take them away!"** Trigon declared as a pair of arms made of fire reached down and formed at Slade's sides. The one-eyed man was then lifted into the air, a beam of red energy crackling between the two hands and ripping something out of Slade. The one-eyed man cried out as the S on his forehead faded away, the Ring of Azar on his finger glowing brightly even as Slade vanished completely from sight…

"_**Finally**_**, I thought you'd never get rid of that little pest."** Kyuubi commented while Trigon chuckled lightly while the hands of fire rose back up into the ceiling.

"**He was a useful servant, but now his usefulness has ended. The time for our freedom is finally upon us!"** Trigon declared while fire rose up all around the cavern, Kyuubi grinning darkly as it looked to the other demon.

"**Indeed Trigon, and I am certain of one thing… Freedom will taste sweet!"** Kyuubi noted aloud with an almost insane laugh, Trigon unconsciously shivering as the ancient demon, even more so than he, grinned with a more sinister light than any mortal could possibly achieve…

(Library…)

Naruto swung the Kusanagi sending a blast of wind that ripped through several fire-wraiths, his shoulders were hunched, his hands clenched, teeth gnashed together, and a dark glare in his eyes. "You stupid freaks think you can keep me from Kara-Chan?" Naruto questioned before opening his coat, and then changing the Omega-X-Suit to its basic-setting. The armor of his suit quickly unfolding from the suit and over his spine, then both his forearms and shins, along with the bright crimson red X over his chest,

"Well you've got another thing coming!" The blond then declared while his mask literally unfolded from the suit and formed over his head, the bright red X on his mask glowing as it snapped shut. Growling darkly and throwing his arms back, Naruto activated his Thermal-Blasters and swung his arms forward, beams of heat tearing through the walls and Fire-Wraiths around him. Narrowing his eyes, the masked blond then crouched down before lunging forward, running down a flight of stairs and forming several explosive X-shuriken as he tossed them down the hall.

The Shurikens exploded upon impacting with the next few Fire-Wraiths, Naruto lunging through the flames and sliding to a halt in the room with three doorways. "Right, now which one was it again?" The masked blond wondered to himself and then narrowed his eyes on the Dragon seal over the door to his right. "That one!" He declared while running into it, his eyes narrowed as he formed his Thermal-Blasters once more and aimed forward at a horde of incoming Wraiths, firing the weapons and destroying them for the moment as he then lunged forward, twisting on his heel into a jump out of the passage into the "Demon's Throne" as Etrigan had called it.

Landing on the ground in a low-crouch, Naruto narrowed his eyes as dozens of Fire-Wraiths rose between him and Raven. "Believe me when I tell you, you really don't want to get in my way!" Naruto growled out darkly even as he twisted around on his heel, extending the blade of the Kusanagi to slice the majority of the Fire-Wraiths in half. Twirling the Kusanagi in hand once the Wraiths were out of his way, Naruto then put the Kusanagi on his back, using his Chakra to adhere it to his back without a sheath. Marching forward, Naruto stalked passed more and more Fire-Wraiths as he approached Raven silently.

"Somehow, I knew you'd come after me…" Raven noted while turning to look at the blond with a sad smile on his face, Naruto's mask slipping back as he approached.

"Yeah well, even I couldn't imagine you actually coming here to die." The blond noted while the Titans and JLU came into the room behind him. "Took you guys long enough to get here…" The blond noted to himself while looking over to the Titans, only to turn back to Raven with a frown. Behind the blond, Night and the other titans moved towards Raven, but Batman held out his arms to stop them.

"Wait, give him a chance to talk some sense into her." Batman ordered and got a glare from Nightwing as his response, only for Naruto to walk up to Raven.

"Listen Kara-Chan, trust me when I say I know what you're going through here. The whole Destiny thing is a major mind-fuck, but you don't have to do what some damn prophecy tells you too!" Naruto tells the girl seriously while walking towards her, the violet haired girl shaking her head. Looking up afterwards Raven drew her hood down and gazed at the still eclipsed sun threw a high circular skylight.

"It's already begun Naruto… and there's no stopping what's meant to be." The girl told the blond and Naruto scoffed while grabbing her shoulders and glaring into her eye angrily.

"Kara-Chan you can't give up everything like this! You still have the chance for a life, you just have to make the choice not to give in!" Naruto told the girl and Raven looked down and sighed once more.

"I'm not like your friend Neji, nor am I like that Shion girl, Naruto… this is my destiny, I've known since I was a child." Raven replied before turning around and looking to the Demon's throne silently. "I've tried to control the dark side of me, I tried to do good things, to fight evil, and hoped that would make up for the horrible thing I'm destined to do." Raven replied while looking to the eclipsed sun once more and then turned around and gazed at Naruto evenly.

"You had a destiny as well though, so you should know that better than anyone." Raven reminded and behind the two, Batman raised a brow in interest as he saw Naruto flinch visibly. "A prophecy foretold the coming of a child who would bring a great revolution to his world, either to save it or lead it into ruin… that child was and still is you, Naruto." Raven reminded pointedly and Naruto frowned deeply while crossing his arms over his chest.

"That certainly explains his comment from earlier…" Batman mused to himself while watching the exchange from a distance. The Dark-Knight was also painfully aware that Naruto and "Red-X" were actually one and the same. However, it wasn't because Naruto was bad at hiding who he was. Anyone else would buy the act as Nightwing proved. The odd social twitches, the movements of his body, vocal patterns, and many other minor things were too obvious for the Dark-Knight to miss. The fact he had seen "Naruto" in Gotham on the same day Red-X appeared in town merely cemented his reasoning on the matter.

However, judging by what had been revealed by Slade, Batman could also see Naruto was essentially an inversion of him or Nightwing. An "Anti-Batman" of sorts, right down to his past, which was too similar to his or Nightwing's for his tastes. One key-difference however, besides Naruto's berserker rage, was that he had no one to turn too afterwards. He had had his butler Alfred to help him, and he had helped Nightwing, Naruto had no one to help him with the pain… he'd been alone. And while he'd normally take Naruto in, One, he had no way of doing so as no charges were put up, and two, the Titans actually needed Naruto.

He showed them the grey that lay between right and wrong, good and evil, life and death. The grey that few heroes chose to acknowledge because they were so caught up in their own glory. He also reminded them that they were only human, they had flaws, and they were fallible, something many heroes never learned. Superman still had problems learning it and he'd been doing this almost as long as Batman himself had. It often led to a hero breaking down when they failed to save someone, many heroes had "hung up their cape" after such an event, even he had done as such once… but hoprfully X could remind them they still had limits, and could still grow stronger.

Shaking those stray thoughts from his head, Batman narrowed his eyes as Naruto looked at Raven with a frown. "That doesn't matter and you know it." Naruto stated simply while inhaling deeply and gazing at Raven softly. "Destiny and Fate are the same thing, we make our destiny with every choice… no one knows what the future may hold, and no one knows what will happen next. But I do know one thing Kara-Chan, the only reason you'd cause the end of the world, is if you choose to do so…" Naruto declared defiantly and a small sad smile crept onto Raven's features as she gazed to the blond haired teen.

"You're right, there were things I didn't know… like how I'd make such wonderful friends…" Raven said while looking over to the titans, and then blushed slightly while looking to Naruto. "Or that I'd fall in love…" Raven whispered while backing away and Naruto gave the girl a look.

"Then make _your_ choice Kara-Chan, it's still your destiny… but don't think that'll be the end of it." Naruto replied and Raven smiled sadly as she created a black force field between herself and the others. Cursing, Nightwing and the Titans ran forward, just as Raven brought up her hood with a sad smile directed towards Naruto.

"I know." She replied in kind while turning around as several stones started rising up like mock steps, the Titans ramming into the force field. The JLU ran over to it as well, Shayera roaring out as she slammed her mace into the shield, narrowing her eyes as it wavered for a moment yet still held firm.

"Etrigan, Dr. Fate, can you bring this down?" Batman demanded and Etrigan looked over to Dr. Fate the man mumbling something under his breath before firing a beam towards the field while Raven drew closer to the hand. The Titans continued wildly attacking the field as well, Etrigan breathing out a burst of hellfire towards it as Shayera slammed her mace into it as well. While they didn't break it down, Naruto saw it waver and closed his eyes. Feeling his last clone dispel, the blond opened his eyes and silently activated Sage mode before lunging forward.

Growling lightly, Naruto forced some Nature Chakra into his claws and dug them into the field. The attempt seemed to work as his claws managed to pierce the barrier, allowing the blond to slowly pull on it. Gritting his teeth as he did so, Naruto soon managed to pull open a tear in the field. As he did, Raven came to the palm of the massive clawed hand, then sat cross-legged and took a quick breath of air. The Titans looked to the blond in slight surprise as Naruto did so, only to turn back to trying to break open the field. Batman on the other hand looked around and narrowed his eyes as he noticed the wavering field.

"The Gem was born of evils fire!" Raven started while BB's eyes bolted open, only to look to the side as Naruto managed to fit his head through the tear he made in the obsidian black field.

"Dude he's actually doing it!" BB exclaimed in shock while Naruto managed to get one arm through the barrier before then pushing on the tear with all his might.

"The Gem shall be his portal!" Raven continued while making a hand sign with her right hand.

"Keep hitting it, the integrity of the field is weakening enough for him to pass through!" Batman ordered and Cyborg formed his Sonic-Cannon, blasting into the field with Etrigan and Dr. Fate, Starfire following suit with her eyebeams as Shayera started to lash out at the field with her mace once more. Growling as they did, Naruto felt the field give way once more and roared as he rolled through it, exiting the field only for it to slip shut behind him. As the field did, red runes ran the length of Raven's body, forming a familiar pattern over her body.

"He comes to claim, he comes to sire, the end of all things mortal!" Raven finished before throwing her arms to her sides, teeth gritted as the runes flowed off of her body and spiraled around her into three rings of runes, one above her, one below her and a final ring around her center.

"No! Naruto, you have to help us get through as well!" Night ordered only for Naruto to turn with a frown, the Red-X on his chest plainly visible and Nightwing's eyes widening in shock.

"Sorry kid… that isn't my style, and there's no more time left…" Naruto told the dark haired teen before shimmering for a moment, only to reappear and grab Raven in a hug, an amused smirk on his lips while the violet-haired girl stared at him in shock.

"Now did you really think you could get rid of me that easily?" Naruto quipped as he smirked at the violet-haired girl's wide-eyed look. However his own eyes then widened as numerous red markings started to appear over his own form. A spiral on his navel was where they started, but a marking under it made the spiral resemble a tomoe, a spiral on either shoulder, six tomoe marks circling his neck, a long trail leading down from either of the spirals to a spiral on his hands, three red stripes on either cheek over his whisker like marks, and a spiral on his forehead finished them.

"Uh dudes… like is that supposed to happen to Nar as well?" BB asked loudly, even as the other Titans could only gape at the spectacle in shock as the spiral on Naruto's stomach started to swirl inwards, deepening into a black circle…

"_**Hm hm hm ha ha ha ha ha! Finally! The time for my freedom has finally come at long last! And your own foolish emotions have finally lead to your ultimate defeat!"**_ The Kyuubi's voice echoed somewhere in Naruto's subconscious as the seal holding it began to fade, allowing it to ram through the gateway that had held him back for nineteen long years.

'_K-kyuubi… what is this? What the hell did you do to me!'_ Naruto inwardly demanded while gritting his teeth as his Rinnegan eyes turned blood red, a slitted pupil appearing in them.

"_**Your such a fool to have not figured it out yourself, Gaki. But I'll explain it to you since you're still so slow. It is I who has aided Trigon with his resurrection! Did you forget that I am a demon as well as a fox? And as you told Slade yourself Gaki, never trust a demon!"**_ The Kyuubi declared loudly before a deep evil laugh echoed in the dark recesses of the blond haired youth's mind…

"_H-How! Y-Your t-trapped in the s-seal!'_ Naruto demanded of the beast and it laughed once more even as Raven and he both grit their teeth, the red runes on her body glowing brightly as a red ring of energy formed around them.

"_**Foolish Gaki, everything you have done up to this point has been part of our plan. And to think, it was on the day you first met with your precious little "Kara-Chan" that your end truly began!"**_ The Kyuubi stated darkly even as the energy ring around Naruto and Raven shrank and both teens started to vanish… _**"Yes, it was all so simple. You really are too predictable Ningen. All we had to do was ensure you and your precious "Kara-Chan" grew close to one another, and we knew you'd sacrifice life and limb to save her, ending with this happening."**_ Kyuubi continued explained while Naruto grit his teeth both he and Raven reduced to their shoulders / head and feet…

"_**To achieve this goal we merely needed to help your little romance go along. Trigon was the one who implanted the urge Raven had to get to know you, and I did the same to you for her. Afterwards, whenever the chance to push you two together presented itself, we helped. Trigon allowed Rage or Passion to show her feelings for you while I kept you alive, you dying would've ruined all our hard work afterall. We were also the ones who have so graciously caused the Mental-Bond between you two when I took some of Raven's power that day!"**_ The Beast said laughingly as Naruto and Raven were torn apart at their midriff before flowing over their bodies…

"_**And to think that in the end you never suspected I could be so treacherous, and that it actually worked is what makes this all the sweeter, Gaki. Killing another Rikudo Senning is merely a bonus, but one I will cherish always I assure you. Your foolish emotions have always been your greatest flaw. Only its different now because now you'd literally walk through hell before watching another precious person die, thanks to that worthless wench, Kushina!"**_ Kyuubi continued and Naruto inwardly growled while a tear formed at the side of his eye.

'_So… you used my emotions for Kara-Chan… to get yourself out of the seal… you fucking… fox!'_ Naruto growled at the demon inwardly as he grit his teeth as nearly all of his body had already faded away.

"_**Come now Gaki… you remember the story of the fox and the wolves. How the cunning fox tricked his way to freedom to hunt for himself…"**_ The Kyuubi stated ominously, causing Naruto's eyes to bolt open as he truly understood its meaning for the first time. _**"Yes Gaki, you are not the fox, **__**I 'm**__** the Fox, and **__**you**__** are the **__**wolf**__**! Over the years I have suffered indignity after indignity at the hands of the wolves, the Uzumaki Clan who've contained me for so long! And now **__**finally**__** after waiting for so long, now when you've grown complacent to my presence within you… Or rather, you became lazy and content with it. Only now do I claw my way to freedom, to **__**"hunt"**__** for myself once more!"**_ The Kyuubi analyzed before laughing loudly as Naruto and Raven completely faded away, a circle of energy forming where they had been…

"DUDE!" BB exclaimed, as the trio of runes swirling in the air were all that was left of either Naruto or Raven. However those runes did not stay idle as they suddenly came together to form into a ring. However the ring then exploded forth, flames at its rim, while appearing to be a disk of some kind. The disk continued to grow; causing those watching to shield their eyes from the bright light it created. The strange disk destroyed the alter it had been formed over and caused flames to trail up to the walls to the ceiling. Within the strange disk a swirl of red and orange energy starts to spiral inwards, only Dr. Fate moving to look on…

"He has come at last…" Dr. Fate whispered before quickly chanting and casting an energy field around himself and Shayera, Etrigan snarling as he watched, a frown on Batman's features as he clenched his fists. The Shield Raven had erected earlier finally gave way completely as true horror entered into their world.

A hand was the first sight, then another, and strangely, two more clawed their way out of the portal, Dr. Fate's eyes widening as he saw a pair of beasts rather than one. The first was a fifty foot tall, four glowing red eyes, a red gem on its forehead in the same position and shape as Raven's own, long white hair, antlers forming off its head like a crown, bright red skinned being with black stripes at its shoulders and ribs, a pair of black armored wrist bands covered its forearms much like the kind Raven took to wearing, its legs ended in cloven hooves, it also wears black briefs, a white loincloth worn over top it and a black armored piece over his midriff.

"Uh, is there supposed to be two of them?" Kid-Flash demanded with wide eyes as the second beast crawled out of the portal and let out a loud roar into the night.

"No, there is not! This is something else, perhaps something even more sinister than Trigon!" Dr. Fate replied with wide eyes behind his helm as he actually recognized this beast's basic shape and form, though it still differed greatly to the ancient demonic incarnation of pure evil he'd seen in one of his books.

The being climbed out of the portal silently, tails thrashing about as it did so and causing wind to twist and turn. It was just as if not taller than Trigon himself, with the body of a fox, though its upper torso more closely resembled a human's, having hands and arms replacing its frontal paws / legs, two crimson red eyes with black slits at their center, bright orange fur with black stripes leading from around its bloodshot eyes into its long almost rabbit like ears, black claws adorned its hands and hind paws, and nine long thin tails lashed out at the room around it, tearing the walls of the roof down while it roared out loudly.

The Titans and JLU looked on silently as both Trigon and the Kyuubi then glared down at them ominously. Fire roared and twisted all around the demons as Trigon raised his arms in triumph and breathed the air, as if savoring the smell of freedom for the briefest of moments. Meanwhile Kyuubi shook its body as if it were wet, and given its previous home, this wasn't so strange. **"The Earth is OURS!"** Trigon suddenly declared loudly, the Kyuubi roaring at his side as they both glared down at the humans before them silently…

TBC…

AN: The story Kyuubi is referring too is the story Naruto "Thought of" back during his original escape from Konoha and went like this…

"Once upon a time, a long time ago in a forest far away, a pack of wolves captured a small fox. The wolves forced the fox to hunt for them, bringing them food while it was given less than scraps. But the fox was a cunning creature, as it hunted over time it grew bigger and stronger. Soon, the fox was strong enough and captured more and more for the wolves, allowing them to grow fat with the food it brought. Then, once the wolves were fat, lazy, and content, the cunning fox made his escape. The slow wolves were unable to catch the fox for it was no longer small nor weak… the fox had grown strong while they had become weak. Thus, the fox returned to freedom, hunting only for himself…"


	55. The End Pt 2

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

**Chapter 53**: **The End Pt. 2**…

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

(Demon's Throne…)

The Titans stared in shock and fear as Trigon and Kyuubi glared down at them, the massive red behemoth inhaling a breath as if to savor his freedom. Kyuubi snarled and shook its body, as if it where wet, and given its former home this wasn't too surprising. The thrashing of its body caused its many tails to flick and twist around, bringing the ceiling down on top of them as Dr. Fate looked on at the spectacle of the two demons silently. "The end has come…" Dr. Fate whispered to himself while Shayera, Batman, and the Titans stared on as Trigon cracked his neck, flames rising up all around them as he narrowed his eyes upon the mortals before him, the Kyuubi roaring loudly at his side as it glared at them as well…

"**The earth is ours!"** Trigon cried out while glaring down upon the Titans and JLU ominously. Kyuubi hissing as its ears folded down along the top of its head, eyes narrowed in anger. **"And the time of mortals has finally come to its end!"** Trigon then declared while taking a deep breath of air and exhaling a sonic-wave of red energy. The energy lunged forward, throwing the Heroes back as it then hit the ground and started to spread, an insidious grin upon Trigon's features as it did so. Dr. Fate grunted as he held the shield around himself and Shayera up, Etrigan growling as he gripped the ground and glared up at Trigon furiously.

Batman used his grapple to hold on to the ground, grabbing Beast Boy by his ankle as he was nearly thrown away. Night used the same idea as his mentor and grit his teeth as he held Kid-Flash from flying away. Donna and Starfire both held onto Cy as they looked up towards Trigon, only for Kyuubi to inhale a deep breath as the massive red behemoth smirked down at the humans. The Kyuubi then roared forward, its great roar completely pulverizing the stone around it before sending the humans flying up out of the underground chasm and to the surface as Trigon held up his hand before slamming it into the ground, sending another pulse of red energy out from his body…

Meanwhile, the energy Trigon released spread out over the land, the soil became dry and building demolished, water became lava and even the sky itself turned an eerie red, birds and animals fell to the ground, only skeletons remaining while men and women alike were petrified by the beast's vile power as it passed over them. The energy then continued to spread further across the globe, from Jump-City it then consumed more of America before it continued to spread outwards, soon the oceans were lava as well, the other continents were transformed, and finally as four eyed ravens flocked about in the world with no mortals, the Earth itself had suddenly become Trigon's new home…

Meanwhile, deep in Jump-City, lying beneath a familiar shield of black energy is Nightwing. Groaning as he slowly awoke, the shield dissipating and allowing several rocks to fall to his sides, the teen got up and widened his eyes upon seeing the ruined world that Trigon had created. Walking through the ruins that had once been Jump-City, Nightwing held his arm and bowed his head. "I should've done something… I should've stopped this!" Night declared while walking over to a corner and turning only for his eyes to widen in shock at what he saw…

Men and women were frozen in stone, seemingly unaware of what had happened to them as they turned to stone. Walking down the silent street, Nightwing shook his head as he gazed at the petrified civilians. "These are innocent people." Night mumbled as he was humbled by the sheer magnitude of Trigon's cruelty. _'Petrified alive, never dying, never being free of their stone prisons… are they even aware of what's happened to them or are they all in a void now, trapped in darkness forever?'_ The dark haired teen wondered to himself, only idly noting just how morbid his thoughts were as a dark shadow passed over head.

"Whose there!" The dark haired teen demanded while looking around, and then turned in time to see a red eyed raven land on some rubble. "Raven?" Night wondered to himself and the bird flapped its wings before taking off into the sky, flying into the distance. "Wait, come back!" Night cried as he gave chase, rushing after the bird and going deeper into the city than before…

Elsewhere, Beast-Boy groaned while pushing himself to his feet, then shook his head for a moment. "Oh man my head… I really don't want to do that again…" The Green Titan declared while slowly rising up to his feet, only to look around and twitch visibly. He was on the east side of Jump-City, a simple suburban area… where Kitten lived. But much like what Nightwing had found, Beast-Boy found himself on a street, people frozen in stone as they went about their daily lives.

"Dude…" The green titan whispered to himself before sitting up and walking around, soon coming towards Kitten's house. However like the rest of the city it was dilapidated and nearly destroyed thanks solely to Trigon's magic. Walking around the house, BB then found Killer-Moth as a statue through a window, seemingly working on something. "Oh man… not again…" He whispered as he knew Kitten would've been in school, and thus most likely suffer the same fate as her father had. Sighing tiredly, the green furred teen slowly got up and made his way to the side.

However, when he heard something howl in the distance he turned around and saw a silhouetted wolf standing on some rubble, but its eyes were off, both being a familiar grey-violet color while a raven landed on its head. "Nar…? Rae…?" The green titan wondered and the raven flew into the air, the wolf vanishing soon after as the bird flew into the city. "Wait!" Beast-Boy cried while quickly changing himself into an animal and following after the bird. Following it into the city, BB soon spotted Cyborg helping Nightwing onto the sky needle at the center of town, the other Titans with them, and landed near them all.

"I'm glad you made it." Cy said as he helped Night to his feet and Starfire rushed over to the dark-haired teen and wrapped her arms around him in a hug.

"Robin, you are unharmed." She whispered happily and Kid-Flash mock pouted.

"What am I chopped liver?" He wondered aloud and Donna bopped him on the head with a deep scowl across her face.

"Not now, Bart." She grumbled while Starfire released Nightwing from her hug, the teen clearing his throat as he adjusted his collar nervously. Looking around he then smiled upon seeing most of his friends once again, and then turned serious as he looked to all of them.

"I saw something out there… in the city, it led me here." Night told the others and saw them nod their heads, each having had a similar experience.

"It led all of us here." BB declared before looking around and letting out a sigh. "Well, almost all of us…" He finished while his ears lowed, everyone noticing the missing member of their team.

"We're all that's left…" Cy mumbled while looking out to the city and Nightwing frowned to himself.

"What about the Justice League?" He questioned of his team and they looked to one another for a moment before someone else decided to interject.

"Right here." Batman declared as he and Etrigan half carried a near passed out Dr. Fate, Shayera flying overhead only to land beside of the Dark-Knight.

"Wait, how'd you guys survive Trigon's spell?" Kid-Flash questioned and then frowned for a moment as he looked at himself. "For that matter, why are we still here?" Kid-Flash then continued and Donna nodded her head in agreement with her red haired friend.

"This is how I survived." Batman replied while holding up his left hand to reveal a familiar gold ring around his ring finger. "A Ring of Azar, they effectively nullify Trigon's power." The Dark-Knight exclaimed while he and Etrigan laid Dr. Fate on the ground, the man groaning lightly.

"Please, is the Doctor of Fate alright?" Starfire asked worriedly while looking over to where the helmeted man lay and Shayera sighed.

"He's tired from using up a much of his power in order to keep us from being turned to stone." Shayera replied and Donna pinched the bridge of her nose for a moment before looking over to Etrigan.

"And him?" She questioned and Etrigan grunted for a moment.

"**My power alone could protect me, Amazon, for I am a demon. Such minor tricks will not work on me, like they would a mere human."** Etrigan replied in rhyme and Donna raised a brow for a moment only for Cyborg to sigh.

"Well that's all well and good but why are WE safe then? You guys obviously prepared for this, so what's kept us from being turned to stone as well?" Cyborg questioned of the JLU only for Beast-Boy to answer instead.

"It was Raven. She saved us… I don't know how but she did." BB replied while Nightwing crossed his arms and took a thoughtful expression as he contemplated what was done. Frowning as a memory came up, the Dark-Squire turned to his friends with a serious look on his face.

"Back at the tower, when Raven knocked us out. The last thing I heard was her voice, it said 'Be safe'. She did something, something that protected us from Trigon." Night explained while looking to his friends and Donna shook her head for a moment.

"How? If Dr. Fate was nearly drained of all his power by just protecting Hawk-girl, how could Raven have protected all of us?" Donna questioned with a raised brow and Batman nodded his head while walking over to her and Kid-Flash.

"The answer is simple. She divided her power four ways and then placed it into her closest friends. Leaving only the bare minimum for herself." Batman started to explain to the Titans and BB quickly looked at the Dark-Knight in confusion.

"Well that explains me, Star, Cy, and Night but what about Donna and Bart? How'd they survive?" BB questioned and the Dark-Knight knelt down before the two before giving a look to Nightwing.

"Raven had two rings of Azar correct?" He questioned and Nightwing raised a brow before nodding his head. "Then the answer should be obvious…" Batman replied while reaching into Donna's belt and pulled out one of the rings.

"By Hera, when did she put that on me?" Donna questioned while snatching the ring as Batman rose back to his feet.

"The same time she gave the majority of her power to the other Titans." Batman replied before looking over to Kid-Flash with a deep frown. "Bart, check around in your boots and gloves, I'll bet you'll find one as well." He then asked and Kid-Flash blinked before taking off one of his boots and shook out another Ring of Azar from it.

"Well I'll be… I just thought it was some rubble…" Kid-Flash admitted to himself as he picked up the ring and clasped it in his hand for a moment.

"But if that's the case why didn't Raven protect Nar as well?" Cy questioned and Etrigan decided to answer for the Dark-Knight this time.

"**It comes from the boys power to heal, like Jason and me, he was the fox demon's seal."** Etrigan rhymed once more and Batman scowled deeply as that added even more to the blond's past, and none of it could be good if he were alone…

"You mean that Fox was inside the boy like you are inside Jason, Etrigan?" Shayera questioned of the orange skinned demon and he frowned for a moment as he contemplated a way to explain.

"**Nay, I'm afraid its not the same dear lass, for this demon is vile, devious, and in another class."** Etrigan replied in rhyme and Batman frowned to himself before Dr. Fate slowly sat up and took several deep breaths of air.

"I'm afraid… things are far worse than that…" Dr. Fate declared and the group turned to face the man as he placed a hand to his head.

"What do you mean?" Batman asked the helmeted man and Dr. Fate sighed before shaking his head an answering them.

"That thing greatly resembles and ancient monster, it's name has been lost to time and story, but… it is usually referred too as the Hell-Beast. It was a monster of such power it could create demons from the negative energy of mortals. It's cruelty was the thing of legends, even Trigon cannot compare…" Dr. Fate replied while Batman crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes dangerously.

"What do you know about this thing? Besides being an incarnation of hate and rage as well as the creature that helped Trigon to escape his prison?" Batman questioned of the helmeted man and Dr. Fate placed a hand to his head for a moment.

"Unfortunately I'm not sure… the Hell Beast itself was a powerful being, all else about it has been lost to time." Dr. Fate replied while looking to the Dark-Knight frowned at the lack of information.

"Dude, like what does that mean?" BB suddenly asked while leaning over to Donna and she sighed.

"Big-Trouble." She replied and BB made an Oh with his mouth before staying back as Nightwing looked out at the city with a frown.

"As if any of this even matters anymore." Cy muttered while walking forward with his arms crossed over his chest. "Look around, there's nothing left… Nar is gone, Rae's gone, hell the world is gone, we've lost our heavy hitters and look at us we're a ragtag group whose collective power won't even be enough to Tickle those two on a good day… what's the point?" The Titanium teen questioned while rubbing his face and Nightwing glared angrily at his second in command.

"Hope!" The dark haired teen replied while walking to the rest of his team and looking at them all seriously. "That's the point, as long as we're still here we still have a chance, and that's why we're going to keep fighting, not just for the world, but for Raven, and for Naruto as well." Nightwing replied while holding out his hand towards his team, Starfire smiling and placing her hand over his.

"For our friends." She decided with a smile while Cyborg raised a brow towards the Dark-Squire.

"I thought you still had it in for X, and incase you missed the big reveal a while ago, Nar is X." Cy noted while looking at the younger teen and a deep frown crossed Nightwing's features in response.

"Not like that really matters anymore, now does it?" Night replied seriously and Cyborg shook his head with a smirk as he placed his hand over Starfire and Nightiwng's.

"I guess not, and that just means I have one more thing to kick that red fuckers ass over." Cy decided with a grin and BB quickly joined up with the other Titans.

"Yeah, Dudes, lets do this for everyone that guy has hurt!" BB stated while thinking of not only Naruto and Raven but also of Kitten and Killer Moth. However as their hands touched a swirl of familiar black energy crackled to life at their hands and then threw them back. Slowing to a stop, the four Titans looked to one another in shock before Cyborg finally broke the silence.

"Okay that felt weird…" He declared and BB nodded his head in agreement with his Titanium friend. Looking to his hand and then over to Batman, Nightwing narrowed his eyes before clenching his fist.

"It's like Batman said, since she couldn't stop Trigon from coming, Raven divided up her powers to protect us. She gave us a way to fight him." Night stated while holding up his hand, flames of ebony magic dancing from his opened palm.

"And it seems to grow stronger as we stand as one." Starfire realized as well while walking to her friends and they all looked over to Batman and the JLU.

"So what's the plan?" Nightwing questioned and Batman raised a brow his arms crossed over his chest as he looked to his former protégée.

"Plan? I'm not the one in charge here remember. This is your city it's your call, Dick." Batman reminded the teen and Nightwing felt his eyes widen for a moment before shaking his head and sighing.

"As much as I want to say that we can do this on our own it'd be a lie, we can't fight both Trigon and this Kyuubi thing… so…" Nightwing said to the Dark-Knight while then taking a breath as he swallowed his pride and walked up to Batman silently. "Will you please help us stop them?" Nightwing pleaded of the Dark-Knight and Batman was silent for a moment before he hummed and turned to the edge of the spire.

"We need to act quickly, every moment we wait only gives Trigon more time to recuperate his strength." Batman finally decided and then turned to face the gathered heroes, Cyborg charging his Sonic-Cannon.

"What do we do first?" The Titanium teen questioned and Batman narrowed his eyes silently.

"The only thing we can do at this point, attack them before they can attack us first." Batman replied while looking to the distance, where Trigon sat upon Titans tower, using it as a throne, Kyuubi to the south, sleeping within the entire Jump-City Arena as if it were a bed with its tails wrapped around its body…

(Tartarus HQ…)

Upon Naruto leaving the building, the majority of Tartarus had begun to prepare a party to celebrate their leaders day of birth. Jinx of course found out and had been against the whole thing, however eventually caved in and agreed to help them, if only to make this birthday better than the ones he'd had before. However, clearly that no longer mattered, as now the building Tartarus called their HQ lay in ruins, its walls and ceiling having fallen in on itself.

Within the ruined building, several people slowly stir before Jinx gets up and groans, a hand going to her head while never noticing that the String of Beads Naruto had given to her was glowing softly. "Ugh… my head…" She muttered before shaking her head and looking around the dilapidated building for a moment, only to gape when she saw the crimson sky above. "Somehow, I just know this is Raven's fault…" Jinx then said mostly to herself with a frown then looked to the side as Dani flew out of some rubble and wobbled in the air.

"Oh man, what hit me?" She wondered to herself while becoming tangible once more and landing on the rubble. Frowning for a moment, Jinx then looked to the ring on her finger she'd obtained from the others, as well as the String of Beads with a frown upon seeing both were glowing.

"Okay, why is the ring you guys gave me glowing?" Jinx then asked flatly while looking to Dani, who opened one eye and shrugged her shoulders. Looking around, Jinx saw Mammoth getting up, pushing a slab of rock off of himself and Gizmo.

"Oi, did the world just end or what?" Gizmo wondered aloud while rubbing his aching head, Jinx looking to the skull with a frown before sighing.

"From the looks of the sky I'd say your pretty close, Giz." Jinx replied while Gizmo blinked then looked up to the sky and groaned.

"Shit, I hate when I'm right!" The Tiny-Terror declared while Mammoth picked the Tiny-Terror up and placed him on his shoulder. Private-HIVE then stood up, teeth gritted as he pushed a slab of rock off of himself, Duela groaning as she got up from under the militant teen.

"Oh my head…" She mumbled while rubbing her temples and looked to the side where Kid-Wykkyd walked out of a dark portal apathetically. To the side, Blackfire kicked down a wall and dragged Seemore out of the debris, waving away some dust as she left the one-eyed-teen on the ground to groan.

"Where's Billy?" Jinx asked and all of them looked around and then watched as Billy crawled out from beneath some rubble with a groan.

"Ugh… Billy don't want to do that again, how bout you Billy?" The red clad teen questioned of one of his clones and it nodded its head in agreement with him.

"No way, Billy done with this… I'm going to go on vacation when dis here crisis passes…" The Clone replied, getting a nod of agreement with the original Billy as they both got up and walked over to the other members of Tartarus.

"Okay, who knows what just happened?" Blackfire demanded while brushing off some rubble from her armor. Blinking for a moment, Jinx looked around and mentally cursed, as they all seemed to be looking to her for an answer.

"I don't know, you got any ideas, Giz?" Jinx asked while turning to the Tiny-Terror and Gizmo snorted while giving them all a glare.

"Would you snot munchers get a clue? I know even less about what's going on than the rest of you! Especially since all my tech besides my personal gear is smashed!" The Tiny-Terror exclaimed and Blackfire rolled her eyes while looking over to Jinx, the pink-haired girl groaning as she rubbed her face tiredly.

"Well then will someone please tell me what just happened around here?" Jinx demanded and Kid-Wykkyd narrowed his eyes while turning to an intruder.

"Quite simple actually. The world just ended." The voice of Ravager commented as the white haired girl made her way towards Tartarus.

"You! You're the one who took control of me and nearly got me killed!" Blackfire hissed out while glaring at the white haired teen, Ravager rolling her eyes for a moment before smirking.

"True. But I'm also the only one who knows what's going on." Ravager replied and Jinx gave Blackfire a look, the Tameranian reluctantly reframing from ripping the white haired girl in half. "What you see now, is the result of Trigon breaking his way into our world… The Rings of Azar you all wear have protected you all from the power of Trigon, or else you'd all be statues right now." Ravager then explained while motioning around to the devastation around them all.

"Wait! The big fucker is loose!" Gizmo demanded and Ravager nodded her head with a smirk. "Screw that man! If he's here, then I'm going to Tameran!" Gizmo decided only for Mammoth to bop him on the head for the remark.

"Even if you tried to flee this world, once Trigon gathers his strength he'll begin to spread his influence even farther. Until finally, all worlds will fall under his complete control…" Ravager stated darkly and the members of Tartarus gulped audibly before looking around.

"Where's Temp when you need him?" Jinx wondered and a slim frown crossed Ravager's face at that point.

"Unfortunately, it appears your leader had a Demon sealed inside of him. This beast has now been freed by Trigon as well… and so we have TWO big pissed off Demon's out to destroy all mortal life. Not one." Ravager added and Jinx's eyes widened at that tidbit of information before a bad feeling gripped at her stomach.

"Then… what happened to, Tempest?" She asked and Ravager crossed her arms and leaned back into a wall, her eye closed.

"He was ripped apart from the inside out, both he and Raven have been more or less destroyed by the two escaping their prisons through them…" Ravager replied curtly and Jinx's eyes widened before she grit her teeth.

"I just _knew_ that girl was going to be the death of him!" She exclaimed while throwing her arms into the air and Blackfire mentally rolled her eyes before looking to Ravager with a scowl.

"Then what exactly do you suggest we do? We have no leader, no home, and nowhere left to run…" Blackfire listed while ticking off her fingers before Dani decided to pipe in her own suggestion.

"Why not hide in the Ghost Zone?" She asked and Ravager mentally groaned.

"The Ghost Zone is linked to the earth, what affects this world also affects it, thus I'm afraid even it wouldn't be safe for very long." Ravager replied and Dani nodded her head slowly as she saw how that might be a problem.

"Besides I'm not hiding anywhere! I'm going to find this big ol' Demon and skin it for what it did to, Temp!" Jinx declared, her eyes glowing a brilliant pink color and causing an amused smirk to cross Ravager's lips.

"Oh really? And just how do you expect to defeat a Demon, no, not only a Demon but a Low S class Demon and a High A class demon, when they're together, and with only a small, ragtag group that doesn't look like it could take a B-class demon on its own?" Ravager quipped with a frown and Jinx twitched before growling towards the white haired girl angrily.

"Well we have to do something! I'm sure as hell not sitting around just waiting to die!" Jinx declared and Gizmo snorted for a moment before muttering something under his breath.

"Alright, I'm with her, I'm sure as hell not going to just sit here and wait to die! And if this Demon thing took out Temp, well then Tartarus are going to teach it a lessen it'll never forget!" Gizmo declared while Mammoth grinned and cracked his knuckles ominously, Ravage looking on for only a moment before a smirk crossed her lips.

"Very well. But we need to meet up with the only other survivors and coordinate our attacks if we are to be effective against this threat." Ravager then stated while walking over to Kid-Wykkyd and smirked down at the grey skinned youth. "Take us to the Sky-Needle, from there I'll show you where we need to go." Ravager explained and Kid-Wykkyd nodded before pulling his cape up and swinging it around to encompass all of Tartarus. Once he did, a black sphere appeared where they had been a scant few moments before, only to shrink and then vanish into itself…

(In town…)

A hand suddenly burst out of the rubble that had once been an old dilapidated observatory once owned by Dr. Chang. From the rubble the hand soon grasped hold of some debris and pulled a body from beneath it. Twisting up out of the rubble, the man frowned upon seeing the mangled wreck that was his body. _'I really must find a more sturdy host in the future.'_ Orochimaru decided while opening his mouth and allowing another him to form out of it, his body repaired as if he'd never been harmed at all. Shaking his head for a moment, the man then stretched out his limbs, ensuring that they were all working properly before clicking his tongue.

Orochimaru then frowned as he noticed that his false skin was partially ripped open and revealed some of his Host's true features. Shaking his head, Orochimaru ripped the flesh from his face and allowed it to fall to the ground. Forming a few quick hand seals he then created a new version of his face over his host's. This one had pale white skin and the familiar tattoos Orochimaru was known for. Climbing to his feet, the serpentine man then looked out over the ruined city with a smirk on his face.

"Hmm… seems I was correct, the apocalypse has truly come." The Snake-Eyed man mused while looking to the side, where Trigon was sitting on Titans-Tower like it was some kind of throne. "Hmm… it would seem that the Demon's of this world are a might sight more… 'Mutated' than the ones in my world." Orochimaru mused to himself before crossing his arms when he saw the massive orange beast sleeping within the entirety of the Jump-City arena. "Now that can only mean trouble, The Kyuubi and it's free from Naruto-kun…" Orochimaru noted with a deep frown across his face, and then crossed his arms over his chest.

"Now things look less predictable, that red Demon alone looks like it was able to cause this amount of damage to the world… add on the Kyuubi and it's power to the mix and you have one very bad situation." Orochimaru mused to himself while looking at the scene and spotted several tiny dots heading straight for Trigon. "And of course those "Teen Titans" being the foolish do-gooder children that they are will have to attempt to defeat it head on." Orochimaru noted while looking at the city with a frown, then looked over the terrain for a moment.

"Hmm… all the buildings have been mostly destroyed, the water has somehow become lava, and the sky has turned red…" Orochimaru noted before kicking a large slab of rubble to his side, frowning when he was able to break it. Clicking his tongue, the man then took a Kunai and stabbed his leg, bearing the stab of pain and frowning as the scene didn't vanish as he somewhat hoped it would. "And none of it is an illusion either…" Orochimaru noted, and then smirked as he watched Trigon send the Titans flying with a single attack, shaking his head slowly at the sight.

"Humph, children, no matter what world their in, they are all the same. Foolish, cocky, headstrong, arrogant… it actually amuses me to see something so similar to my own world is true here. Ku ku ku ku ku." Orochimaru mused with a dark chuckle as he looked at the city, only to feel a presence behind himself. "Ah, someone else who's survived the end of the world…" Orochimaru mused with a smirk as he let out a dark chuckle. "No doubt with all of we survivors working together there might be some slight amount of hope in defeating these demons." Orochimaru mused aloud while slowly turning around to face the presence he'd felt behind him.

"Perhaps, but that's not why I'm here." Slade replied while walking out of the shadows, the S shaped rune erased from his brow as he walked over to Orochimaru. "You are Orochimaru, correct?" Slade questioned while looking to the visibly serpentine man and the white-skinned body snatcher grinned darkly.

"You are correct. And judging by your armor, mask, and costume, I would have to say that you are the one called, Slade." Orochimaru returned while the sick smirk on the white skinned man's lips gave even Slade a shiver of fear.

"Correct, and I believe that we can benefit from one another, Orochimaru." Slade replied, causing the serpentine man to raise a slender brow as he gazed at Slade coldly.

"Really now… how do you see that?" Orochimaru questioned calmly and Slade folded his arms behind his back silently.

"I have access to a certain chemical, one that causes the body to constantly regenerate itself, keeping the body from aging even a day after its inoculation, and even reviving the one using it from all but the most fatal of wounds." Slade replied and a cruel grin stretched across Orochimaru's lips while looking to the man.

"In other words… you would offer me immortality." Orochimaru realized and Slade nodded his head silently while gazing at the man coldly. "Well then, what is it that you desire in exchange then, sir?" Orochimaru questioned and Slade turned and pointed towards the massive hole in the center of the ruins where the library once stood.

"Help me retrieve what I have lost, and the formula will be yours." Slade replied peaking Orochimaru's interest as the snake-eyed man raised a brow and grinned.

"Really now. And what is it that you have lost?" Orochimaru questioned and Slade narrowed his eyes.

"That which is most precious to me…" He replied before reaching up and removing his mask from his face, revealing the skull that lay beneath it. _**"My flesh and blood…"**_ Slade uttered in a sinister voice while looking towards Orochimaru, the said pale man merely grinning upon seeing what had become of the man.

"Ah, I think I'm going to enjoy this, perhaps I can… require a few things as well." Orochimaru mused aloud before walking over to the man and holding out his hand, Slade taking as both shook on their proverbial "Deal with the Devil" but who was making the deal with whom was the real question…

(Elsewhere…)

The Titans landed in the crater that had once been the library of Jump-City, bouncing across the floor before sliding to a halt. Groaning lightly, Cyborg pushed himself up to his feet and put a hand to his head. "Guess that wasn't angry enough." He mumbled, referring to something Starfire had said about Raven's power reacting to strong emotions. BB shook his head as he pushed himself up as well, only to sigh as he looked around the massive crater Trigon had come from.

"Of all the places to crash and burn, why'd it have to be here?" The Green Jester wondered aloud, even as Nightwing climbed back to his feet and placed a hand to his head. Starfire then flew from the back of the room, rubbing one of her arms and wincing as she looked around the massive room.

"Please, I wish to leave to leave this place." Starfire pleaded while Nightwing crossed his arms with a frown across his face.

"I guess Raven's power wasn't enough to destroy him, but at least we now know Trigon can at least be harmed." Nightwing noted to himself while walking towards the stairs that Raven had used earlier. "Our next attack will have to be more coordinated." Night then added before looking up, Shayera landing in a crater, soon followed by Dr. Fate, Kid-Flash, Donna, Etrigan and Batman.

"Dude!" BB cried while rushing over to them, Dr. Fate pushing himself up with one arm only to fall back.

"That Kyuubi… is definitely more dangerous than it seems… it managed to beat us all by merely flicking its tails about…" Dr. Fate explained through a pained grunt as he held his very bruised ribs; even he could only take so much punishment. "To deal with those of us restricted to the ground it slammed into it with its tail to cause an earthquake, knocking most of us off balance long enough for it to slam its tails into us, knocking us around like we were nothing to it…" Dr. Fate explained while holding his side, BB helping the man up while Starfire helped Shayera.

"Then how'd it deal with those of you flying?" Nightwing questioned and Batman pulled himself up, holding his ribs with a frown.

"It created a fire storm and blew it towards them then started flicking them to the ground with its tails." Batman explained and Nightwing gaped for a moment before frowning as he realized just how screwed they really were.

"Then… after it got us all to the ground, it made a hurricane and sent us all flying away." Kid-Flash finished while rubbing his head with a pained grimace, Donna pushing herself to her feet and wobbling for a moment.

"How did your attack on Trigon go?" Batman questioned and Nightwing grimaced visibly while looking to his former mentor.

"Not much better, he beat us without even having to move. We only managed to inflict minimal damage, and it seemed like he was growing." Nightwing replied and a frown crossed Batman's lips as he considered that for a moment.

"He's gathering his strength, if we don't stop him soon he'll be strong enough to finish us all off." Batman replied while crossing his arms with a deep frown crossing his features.

"Don't forget that Fox thing! It's huge, nasty, and it packs a punch!" Kid-Flash reminded and Batman nodded his head in agreement with the red haired boy.

"Dude, we could seriously use some help here. We're a group of ten taking on two army sized Demons! There's no way we can take them both down on our own, even with our powers!" The Green Jester declared and then turned when he heard a snort, only to gape. Following his eyes, the rest of the Titans frowned upon seeing the bulk of Tartarus, Jinx at the front with a frown on her face.

"Well you're all in luck, cause we're currently available at a very reasonable price." Jinx noted while flicking her hand, pink Hex-Energy floating off of it as she then flipped off of the rim of the ceiling and landed on the ground. The Rest of Tartarus then followed the pinkette before standing before the Titans and JLU members present.

"Oh man it's Batman…" Seemore noted fearfully, Billy gulping when he saw the Dark-Knight once again.

"What the… how did you guys survive!" Cyborg demanded while glaring at Gizmo, the Tiny-Terror grinning as he faced off against the Titanium Teen.

"What's the matter robo-geek? Not happy to see us?" Gizmo asked and the twitch to Cyborg's eye was all he needed before a grin crossed the midgets lips. "Oh are you afraid we're going to upstage you loser titans?" Gizmo quipped and Cyborg growled at the Tiny-Terror, his normal eye twitching wildly as he does so.

"I'll have you know we have everything perfectly under control!" Cyborg declared and Jinx raised a brow while looking around for a moment.

"Oh yes, and from the look of things around here you're doing such a wonderful job…" Jinx quipped dryly, Cyborg growling only for Nightwing to place a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"What do you want?" Nightwing demanded and Jinx took a mock-thoughtful look for a moment before answering.

"Besides heroes who can do their job and keep the world from being destroyed?" She asked riling the majority of the Titans' tempers and Batman pinched the bridge of his nose before walking forward.

"You're here because of X aren't you?" The Dark-Knight questioned, briefly catching Jinx off guard before she frowned towards the man.

"Well I guess your not called the worlds greatest detective for nothing…" Jinx mumbled quietly while then placing her hands onto her hips. "Alright fine, we're here cause of her saying we need to work with you losers." Jinx explained while pointing her thumb over to The Ravager, the white haired girl walking out of the shadows calmly.

"Aw hell no! There is no way we're working with that psychopath!" Cy exclaimed while pointing to the white haired girl, a scowl crossing Nightwings lips as well as he watched her walk towards Batman.

"You really need to keep them on a leash." She commented calmly and Batman noticed the Rings of Azar she and Tartarus were wearing. "Besides, I'm not here to fight, I'm here to help." Ravager then added while crossing her arms over her chest, a frown across her face as she looked at the Dark-Knight silently.

"So I see you did kill the members of the Order of Skath, you needed their rings of Azar to give to Tartarus… or was that Slade's plan?" Batman questioned of the girl and saw a slight facial twitch nearly no one else would notice. "I see. So what did Slade plan on doing, getting his payment then betraying Trigon?" Batman questioned of the white haired girl and she narrowed her sole eye onto the man angrily.

"Do you want to stay here and talk about the old man or are we going to get to planning a counterattack against Trigon and Kyuubi?" Ravager demanded flatly and the Dark Knight nodded his head while turning to the Titans and JLU.

"We'll focus on dealing with Trigon first. His abilities will be only slightly more difficult to deal with than this Kyuubi Creature." Batman decided while walking over to Dr. Fate to discus something.

"The fact that he's the reason Raven is gone being only a minor reason I suppose…" Ravager mused aloud, only to smirk as Starfire lunged at her and grabbed her by her collar.

"You will not speak of our friend! Both you and your father have brought nothing but pain and misery to me and my friends!" Starfire growled at the girl, actually causing Blackfire to grin for a moment.

"And to think you stopped me from doing the same thing even though she almost killed me." Blackfire noted, a little too loudly, and Starfire's eyes started to blaze a bright green as she formed a Starbolt into one hand.

"Must you make her even more pissed off than she already was?" Dani demanded while Duela fell over laughing to herself, Nightwing slapping his face.

"Ugh… she's here as well? Let's just send Duela to the Demons, she'll drive them so crazy they'll want to go back to hell…" Nightwing offered flippantly and Beast-Boy and Kid-Flash both snickered while Cyborg and Donna pulled Starfire off of Ravager, the girl screaming a slew of Tameranian curses, enough to cause even Blackfire to blush at the vulgar swearing…

"Uh, what's she saying?" Seemore questioned and Blackfire blinked for a moment before shaking her head.

"You really, _really_ don't want to know…" She stated while looking at her sister with a look of shock on her face. "And I really never thought she had such a dirty mouth before…" Blackfire added while looking on in shock, as they had to drag Starfire away from the white haired girl. Cracking her neck and rubbing her shoulder for a moment, Ravager frowned while looking to the glaring Tameranian.

"You should really keep her under control… I only offer to help because it suits me. Neither me nor my father would wish this fate upon the world." Ravager stated simply and Starfire shouted another slew of curses towards the white haired girl.

"Enough, this bickering isn't helping any of us." Batman growled out while giving a look to Starfire, before turning to Ravager. "Now then, your father worked with Trigon so you must know something about him." Batman reasoned and Ravager nodded her head silently for a moment.

"Trigon is all seeing, his mind can be anywhere at anytime… there is no way to surprise him unless you divert his attention elsewhere. Making a sneak attack against him almost completely impossible." Ravager explained while Batman frowned for a moment while rubbing his chin.

"Almost but not impossible. If we split into two groups one can draw Trigon's attention to them, while the rest of us attack him from behind." Batman mused to himself while walking away and Cyborg stared at the man as if he were crazy.

"And how are we supposed to do that? We already tried fighting him, look where it got us!" Cyborg reminded the Dark-Knight and a smirk crossed Ravager's lips as she looked over to the Titanium Teen mockingly.

"It's the end of the world, did you really expect it to be easy?" Ravager quipped dryly, looking towards the large group with a deep frown across her face. "Now then, the trip to this realm has weakened Trigon greatly, his powers are at less than half what they should be. That alone gives us an advantage, but with the Rings of Azar we have, perhaps we'll be better able to survive." Ravager added while looking to the JLU silently, Batman frowning slightly before noticing Dr. Fate nodding his head.

"She makes a point, and we're wasting what precious little time we have left. We must focus our energies on defeating Trigon, not fighting each other." Dr. Fate piped up as he limped his way over to the group with Shayera and Etrigan.

"Agreed. The Titans will draw Trigon's attention, he's only aware of them at the moment. The rest of us will attack Trigon while he's distracted, hopefully that will be enough. But first we'll need to redistribute the Rings of Azar if we're to utilize them to the fullest." Batman finally decided and a frown crossed Jinx's lips as she looked over to Nightwing, the masked teen narrowing his eyes onto the pink haired girl.

"Don't get too used to this Boy-Blunder, as soon as these Demons are dead, I'm taking my pent up frustrations out on everyone here who had something to do with Temp vanishing like he did…" Jinx growled out with a twitch as Pink Energy swirling around the arm that the String of Beads was located on. Turning on her heel, the girl marched off with Tartarus following behind her, the JLU going out with Ravager afterwards.

"Dude, she seriously needs some anger management classes…" BB noted aloud while looking to his friends, Cyborg sighing as he rubbed his face for a moment.

"I'm almost hoping Trigon totals us…" Cyborg muttered as he followed after the two groups, Nightwing frowning before doing the same.

"Titans, Move Out." He ordered and the rest of the team followed behind their leader and into the city once more…

(?)

Somewhere hidden from mortal eyes, in a place where no human has ever dared walk before. It is a world of fire and brimstone; massive stone formations shaped like ravens are all around and pour lava into rivers, lakes, and even streams throughout its depths. Deep within this vile underworld is a circular rock formation, a familiar blond laying on it. Naruto groaned lightly before opening his eyes, looking around for a moment, the blond groaned and sat up. Taking in his surroundings, Naruto frowned upon seeing a world comprised solely of fire and brimstone…

"_**Master, are you alright?"**_ Kusanagi questioned within the mind of the blond and Naruto groaned while rubbing his head.

'_No… I let the Kyuubi trick me… he escaped the seal… and what's even worse is that I wasn't able to save Kara-Chan.'_ Naruto replied inwardly while closing his eyes and then leaned forward with a frown.

"_**Master you must get up, we still have much work to do."**_ The Kusanagi reminded the blond while pulsing on his back and the blond reached a hand back to touch the swords hilt.

'_Do? Do what? I just got ripped to shreds from the inside out… and my Chakra Coils feel like it… I don't think I could even make a low-powered Rasengan if I tried to.'_ The blond reminded the blade with a grimace, his internal energy feeling as though it had expanded then just exploded from within him. The Kusanagi grimaced as it could feel this as well; the demon's Chakra had been held too deeply within his coils and ripped them open upon its escape.

"_**True, your power has been reduced. But it would seem that doesn't matter, your still here after all."**_ The Sword noted and Naruto gave the blond that much before closing his eyes and feeling the gaping hole in his Chakra-Coils.

'_Yeah… which is weird, when this happened I should've been killed… although from the looks of things I'm not in the world of the living anymore.'_ Naruto noted mostly to himself, half expecting to see a hole in his stomach, though instead it was just feel a burn on his skin under his suit where the Kyuubi's seal once was.

"_**With all do respect, Master, things could be much worse than this."**_ The Kusanagi noted aloud and Naruto scoffed while crossing his arms over his chest.

'_Oh really, how do you see that?'_ The blond inwardly demanded of the legendary blade and it was silent for a moment, contemplating its response.

"_**Well… you could've been possessed by Kyuubi instead of it just escaping, something I know we both don't want. Trigon could've made a clone of your mother to demoralize you, you could be completely powerless to do anything…"**_ The Kusanagi listed and Naruto made a mental note not to ask that, the blade had some good ideas and he only hoped nothing heard any of them.

'_Fine, things could be worse, but right now, I've lost the girl I love, the demon that was once sealed inside of my is now free and probably running amuck, and I have no idea where I am!'_ Naruto reminded the sword angrily and the sword was silent as it contemplated a response.

"_**In my own experience, when one hits "Rock Bottom" master, the only place to go, is up… and there isn't any place in the world that's more Rock Bottom than here I assure you."**_ Kusanagi offered and Naruto looked upwards, a frown crossing his features as he realized that the sword was most likely correct.

'_True, and I suppose I really shouldn't mope, I've got demon up top side whose ass needs a serious kicking!'_ Naruto thought to himself with a dark glare, only to blink when he felt a presence nearby. Turning around, the blond then gaped when he saw a familiar face within the depths of The Inferno he'd found himself in.

"Welcome to Hell, Naruto-Kun." The blond heard and turned his head and widened his eyes upon seeing Uchiha Itachi leaning back against a boulder as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

"I… Itachi? What?" Naruto asked while groaning and pushing himself up to his feet, only to sway as he nearly lost his balance.

"As I said, welcome to hell… or more specifically Trigon's prison." Itachi replied calmly a bored look across his face as he watched Naruto hold his arms out to balance himself for a moment.

"Hell huh… somehow… I pictured something different." Naruto admitted mostly to himself while looking around the world of fire and Itachi hnned for a moment before pushing himself off of the boulder and over to the blond. "Also, how the hell are you here?" Naruto then questioned and Itachi hnned once more even as he passed the blond haired teen.

"This is Hell Naruto-Kun, here the physical and the Meta-Physical are one and the same. I am a spirit, and due to the nature of hell, I can have form here." Itachi explained even while walking down a long winding path.

"The do you know how we got down here in the first place?" Naruto asked the man with a raised brow and Itachi nodded his head as they wandered further through the depths of hell.

"The reason Kyuubi was freed from the seal was because you entered the array Raven used to summon Trigon. However, since you clearly couldn't be sealed inside of yourself, and it was a one way portal, you were thereby transported into the depths of Trigon's former prison…" The dark haired Uchiha explained to the blond haired teen as they journeyed further into the depths of The Inferno.

"Okay, then what do we do next?" Naruto asked as he followed the man as he walked down into the very depths of hell.

"We find your girl, Raven and save her from this hell, find you a way to return to earth, and you defeat both Kyuubi and Trigon of course." Itachi replied with a strange smile on his face as he explained. Raising a brow for a moment Naruto narrowed his eyes onto the man with a frown.

"How do you even know she's down here? I mean, this isn't the only version of hell in existence is it?" Naruto asked seriously and Itachi closed his eyes for a moment before answering.

"Because, it stands to reason that if you are here, so is she. You are also correct in assuming there are other Hell's out there…" The Dark Haired Uchiha replied simply, Naruto smirking to himself as he followed him.

"Sounds good to me." The blond replied while following behind Itachi, the man walking over to a doorway.

"Be forewarned Naruto-kun, not all is as it appears in this Infernal Abyss…" Itachi suddenly warned and a deep frown crossed Naruto's features while looking to the Dark haired Uchiha.

"Trust me, I'm more than ready for anything this place can throw at me." Naruto declared and Itachi shook his head before placing his hands against the door.

"No… your not." Itachi retorted while giving the blond a cold look, then pushed the doors open to reveal the true depths of Hell to his blond haired companion.

"Okay… this could take a while." Naruto admitted while looking into the depths with Itachi nodding his head in agreement before starting down the first portion of their journey to find Raven…

(Jump-City…)

Trigon continued resting against Titans Tower; gathering his depleted strength, even as a tiny green bird made its way to him. Flying into Trigon's ear, BB flew as deep inside of it as he could before suddenly changing into a whale Inside of his head. Trigon's eyes snapped open as he did and he roared out in pain, thrashing about slightly while shaking his head from side to side. Gripping his head with both hands, the demon then walked forward, into some lava and snarled in anger. As he did however, Starfire and Cyborg flew towards Trigon from the distance.

Upon approaching the massive demon, Starfire twisted where she was before finally tossing Cyborg straight for Trigon. The Titanium Teen growled as he unlocked his Sonic-Cannon upon approaching the massive red demon. Roaring out Cyborg then fired his cannon at Trigon, only to widen his eyes as a barrier protected him. The Barrier then sent the sound waves flying back at Cyborg, knocking him back to where Starfire quickly caught him before he could fall to the lava below.

"I believe that we have obtained his attention!" Starfire noticed while flying towards solid ground so she could release the metal-teen. As she did, BB slipped out of Trigon's ear and changed shapes into a bird, flying over to solid land and returning to his normal form, completely covered in earwax.

"Just remind me not to do that again, dudes earwax is way beyond nasty!" The Green Titan grumbled out while shaking as much of the earwax from his form as he could. Soon Starfire and Cyborg landed behind the green teen and Trigon turned towards them with narrowed eyes. Inhaling briefly, Trigon then spewed forth a torrent of lava towards the three Titans. Ending his attack, a frown crossed Trigon's face when the smoke cleared and he saw a glowing red shield around the three and a familiar ring on Starfire's finger.

However before he could do anything else, Shayera came at him from the side, slamming her mace into the side of Trigon's head. The Demon cried out as the attack slammed into his skull, knocking him over to the side and stumbling back while Shayera flew around. Dr. Fate then threw his hands up as he flew next to Donna casting a quick spell and attacking Trigon from the side, slamming his power into the demon's side. On the ground, those who were unable to fly merely hung back as the flying members of the team did their job.

Stumbling to the side, Trigon swung a fist towards the annoying "Flies" near him only for Donna and Dr. Fate to quickly fly out of the way. Growling angrily, Trigon then roared out in pain as a burst of white fire from Dani connected with his face, causing him to stumble back as Blackfire fired her eyebeams into his chest. The red demon fell back into Titans Tower with a grunt, nearly crushing what was left of the building before opening his glowing red eyes. He then saw Etrigan and raised a brow as the demon breathed a torrent of flames towards him.

"**Ah Etrigan, its been quite a while since I saw you last, still in the service of these pathetic mortals I see… how sad to see such a high ranking demon fall so far."** Trigon mused before kicking Etrigan with one hoofed foot, sending him flying back into Jump-City where he smashed into a building. Narrowing his eyes as he did, Trigon then watched as the flying members of the group lunged at him from the sky. **"I've had enough of these games!"** The massive demon growled out before inhaling a deep breath, his chest puffing out before he breathed out a torrent of lava towards them.

However much like with the others three rings of Azar protected them from Trigon's power, one Dr. Fate was carrying, one by Shayera, and the last one by Blackfire. Narrowing his eyes, Trigon then saw Dani heading his way and raised a brow before reaching up and grabbing her with one hand. **"What business do the spirits have in this world?"** Trigon wondered and Dani grit her teeth as the massive beast squeezed her in his massive hand, then grunted as Shayera came at him once more.

"**Begone false Angel, you are not welcome in my world!"** Trigon growled out while lifting his massive arm and slamming it down on top of her, sending her flying towards the ground but Starfire quickly caught her. As Starfire carried Shayera, Trigon stared at Dani as she struggled in his grasp, unable to break his grip or phase out of it.

"Dammit… will you just let me… GO!" Dani shouted, causing a loud screaming echo of green sound waves to shoot out at Trigon, slamming into his head and loosening his grip on her. Hovering for a moment, Dani then muttered before flying out of the way as a pissed off Trigon reached for her. "Great, now I have a sound wave type attack like dad or Ember…" The white haired ghostling girl grumbled while flying through the air, forming a pair of white fireballs into her hands as she turned and fired two streams at Trigon, the red Demon grunting as he held up one hand to block the flames.

Trigon growled darkly as she did and then pushed her flames back at her, knocking her from the sky. Blackfire flew down and caught her however, Dani shaking her head while rubbing her temples. "Oi, never again… I am never doing that ever again." The girl muttered under her breath as they came to the ground, Dr. Fate and Donna still flying towards the red demon above them.

Muttering a chant, Dr. Fate fired a blast of magic at Trigon, the beam slamming into the demon's chest. Grunting, Trigon narrowed his eyes before throwing his arm forward, a murder of ravens flowing out of his hand and into Dr. Fate. The Gold-helmeted man grunting as the birds knocked him off balance, Trigon reaching up and slamming the man down into the ground. As he did Donna lunged up and slammed her hands into the side of Trigon's face, only for the demon to exhale through his nose, knocking Donna back where he backhanded the girl to the ground.

"Man, they got totally creamed!" Kid-Flash said while Nightwing narrowed his eyes as Trigon grunted for a moment before narrowing his eyes as he noticed the gold rings that several members of the group were wearing.

"**You carry a rings of Azar, no doubt they are relics from former minions."** Trigon noted gruffly while the three Titans stood unwavering against his glare. **"It matters not… fighting you is beneath me."** Trigon then declared while narrowing his four crimson eyes and causing them to glow brightly. As they glowed, a massive S shaped rune appeared beneath them, red lightning crawling up from it and into the heroes among the group. As it did, Batman clenched his fists and walked out of the seal, seemingly unaffected by it, Shayera did the same while activating her hammer at the same time, and Etrigan dragged Dr. Fate from the seal.

"**Twould seem you are well aware of the darkness in your hearts, a pity, I would've so loved to see you do battle with it."** Trigon noted with a frown while Tartarus as a whole walked out of the seal, grunting as the lightning tried to hold onto them, Ravager also walking out.

"Ha! We don't just acknowledge it buddy! We embrace our darkness! There's no way you can turn it against us!" Jinx shouted at Trigon with a grin on her face, the massive demon raising a brow before smirking sinisterly as he looked at the two groups.

"**I see, but can that be said for the rest of your friends as well?"** Trigon questioned and the two groups turned to see the Titans were unable to move, Starfire's hair rising and a black and white version of herself with red eyes flew out of her body. A similar creature crawling out of Beast-Boy's back, another punching its way through Cyborg's chest. Still more appeared as Kid-Flash shook in place, a hand reaching out of his side before a doppelganger of him stepped out of his body, Donna grit her teeth as one pulled itself out of her back, and finally, Nightwing grit his teeth before crying out as a final one escaped from within him…

"Aw shit, just figures the damn Titans would have a dark side he could use against them…" The Tiny-Terror grumbled while the rest of Tartarus nodded their heads in agreement with him. Falling to their knees, the Titans then looked to the side where dust had been kicked up into the air only to slowly be blown away by the breeze, revealing the Titan Doppelgangers to them.

"Heh… somehow I thought I was taller." BB mumbled while staring at his Doppelganger with wide eyes, the other Titans choosing not to comment.

"**I may be the source of all darkness, but you are your own worst enemies."** Trigon commented with a dark chuckle as the Shadow-Titans grinned towards the real Titans. The Shadow-Cyborg lunged forward first, nearly hovering before the real Cyborg with a smirk.

"Raven wasn't the only one with a bad side." The shadow creature noted darkly before slamming a fist into Cyborg's face, sending him flying back while the rest of the Shadow-Titans lunged at their counterparts.

"Aw crap! We can't beat the normal titans on a good day without, Temp! Now we've got to deal with a bunch of evil clones!" Gizmo demanded while staring at the sight and Blackfire frowned when she saw the clone of Starfire throwing Starbolts at her real sister.

"Normally, I wouldn't care, but I'm trying to be a better sister so I say we at least try to help them." Blackfire replied before launching herself into the air and ramming into her sister's doppelganger, sending it flying away. "Besides, this way I get to beat up on Starfire and not feel bad about it." Blackfire added to herself while grinning as the false starfire hovered in the air and grinned.

"Oh I don't know "Sister Dear" perhaps I can show you a trick or two." The false Starfire stated with a grin, ramming into Blackfire before twisting around to knee her in the gut, then brought her hands up and slammed them into Blackfire's head, sending her flying into the ground.

"Oh man, something tells me this is really gonna hurt…" Seemore mumbled before Jinx pinched the bridge of her nose and exhaled.

"Alright listen up! Seemore, go and help Blackfire if you can. Billy and Kid-Wykkyd you two go after the fake Kid-Flash! Gizmo, take on that Cyborg wannabe! Mammoth and Duela, you two handle Bad Beast-Boy. Dani, you get to take on Evil-Donna. Private, you and me are taking on Deathwing over there!" Jinx suddenly ordered, a smirk crossing Ravager's lips as she heard the sound line up to take down the Shadow-Titans. "Good then, Tartarus, Attack!" Jinx ordered while pointing over to where the Titans were doing battle with their dark-sides. As they ran off, Shayera looked to a frowning batman and Dr. Fate.

"Should we help them?" She questioned and Batman shook his head.

"At this point it would only tire us out, which is probably what Trigon wants… besides entertainment that is." Batman replied while looking to the battling teens with a frown and Dr. Fate nodded his head in agreement.

"We should take this moment to recuperate, they should be able to deal with the false titans quickly enough…" Dr. Fate replied through panting breaths as he tried to focus so he could regain his strength, Batman frowning as he turned to where Trigon was resting, his body growing slightly larger for a moment.

"Let's just hope they hurry, otherwise even if we do work together, Trigon will be too powerful for us to destroy." Shayera noted while looking to the massive red demon with a frown, the other members of the JLU agreeing with her…

Meanwhile, the Kyuubi slept silently over to the side, however, a single eye soon opened and gazed at the spectacle in the distance. _**'He ha ha ha ha ha ha… yes, occupy him and his all seeing eyes, but soon enough, his power will be mine…'**_ Kyuubi thought to himself, while closing his eye and slowly sleeping once more, gathering his strength for what would soon happen to him and Trigon…

(Depths of Hell…)

Naruto and Itachi approached a boat within the depths of hell, the blond gaping as he saw it. "How is a boat floating in lava?" Naruto questioned and Itachi smirked slightly as he hopped into it and gripped the pole next to it, his head snapping to it a moment later. "Something interesting about that, Itachi?" Naruto asked as he hopped into the boat as well and the dark haired man was silent for a moment.

"No, not really, though we may wish to keep it with us." Itachi replied smoothly while shoving off, pushing them downriver and then twirling the staff as he sat down and they floated with the current of the lava. However, unseen by the blond or Itachi, was the four glowing red eyes following them from up above. The eyes belonged to a slender figure that stayed low to the ground and hidden in shadow. It narrowed its eyes as they went further down the river of lava known to most mortals as simply "The River Styx". Moving further along and following after the two silently, unseen…

"So how much do you know about what's going on down here?" Naruto asked as they continued to float downstream and Itachi was silent for a moment before answering the blond haired teen.

"No much really, all I know is what I was able to gleam from your memories." Itachi replied simply and then sighed while standing up and twirling the staff he'd taken in hand for a moment. "Also, look behind you…" Itachi then stated and Naruto turned, only to grumbled as dozen's of Fire-Wraiths started to flow out of the lava and hover towards them ominously.

"Oi, even in hell I can't catch a break…" Naruto muttered while pulling the Kusanagi from his back and narrowed his eyes as the many fire wraiths approached.

"This should be simple enough for the two of us to deal with." Itachi mused while twirling the staff and then lunging forward, swinging it with one hand and slicing a fire wraith in half as he landed on a rock. Not one to be outdone, Naruto lunged forward as well, swinging the Kusanagi with a grin before smirking as he then twisted in the air and swung his blade down on one of the fire-wraiths. Looking to Itachi with a smirk he then watched the man twist and twirl his staff over his head, taking out several of the Fire-Wraiths before twisting on his heel, swinging the entire staff and taking down more of the annoying fire-wraiths.

Twitching as he watched the man upstage him once more, Naruto reached back and pulled over of his Ninjatou before twirling both it and the Kusanagi in hand. Lunging at the incoming Fire-Wraiths with a grin, Naruto jumped up with a roar and swung both blades, landing against a rock once he had. Grinning slightly as several Fire-Wraiths came at him, swinging their tendril like arms at him, the blond jumped up and ran along their length before slicing the Fire-Wraith into pieces and landing against the side of the chasm walls.

Quickly making his way up the side of the wall, Naruto looked back with a grin as several Fire-Wraiths followed him up. "Alright!" The blond cried while twisting the two swords in his hands. "This party's getting crazy, lets rock!" The blond exclaimed as he fell towards the fire-demons, slicing them into pieces and landing on the ground in a low crouch, the bottom of his trench coat rising up as he did. Rising a brow at the display, Itachi then twisted around, destroying several more Fire-Wraiths that came at him before lunging up the side of the chasm as well. Flipping off of the wall and over Naruto, Itachi grabbed his free Ninjatou and landed with a smirk.

"Impressive work, but please let me show you how it's really done, Naruto-kun." Itachi stated as several more Fire-Wraiths came at him and he crouched down before moving forward with lightning fast speed, dicing the fire-wraiths into pieces as he went. Sliding to a halt as a dozens of the Fire-Wraiths came at him, throwing their arms towards him like long flaming whips. Rolling his eyes, Itachin quickly threw off his cloak and jumped into the air, twirling the staff over his head and bringing it down onto the ground, directly through several of the Fire-Wraiths.

Nodding his head to unknown beat, Itachi then moved with forward, twisting the Ninjatou in hand and slicing Fire-Wraith after fire wraith into pieces. Twisting around into a flip, Itachi slashed another Fire-Wraith and then rolled back to avoid another Fire-Wraith before twirling the staff and throwing it at the offending Wraith, impaling it and then twirling the Ninjatou he had left in hand. Lunging into a group of Fire-Wraiths, Itachi then started to swing his blade all around, cutting his way through the dozens of wraiths as if they were nothing.

Sliding to a stop, Itachi watched as Naruto lunged passed him with a wide grin on his face. "My turn!" The blond exclaimed as he ran towards the Fire-Wraiths as Itachi had, ducking below several balls of fire, Naruto then slashed upwards with his blades, then twisted into a swing, he then twisted into another swing at another Wraith. Finishing off his combo by bringing up both of the swords Naruto then slammed the two weapons into the ground; a burst of wind suddenly flowing forward and ripping threw the many Fire-Wraiths instantly. Turning to Itachi with a grin, Naruto leaned his blades into his shoulders while Itachi shook his head.

"Now that is how you deal with them." Naruto offered arrogantly and Itachi merely raised a brow before both turned as a mass of Fire-Wraiths headed their way… "You want these or should I take them?" Naruto asked Itachi as the man pulled out the staff from the wall before looking to Naruto.

"Lets both deal with this minor annoyance, but first I must suggest a trade." Itach then said while tossing the staff to Naruto, the blond rolling his eyes as he tossed the Ninjatou in his hand to the dark haired man. Catching the staff, Naruto raised a brow when he felt it and Kusanagi suddenly pulse, but ignored it and twirled both it in hand. Lunging forward, the two Ex-Konoha-Shinobi then lunged into the fray, Naruto swinging the staff first before digging its tip into the ground and swinging around on it, The Kusanagi outstretched and slicing through several of the Wraiths.

Meanwhile, Itachi jumped into the air and swung both blades into the wraiths in an X pattern. Coming to the ground and rolling forward, Itachi then moved back while swinging up with both blades, dragging the earth upwards into the wraiths. Landing in a crouch next to Naruto the two stood as one against the remaining Wraiths before looking to one another. Nodding their heads the two lunged forward together, Naruto and Itachi both forcing Chakra to their blades before stopping and swinging them into the mass of different wraiths.

As they did, three blades of pure Chakra flowed from their weapons, flying forward and tearing their way through the mass of wraiths. Smirking at the sight, Naruto twirled the Kusanagi in hand for a moment before placing it onto his back, then tossed Itachi the staff. Smirking, Itachi tossed the two Ninjatou in the air while catching the staff in one hand, Naruto catching the Ninjatou in his hands, twirling them for a moment and then sheathing them on his back as they stood victorious.

"Hmph, not bad for a dead guy." Naruto noted and Itachi smirked while walking over to his cloak and pulling it over his form.

"I could say the same for you, Naruto-Kun." Itachi reminded and the blond haired teen merely rolled his eyes while shrugging his shoulders.

"So where too next?" Naruto asked only to turn as another Fire-Wraith came at him from behind; only this one was smashed by a falling figure. "What now?" Naruto questioned while pulling the Kusanagi from his back, the figure standing up and revealing a slender figure with four glowing crimson eyes. "Wait a minute… I know those eyes…" The blond whispered to himself while Itachi looked at him for a second before turning back to the figure. Blinking for a moment, Naruto narrowed his eyes as the figure sauntered towards him with a noticeable sway to its hips.

"Something the matter, Naruto-Kun?" Itachi questioned and Naruto frowned while looking over to the side where a large hood shaped opening spilled lava down into the river below.

"I don't know… but I intend to find out if I'm right…" The blond whispered while turning with the Kusanagi, a blade of wind cutting out a trail for the lava to follow. Itachi narrowed his eyes when Naruto did, then watched as light came towards them and revealed the figure, Naruto's eyes widening as he laid eyes on her…

She was quite clearly around Naruto's age with a full figure, though was also somewhat shorter than him with familiar blood red skin and black markings identical to those that Trigon had, sharp obsidian claws at the tips of her fingers, pointed ears framing her face, sharp fangs replacing her teeth, long "Raven" black hair that reached her ass, four glowing red eyes, a small red gemstone at the center of her forehead, with black vines with thorns curving around her head in a similar way to Trigon's antlers, forming into a demonic tiara of some sort.

She was dressed in a sleeveless leotard with high leg holes showing her hips, a pair of light leather armor stationed over her hands and forearms with familiar gemstone clasps over the backs of her fists, more of the armor wrapped around her waist, all identical to the armor Trigon wore, a pair of thigh length black boots with horizontal slits on the sides of her thighs, and a familiar chain belt hanging loosely from her hips, only with a loincloth similar to Trigon's under it, only it was red in color…

"Kara-Chan?" Naruto questioned while staring at the girl in shock, however she merely raised a brow before smirking darkly.

"**One part of her, actually… The Demonic Part of her to be precise…"** The Demonic Raven replied, her tone a sweet almost seductive tone yet it somehow managed to make Naruto shiver. Giggling at the slight fear on the blond's face, she then saunter over to him and leaned forward. **"But, that doesn't mean I don't have a "soft spot" for you, Naruto…"** She purred out and Naruto gulped while looking into her glowing eyes. _'I'm not sure if that's is a good thing, or a bad thing… though I am kind of curious about it.'_ Naruto couldn't help but think to himself as Itachi rolled his eyes at the sight and wander over to the side so he wouldn't see anything he didn't want too…

'_Hopefully she doesn't want to get frisky with him… but then again, this is the physical incarnation of the girl's demonic nature… and Lust is a technically a sin.'_ Itachi mused to himself as he walked away, sitting down a distance from the two on the chance that "Raven" wanted to get "Frisky"…

(Jump-City…)

The Kyuubi no longer rested, instead it was watching as the Titans did battle with their doppelgangers with the assistance of Tartarus. The fight was actually more interesting that Kyuubi would've believed. While it was well known that he couldn't technically use his intellect outside of a host, what few knew was that he alone has some minor control over his form. This was something he kept to himself for obvious reasons, Trigon didn't know, and believed he'd be a mindless beast he could keep as a pet, well, Kyuubi planned on showing him otherwise…

As such the Kitsune was sitting back, waiting for the perfect moment to strike, once those stupid Doppelgangers had drawn attention somewhere and Trigon couldn't focus on him, then he would strike. In the city, BB was running from his Doppelganger, the false-BB having turned into a hawk. Quickly turning into a Doberman as the Doppelganger landed at his side, BB mentally grimaced as he changed into a Wolf to counter him. However as he got close to biting Beast-Boy, Mammoth lunged out of a building and slammed his fists into the ground, breaking it apart and sending both Beast-Boys flying into the air.

The real BB quickly flew over to Mammoth and landed on his shoulder while changing back with a breath of relief. "Dude, I never thought I'd be so happy to see you…" BB said while looking towards the false BB as it changed back to its true shape across from them. However they all then heard Duela and winced visibly as she brought her Bass down on top of the false BB from the top of a building.

"Whoa, don't you think that was overkill?" Mammoth questioned as Duela walked over to them with the Bass slung over her shoulders.

"Yeah, I mean it was so totally worthy of Haruko, but did you have to smash me into the pavement… and for that matter, when did you get so strong?" BB asked the girl and Duela blinked before reaching into her coat sleeve and produced a tiny vile attached to a tube that was going into her wrist.

"Just a little bit of Venom from uncle Bane." Duela replied with a grin, both Mammoth and BB gaping towards the girl as she then whistled to herself while making her way passed them… However, when the false-BB pushed the rubble from where Duela had smashed him into the pavement back, now in the form of a gorilla, BB and Mammoth gaped.

"Uh Duela, he's baaaack…" BB said aloud and the clown girl turned and raised a brow as the dark-BB shook his head, a frown on his face.

"Wow… what does it take to put this guy under already?" Duela wondered while scratching her head and BB shook his head. "No seriously guys, I've tried some Venom and it doesn't work, so do I need to break out the Smilex or Fear-Toxin next?" Duela asked while staring at the Dark-BB getting disbelieving looks from the two boys as she did. However the Dark-BB growled at this before unleashing a roar as it lunged at them, changing into a T-Rex along the way…

Meanwhile Cyborg was sent flying back by his own doppelganger before landing on the shore of Jump-City with a groan of pain. Pushing a giant slab off of himself, the Titanium Teen then turned when he heard a cry. Looking up just as his Doppelganger came down on top of him with a slam, Cyborg gritted his teeth and sent him flying back. The Fals-Cyborg landed with a smirk while the real Cyborg narrowed his eyes onto the faker dangerously.

"YO! Servo-Geek!" The ever annoying voice of Gizmo came and the Doppelganger looked up to see the Tiny-Terror as he fired off a salvo of missiles towards him. The Missiles connected with the false Cyborg, sending him flying back while Gizmo landed and unleashed his Spider-Legs from his Pack. Taking in a deep breath, the Tiny Terror grinned while looking towards the Doppelganger. "Ah, the stink of battle, working in the shop is nice and all, but I really missed laying a hurt on stupid Titans!" Gizmo declared and Cyborg twitched before his Doppelganger came out of the rubble and glared towards Gizmo.

"Alright punk, time for you to go down!" The False Cyborg roared out while lunging at the Tiny-Terror only for him to jump into the air and bring his spider legs down at him. Gritting his teeth the false Cyborg caught the legs only for the real one to come from the side and ram into him. Sliding to a halt beside of Gizmo, the Tiny Terror and Titanium Teen glared at one another.

"Me saving your ass and helping beat that thing, means nothing…" Gizmo stated simply while glaring at Cyborg, the Titanium Teen frowning towards the Tiny-Terror in response while crossing his arms.

"Fine by me." Cy replied and both turned to the side as the Shadow-Cy pushed some rubble off of himself with a frown.

"If you two pansies are done talking, lets get back to the part where I kick your butts!" The False Cyborg growled out while lunging at the two, forming his Sonic-Cannon from one arm, Cyborg doing the same and firing at the same time as he did, canceling one another's blasts out while Gizmo fired a ray from his pack at the false-Cyborg, sending him skidding across the ground and to the side…

Meanwhile, Starfire was throwing blast after blast towards her own doppelganger while it flew around them with surprising ease. _'She moves like my sister!'_ Starfire noted idly while the false Starfire came at her with Starbolts formed into her hands. The False-Starfire rammed into Starfire however she pushed her back, then both slammed their energy coated hands into each other's hands. As Starfire ducked towards the lava streams below, her Doppelganger flew towards her and threw both of her Starbolts, Starfire quickly dodging them before flying out of the way.

As Starfire got out of the way, Blackfire came from the side with a grin and formed a Starbolt in either hand. The False-Starfire raised a brow as she came and smirked while doing the same. However, Blackfire then fired her eyebeams into the Shadow-Starfire, sending her flying back. "Don't think I'll fight fair like dear little Starfire would!" Blackfire shouted at the Shadow-Starfire, only to see her grin down at her and then zip towards her, catching the False-Starfire as she rammed into her, Blackfire and tried to push her into the lava below.

"You are most… ruthless and cunning… you would be smart to join, Trigon… rather than appose him…" Shadow-Starfire noted aloud and Blackfire scoffed before twisting around and grabbing the False-Starfire in a sleeper hold.

"No thanks, tall dark and ugly really doesn't do anything for me." Blackfire replied coolly with a cocky smirk on her lips as she then flew down and rammed the False-Starfire into one of the small islands of rock in the lava. "Now you should be smart, 'Sister Dear', and give up now while you still have the chance." Blackfire then stated while crossing her arms over her chest, Starfire watching with no small amount of surprise as Blackfire was winning.

'_Father… you were wrong to think she was ever weak?'_ Starfire thought to herself, remembering what Blackfire had explained about her life and how she'd only been first in line because no one believed she'd live long enough to take it. Shaking that off, Starfire then flew down towards her Sister and her Doppelganger and fired her eyebeams into the Doppelganger before landing next to her sister. Smiling brightly when there was nothing but a crater where her Doppelganger had been Starfire then wrapped her arms around her sister happily.

"Oh most Beloved Sister, I am most mirthful to be able to do battle with you at long last!" Starfire said happily while picking Blackfire up, the older girl wincing when she noticed she was actually shorter than Starfire now…

"Put me down Koriand'r…" Blackfire ordered and the young red head blinked while doing so, and then winced when she noticed the height difference as well…

"Umm… perhaps picking you up should be avoided in the future… yes?" Starfire asked warily and Blackfire sighed before pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Whatever… just never do it again or I swear I'll…" Blackfire started to say only for both sisters to be thrown into the air as the said Doppelganger ripped its way out of the ground with a frown. "Never mind that, more anger management is on the way!" Blackfire declared while lunging at the Doppelganger and twisted into a kick sending it flying away before rocketing after her…

"My sister has far too much pent up rage to be healthy…" Starfire mumbled while watching as her Sister started to slam her fists into the flase-Starfire's face. The Dark-Haired Tameranian Princess then grabbed her by one arm and twisted in the air before throwing her up high. Forming Several Starbolts into her hands Blackfire then started to throw them towards the Doppelganger, smirking as they all connected. However she then frowned as The Doppelganger slammed into her, both gripping the other's hands in a test of strength, the False-Starfire smirking darkly.

"You fight well… for a pathetic little Kom'secrit!" Shadow-Starfire taunted with a wicked grin, only for an enraged Blackfire to narrow her eyes.

"No one, and I mean _no one_ calls me that and lives!" Blackfire growled out before elbowing Shadow-Starfire in the face, then quickly grabbed her by her wrists and twisted around. Flying to the ground, Blackfire slammed her into a small island in the Lava back first before throwing her high up into the air. "And allow me to show you what this "Pathetic Little Kom'secrit" can really do when she's pissed off!" Blackfire declared before ducking down and jumping into the air like a rocket, slamming into the Doppelganger's back before twisting her trajectory and slammed her into the ground in the main city.

Floating up from the crater she created, Blackfire crossed her arms while the False-Starfire stumbled up to her feet before shaking her head and frowning towards the severely pissed Blackfire. However before she could attack Starfire came at her from the side, firing her eye beams into her Doppelganger and sending her careening into a building, which then fell on top of her. Turning to her older Sister, Starfire grimaced at the twitch to her eye.

"Sister, do you think she is going to stay down now?" Starfire questioned only to groan as he Doppelganger slowly climbed out of the rubble and stumbled for a moment.

"Does that answer your question?" Blackfire snipped before cracking her knuckles with a deep scowl on her face as her eyes started to glow purple. Sighing for a moment, Starfire then followed her sister as they both attacked her Doppelganger together…

Elsewhere in the city, Kid-Flash growled low in his throat as he ran along side his own smirking Doppelganger. The two quickly turned and then Kid-Flash stopped while his Doppelganger slid to a halt apposing him. "You should just give up now Bart, save yourself the shame of getting beat by yourself." The False-Kid-Flash shouted at the original, only for the speedster to get down, his Doppelganger mirroring him. Lunging forward at the same time the two speedsters rammed into one another, which only managed to send them both flying back.

Skidding across the ground, Kid-Flash groaned for a moment before seeing Kid-Wykkyd appear with Billy Numerous. "Oh great, did I get the bottom of the barrel or what?" Kid-Flash wondered aloud while his Doppelganger flipped to his feet and Billy frowned for a moment before grinning slightly towards his clones.

"Boys I gots a plan!" Billy exclaimed and one of his clones grinned.

"Alright, lets get too it!" The clone cried and another started to rub its hands together deviously.

"Yeah, and then we'll finally prove our power can be useful!" The teen cried while the False-Kid-Flash stared at both Billy-Numerous and Kid-Wykkyd for a moment before snickering to himself.

"Oh man, you got stuck with the losers of the group. Hell, even that one eyed drip has a more useful power than these two dorks!" Shadow-Kid-Flash snickered to himself while Kid looked to Billy and both nodded their heads. Wiping a tear from his eye, Shadow-Kid-Flash then crouched down while looking towards the group of three. "But whatever, lets see if they at least make decent speed bumps!" The Doppelganger cried out while lunging forward, only for Billy to grin as he multiplied himself into a wall.

Blinking for a moment, Shadow-Kid-Flash turned to try and get out of the way however they turned as well. Growling he ran as fast as he could however Billy was able to multiply himself faster. Twitching slightly, the speedster ran and ran even as the Billy's continued to block his path before finally Kid-Wykkyd appeared out of a portal and slammed a fist into his face, sending him flying back. Groaning for a moment, Shadow-Kid-Flash then looked up only for Kid-Wykkyd to grab him up with his cape.

The Shadowy teen then reappeared in the air over the city with a smirk as he released Shadow-Kid-Flash and wrapped his cape back around him. Cursing loudly as he fell, the Shadow-Kid-Flash impacted with the ground only a short while later, Kid-Flash blinking in surprise while Billy and Kid grinned. "Wow… I didn't actually think you two would be any help… but I'm glad I was proven wrong for once." Kid-Flash mused only to see his Dark-Doppelganger pull himself out of the crater. "But lets finish this!" The speedster then decided as he lunged towards his doppelganger and slammed a fist into his face, sending him skidding back along the pavement…

Meanwhile, Donna grit her teeth as she rammed her Doppelganger through a building, then another before finally jumping up and ramming her into the ground. "You really do need work controlling that temper…" He Shadow-Self commented with a smirk before kicking her off of herself. Donna flipped in the air before landing in a low crouch, grimacing slightly at a minor wound she'd sustained earlier on in the battle. Shaking her head of that, the Amazonian then lunged towards her Doppelganger only for the false-her to swing her arms and connect with her instead.

Grunting as she stumbled back, Donna was unable to guard when her Shadow-Self then lunged forward and tackled her. Grunting as she hit the ground back first only to be used to slide down the rocky ground, Donna groaned lightly in pain when they finally came to a stop. "I can't believe I actually came out of someone as pathetic as you." The False-Donna noted only for a beam of green energy to slam into her from the side and knock her through a wall.

"Oi, do these things talk way too much or is it just me thinking too much?" Dani suddenly wondered to herself with a frown while flying over to Donna casually. "You okay blacky?" Dani then asked while looking down to the Amazonian and she slowly sat up while placing a hand to her head.

"Yes… thank you for your assistance Sister… it is most appreciated." She replied and Dani raised a brow, before remembering she was an Amazon and they called one another that. Shrugging that off, Dani then watched as the shadow-Donna came charging towards them and erected a barrier between them. The False-Donna slammed into it only to be thrown back with a grunt and Dani shook her head slowly.

"Simple as hell to use, but oh so useful in battle." Dani noted to herself while the false Donna narrowed her eyes onto the ghostling girl.

"What's the matter, do you need the help of another to defeat me? I thought you were a warrior, not a coward!" The Shadow-Donna taunted, riling up the true Donna but Dani shook her head.

"It's not a coward who asks for help when she can't beat her opponent, and it's not a warrior who refuses help. The person who does that is nothing but a fool!" Dani declared with a nod of her head, and then wondered if Naruto was rubbing off on her again before deciding not to care what of her many quirks came from her teacher / role-model. Growling lightly at that the Shadow-Donna narrowed her eyes before lunging towards both Donna and Dani, the ghostling girl turning them both intangible and causing the false Donna to run straight into a wall.

"That is a very useful power…" Donna noted while staring at Dani and the Ghost Girl grinned in response.

"I know right!" She said with a grin and then turned her head as the Shadow-Donna got back up and glared at her furiously. Smirking despite herself, Dani calmly walked towards the False-Donna, arms crossed over her chest and an amused look on her face as she did.

"I am going to make you suffer…" Shadow-Donna growled out and Dani snorted before frowning deeply.

"There's absolutely nothing you can do to me that's worse than melting alive, trust me, I know." Dani stated flatly while forming a bit of Ecto-Energy into her right hand the Shadow-Donna scowling deeply.

"Then I will just break you in half and be done with it pest!" She exclaimed before roaring out as she flew towards Dani, the Ghostlingt girl quickly twisting on her heel and slamming a sphere of energy into her face…

Meanwhile, Nightwing stood across from someone he never thought he'd have to face… himself. Frowning at the cocky smirk on his Dark-Sides face Nightwing lunged forward, swinging his staff at him. "Calm down, you really do take things way too seriously, "Kid"." The Doppelganger mocked and a deep scowl crossed Nightwing's features as he dug the butt of his staff into the ground and used it as a lever, pulling it back and then launching into a kick to his Dark-Side's face. Stumbling back for a moment, his Dark-Side then flipped onto his feet.

"Don't try and act like X, your not like him… there's no grey with you, only jet black." Night stated while narrowing his eyes onto his Dark-Other the False-Nightwing merely raising a brow at the comment.

"Oh? And here I thought Red-X was your enemy? Have a change of heart since he died trying to save the girl he loved or something?" Shadow-Night questioned of his original and Nightwing merely twisted his staff around while glaring at the copy.

"A creature like you just wouldn't understand…" Night declared and his copy rolled his eyes before pulling out his own staff and twisting it into a stance.

"Your right, I don't, and I'm so glad I don't either…" Shadow-Night said darkly while lunging at his original, Nightwing blocking strike after strike from the Doppelganger as it attacked him relentlessly. Seeing an opening, Night then rolled out of the way and twisted into a sweep, however the Doppelganger saw it coming and flipped out of the way before coming out in a crouch. "Let's face it Night, we're the same guy, same moves, same tricks, even the same gadgets… even if we do fight it'll always come out in a deadlock." Shadow-Night noted aloud and Nightwing narrowed his eyes onto the faker dangerously.

"That's where you're wrong… I have something you don't…" Night stated simply and the Shadow-Nightwing rolled his eyes.

"What's that then kid, your friends?" Shadow-Night asked and Nightwing shook his head with a smirk.

"Not this time, it's actually a bunch of teen villains who want to live more than they hate us…" Night relied while rolling back as Jinx sent a large wave of Hex energy flowing towards the Shadow-Night, knocking him back. As he went flying, Private-HIVE smirked and twisted around, throwing his shield into the air but the False-Night knocked it out away and landed in a roll. However Nightwing then threw several explosive disks towards his copy, causing him to curse while ducking out of the way. However this put him directly before a grinning Private HIVE.

"Time for you to go, maggot!" Private stated while picking up the False-Night, then twisted around and threw him into the distance. Watching him fly away with no small amount of interest, Night, Jinx, and Private then snickered upon seeing the dust cloud in the distance from his landing.

"C'mon, lets go finish this!" Night decided while he and the others ran towards the sight. As they approached they watched as the other Doppelgangers flew into the ground as well, Nightwing and Jinx looking around and smirking when they noticed none of them were actually all that tired.

"Looks like teaming up was a good idea, eh boy blunder?" Jinx quipped and Nightwing merely nodded his head as they approached the false-titans. However as they did, Trigon opened his eyes and frowned while looking towards the groups. _**'Those Doppelgangers are such worthless beings, bested by those children in such a short amount of time. My Fire-Wraiths are more dangerous than them…'**_ Trigon thought with a sneer while looking towards the victorious teens with a frown. Behind him however, a grin slipped over the Kyuubi's lips as he saw his chance at long last.

'_**Now all my hard work and planning will finally come to fruition!'**_ The Kyuubi thought to itself as it stalked closer and closer to Trigon from behind. As it did, BB felt the ground shake lightly and turned, only to widen his eyes when he noticed that the Kyuubi was now moving around.

"Um Dudes…" BB said while trying to get his friends attention, Cyborg rolling his eyes as he turns to the green jester.

"What is it Beast Boy?" The Titantium Titan questioned and BB pointed behind Trigon. As one, Tartarus, The Titans, and even their doppelgangers turned around to see Kyuubi grinning sinisterly. Before any more words could be uttered, Kyuubi's tails suddenly lashed out wrapping around Trigon's arms, legs, waist and neck before lifting him up into the air and away from his throne. The beast himself fully swakened at this and quickly attempted to free himself but the Kyuubi's tails held him too firmly, and then turned him around to face the orange furred fox.

"**What is the meaning of this?"** Trigon demanded of the beast and a grin merely crossed the Kyuubi's features as it crouched back as if it was ready to pounce. The beast then launched itself at Trigon knocking him to the ground as it opened his mouth with two of its free tails, his eyes widening as Kyuubi literally stuffed himself inside of the massive red demon's mouth.

"_**Sorry for not answering, but I can't speak when outside of a host… and I lose most of my ability to reason… though that is about to end."**_ Kyuubi explained in Trigon's mind as he crawled within the massive red demon's maw and then down his throat, the Titans, Tartarus, and JLU looking on in shock and disgust.

"Aww dude! That is like so nasty!" BB cried while holding his stomach and those in both Tartarus and the Titans agreed with him. As they looked on, the JLU quickly rushed over to the teens while watching the spectacle as well. Frowning deeply Batman as he watched the Kyuubi stuff itself into Trigon, the Dark-Knight then looked over to Dr. Fate.

"Any idea what's going on?" He questioned quickly and Dr. Fate shook his head while looking at the spectacle as Kyuubi somehow managed to shove more than half of its body inside of Trigon.

"Not a bloody clue… how about you, Etrigan?" Dr. Fate questioned and looked to the orange skinned demon, only to see him backing away from Trigon and Kyuubu, fear plainly written over his face.

"That can't be a good sign…" Donna realized and then turned back to where Kyuubi was three quarters within Trigon, only to change into a wisp of red energy as he shoved the rest of his being within the massive red demon. Trigon stumbled and gripped at his head in pain, roaring out as he fell to his knees.

"**W-What are you doing to me?"** Trigon demanded aloud, thrashing about as he felt an unbearable pain surge throughout his entire being, only to hear the Kyuubi's vile laughter echo within the depths of his mind.

"_**You are naught but a fool, Trigon! While you were aware that you should never trust a demon **__**stronger**__** than yourself… but you forgot to take into account that I am also a Fox Demon! In **__**my**__** culture, a Fox-Demon doesn't **__**destroy**__** things that would be useful to us… no… we **__**possess**__** them!"**_ Kyuubi cried within the mind of Trigon, his laughter echoing out within the recesses of the beasts mind as he fell to his side screaming and roaring out in pain as an unknown fire slowly burned his flesh away.

"Uh dude, I think the big fox thing was actually more dangerous than, Trigon…" BB suddenly said with wide eyes and Nightwing twitched as they all backed away from the thrashing devil.

"Naw you think?" Jinx shouted at the green furred teen while a red aura formed around Trigon, one shaped like a familiar fox.

"**T-Traitor! I freed you from y-your pr-prison and this is h-how you repay me!"** Trigon demanded loudly only to scream as black markings formed around his eyes, a pair of tails forming from the crimson aura around his body. As that happened his blood seemed to shift and move into the air, making the aura slowly solidify as Trigon's skin was burned away from him.

"_**Traitor? Oh really? Perhaps I am, but I'm a demon Trigon, as well as a Fox, it's perfectly in my nature to use, betray, or even destroy anything I want! You chose to use my help because you were just as impatient as I, and needed my help to free yourself from your prison. "**_ Kyuubi reminded within Trigon's mind as four more tails of crimson energy formed from him and the red demon gritted his teeth while a set of enormous bones formed along Trigon's back, the skull acting as a mock helmet.

"**Urgh! I will not stand for this insult worm! You cannot control me! I am Trigon the Terrible!"** The Demon roared out only to scream in pain as his flesh completely ripped off of his body. Trigon roared out in pain as it was, only for his blood to flow into the skeleton, causing his overall mass to at least double, yet somehow his armor remained upon the arms and waist of this new being…

"Guys, I really think we need to get out of here!" Kid-Flash cried out while running to a safe distance.

"Shit! For once I'm with one of you snot licking heroes! Every man for himself!" The Tiny-Terror exclaimed while activating his jet pack and flying into the distance, Jinx cursing as she had Kid-Wykkyd pull the rest of them into a shadow before they all reformed upon the sky needle, yet the changing beast was still all too visible to them.

"_**HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Control you? Oh you won't have to worry about **__**that**__**, Trigon. When I'm done, I don't intend to leave even a **__**shred**__** of your being left to give me indigestion! Soon enough, both Kyuubi and Trigon will cease to exist, giving way for a new, even more powerful being to take its place!"**_ The Kyuubi exclaimed as Trigon's body started to change shape as a ninth tail formed. His hands landed on the ground and he roared out loudly, his head stretching and changing while his four eyes moved towards the sides of its head, both seeming to match the skull it was wearing…

"What the hell is this? That Kyuubi thing wasn't even this big!" Cyborg suddenly exclaimed while looking on in shocked fear while Batman frowned deeply.

"Kitsune were known to possess those of great spiritual strength. Some did so to trick people, some to hide, and others did so for power, I believe this is a case of the latter happening…" Batman replied while they watched the deranged being screamed out into the night as its form was twisted more and more into something beyond demonic…

"**I… wont… fade… I… will… endure… and… I… will… destroy you…"** Trigon declared furiously even as a pair of long ears formed from his head, as well as his antler like crowns forming out of the skull on his head changing into horns that curved back along his head.

"_**Endure all you like, it won't matter, because I shall restore the true power of darkness to all worlds. Go ahead and struggle, your hatred merely strengthens me, so struggle, resist, and hate me as much as you like! All it does is make it easier for me to absorb you into **__**my**__** being!"**_ Kyuubi declared darkly his laughter echoing in the mind of Trigon even as he fell into Darkness… Meanwhile a second mouth opened on the muzzle that had been formed from Trigon's body, the two mouths opening to unleash dual roars into the air as muscle tissue began to form over the bones on Trigon's body.

"Whatever this thing is it's way freaky man…" Seemore noticed while Jinx slapped the back of his head before frowning, as the shadows all around them seemed to move towards the beast.

"Um, Titans… what happened to your doppelgangers?" Jinx asked while looking around and Batman frowned upon seeing the doppelgangers flying into the air, the Shadow-Titans flying around spinning over top of the massive half-formed beast.

"Dude!" BB exclaimed with wide eyes only to turn as Jinx and the others in Tartarus groaned before a dark mist was pulled out of each of them as Trigon had done before. However, unlike what Trigon did, they didn't form into a Doppelganger, instead the mist flew towards the beast and then began to swirl above it with the Titan's Doppelgangers…

"What now?" Nightwing demanded and Batman's eyes widened in shock.

"It's somehow channeling our negative energy to…!" He started to say only to grit his teeth as the same thing happened to him, Shayera, and Dr. Fate, Etrigan backing away from the beast as all of the negative energy flowed into the air and swirled around it's head. The Beast then roared loudly, drawing the Titans attention as it opened its lower mouth and the negative energy spiraled downwards, into its gaping maw. Shadows around the beast then literally shifted towards its body, forming into skin and fur… a Tenth tail forming from the body that had once been Trigon's…

"Dude…" Beast-Boy whispered in fear as the beast was completed, its head rising to roar out into the distance while a fifth eye popped open, the four crimson eyes that had once been Trigon's now surrounding it.

The beast was easily twice as big as Trigon while still on all fours, its upper body reminded them of a human only with sharp ivory claws gleaming from its paws, deep obsidian black fur encompassing its entire body, save only for the red-orange stripes that crossed its shoulders and ribs in the same position as Trigon's own, Trigon's metal bracers and waist armor all that remained of the former threat to all things, its hind legs were more like those of a beast, ending with large hooves that were once Trigon's, ten long thin tails twisted and turned from it, lashing out at the air while they did so.

Finally was its head, which was a muzzled thing with two massive mouths, the lower mouth looked to be normal, but the upper mouth stood out and made it's head larger than average, it also had five horns growing back from its head at a slanted angle, giving the illusion of some kind of crown, two long rabbit like ears trailing back from its head, a single massive eye is positioned at the middle of its head, right behind its upper mouth, and is bright blood red with a ripple like pattern in it, three tomoe shapes along each ring surrounding the pupil, thus ending with nine tomoe in its single eye, with four small blood red glowing eyes positioned around this one massive eye…

"No way…" Cyborg whispered in shock even as he helped Mammoth and Private HIVE to their feet…

"This is so not good…" Kid-Flash added as the beast stood on all fours, silently surveying the world around it.

"Hera help us…" Donna whispered as she helped Shayera back to her feet along with a disorientated Batman.

"Forget Hera, we need all of Olympus down here…" Nightwing said while looking to the massive beast, Donna blinking for a moment before nodding in agreement with her leader as the rest of Tartarus started to get up on their own.

"Is everyone alright or am I the only one in pain?" Jinx questioned aloud and got several pained grunts from the rest of Tartarus.

"Batman, you tried to say what it was doing before you passed out?" Nightwing questioned and the Dark-Knight placed a hand to his head as he regained his bearings.

"It… has absorbed our negative energy into itself… However for what purpose it did so remains to be seen." Batman replied while he and the others walked towards the edge of the Sky-Needle and looked on to the massive beast. It seemed only to stand there ominously, unmoving, its five red eyes remaining completely unfocused.

"Oh man my head!" Gizmo complained while pushing himself up and then shook his head for a moment before turning to all of the shocked faces around him. "What are you ass munchers looking at!" He demanded and they all pointed to the distance, Gizmo following their gaze and then widening his eyes in shock upon seeing the gargantuan beast with ten flailing tails.

"Guys… I don't think we're going to beat this thing even _with_ Raven's powers." BB declared no one looking to disagree with him, all of them watching the beast finally move slightly, stretching its neck and looking to the sky. Opening both the beast then roared into the night loudly, its roar sending out a shockwave that rocked the earth and nearly knocked the group back…

"**I am the Juubi no Yami! (Darkness of the Ten-Tails)"** The beast suddenly exclaimed, its deep voice echoing out over the land endlessly, before it then roared out into the night once more…

TBC…


	56. The End Pt3

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

**Chapter 54**: **The End Pt. 3**…

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

(Depths of Hell…)

Naruto mentally groaned as he tried, and yet failed, to push the "Hot as sin" Demoness that was once a part of Raven off of himself. She had unfortunately pinned him to a wall before proceeding to give him one of the most intense make out sessions he'd ever been in. Currently, he had his hands on her hips, though was trying to push her back without hurting her, and her arms were wrapped around his neck. The red-skinned demoness seemed to want to kill him with a kiss, though they finally separated for a quick breath of air. "We really need to…" Naruto started to say only for her to quickly silence him with another smoldering kiss.

'_Oi, I'm not sure if I really want her to stop or not… but I still need to find the rest of Kara-Chan and then kick Kyuubi's traitorous ass… damn this sucks so much!'_ The blond haired teen thought to himself while finally managing to get enough leverage to pry the Demoness's lips from his own. "Okay seriously… we need to stop…" Naruto told the demoness while taking several breaths and she raised a slender brow with a sly smirk over her face.

"**I say whatever it is can wait…"** The Red-Skinned demoness stated simply before pulling him back in for another make-out session, Naruto mentally groaning as he wondered just how much pent up lust the girl had in her hot little body…

'_Wait, this is a girl whose half demon and hasn't been able to feel any passion outside of wearing those rings for the past eighteen years of her life… hell if I don't stop her she's going to kill me!'_ The blond thought to himself and then blinked when he could swear he heard Jiraiya give "Go Naruto Go!" from whatever afterlife he found himself in… Twitching at the thought of his old pervert of a sensei watching them, and he knew the letch would if given the chance, Naruto managed to shove Raven back once more and took several breaths.

"Damn girl… are you actually trying to kill me?" Naruto asked the Demoness with a serious expression and a sly smirk crossed her lips in response.

"**No, but I wouldn't mind getting you out of this suit…"** She purred while gently nibbling on his earlobe, the blond shivering for a moment at the visions his brain came up with… _'Shit! Is there a fucking way for me to get Kara-Chan to let this side of her out more often?'_ Naruto wondered for a moment while shivering as Raven managed to get him into another soul-searing kiss. _'No wait, she'd probably end up killing me… but damn, what a way to go!'_ The blond reasoned then shook his head and growled at himself to focus on the hear and now instead of the hot as hell, ready, willing and _very_ able red-skinned demoness…

"Seriously!" Naruto growled while pulling Raven back once more and taking several deep breaths. "We still need to find your Human Half…" Naruto stated and noticed a slight twitch from the demoness, who gave him a flat look in response.

"**Who needs her?"** The Demoness retorted before returning to the broken kiss, Naruto mentally screaming as he didn't want to hurt her, but he wanted to find Raven's human half… cause wasn't it cheating if you did it with only half of your girlfriend's psyche? Wait… er, nevermind… Mentally twitching at the thought, Naruto pushed the girl back once more and saw a pout form across her face.

"Seriously Naraku-Hime (Hell-Princess)! We really need to find your other half!" Naruto shouted at the girl and she raised a brow before rolling her eyes and smirking towards him seductively. _'Shit… is one of her relatives a Succubi or what!'_ Naruto mentally demanded and an amused look crossed the Demon-Raven's features.

"**Yes actually, my grandmother on Trigon's side is Lilith, Demon-Lord of the second layer of Hell, Guardian of the Sin of Lust, not to mention the queen and mother of all Succubi."** Raven replied with a grin and Naruto gaped then mentally groaned as he realized why she was so damn frisky! Wait a second…

"You can read my thoughts?" Naruto demanded and she rolled her eyes before giving him a flat look.

"**When we're this close, they're kind of hard to miss… and no, I don't think sleeping with me would be cheating on Raven as a whole since I'm still part of her… the better, stronger, faster, smarter, more honest, and **_**willing**_** part that is."** Demon-Raven noted in a suggestive tone, as though she was trying to convince him, though since she was a demon, it wasn't too surprising, even less so with her grandmother…

"You forgot modest…" Naruto noted sarcastically and the Demon-Raven shrugged her shoulders with another smirk.

"**Pride is my thing, so is Lust, Rage, Envy, Greed, Sloth, and Gluttony. You know, I'm all sin and no virtue, I'd say you'd probably like that a little more anyways given you profession and hers."** The Demoness replied casually and Naruto mentally groaned, while it would be great to not have to worry about the Titans with her on his side, he couldn't take her from her friends… well… her human side that is…

"Maybe so, but she's still a part of Kara-Chan as a whole, and I don't want just a piece of you, I want the whole thing!" Naruto stated and a look crossed the Demon-Raven's features as she made her clawed fingers walk up his chest.

"**I think someone's being a little greedy."** She noted with a smirk while poking the blond haired boy's lips and Naruto twitched before glaring at the demon.

"I'm a thief Naraku-Hime, that's kinda my thing…" Naruto reminded the girl flatly and a very seductive look crossed her features.

"**Maybe, but I bet I could think of a few dozen things that would make you reconsider looking for my lesser half…"** The scarlet temptress mused aloud only to get a look from the blond in response. Pointing for a moment the girl then sighed while, finally, backing away from him and letting him breathe normally. **"Fine, we can find the little weakling…"** The Demon-Raven allowed while crossing her arms over her chest and walking away with a little too much sway to her hips…

"Dear Kami-Sama, _please_ help me resist the temptation of just ripping those clothes off and taking her against the damn floor!" The Blond haired teen pleaded while looking anywhere but at the girl, though was sure she heard what he said given the size of her ears. Spotting Itachi sitting down with some pocky by a rock down the path they were on, Naruto narrowed his eyes onto the man. "Why didn't you help me with her!" The blond demanded and Itachi raised a brow, while he knew of so many ways to turn that sentence against the blond he thought better of it and shrugged.

"I felt you could handle your girlfriend on your own…" He said only to mentally blink when he realized just how suggestive that sounded… and he'd been trying to avoid something like that…

"Yeah well she's harder to handle than the normal Kara-Chan." Naruto stated while rubbing his temples with his index fingers. _'And given how Kara-Chan can be a wild cat at times, she's probably even worse in that way too…'_ Naruto added mentally while Demon-Raven smirked to the side and looked around for a moment.

"**You have no idea, the best thing about us demons, no pesky inhibitions to keep us from doing what's fun."** The Demon-Raven noted aloud with a smirk on her full lips and Naruto twitched while rubbing his face.

"I swear, she's going to kill me, and I'm probably going to enjoy every second of it!" Naruto said while following the Demoness, Itachi raising a brow for a moment before shaking his head.

"In my experience, its best to live life to the fullest while you still can." Itachi noted sagely and Naruto turned and gave the dark haired Uchiha a look.

"Shut the hell up, Itachi!" Naruto growled at the man causing the Demon-Raven to halt in her tracks and turn around with a raised brow.

"**That is supposed to be that prick Sasuke's older brother?"** She questioned and Naruto nodded his head, Itachi wincing slightly at the jab at his brother… albeit deserved she could at least have the courtesy not to talk like that in front of him. **"Weird, why is he somehow not insane or a prick?"** The Demon-Raven questioned while looking to the older man and Naruto shrugged his shoulders.

"Itachi is kinda the black sheep of his family." Naruto supplied and the Demoness decided to take that as it was and walked off, the blond twitching even as his eyes followed her swaying hips. "Itachi, warn me if I'm about to walk into anything…" Naruto stated while following after the demoness and Itachi rolled his eyes while shaking his head with an amused look on his face.

"Where are we heading? The boat is back there in the water." The man questioned of the Demoness and she crossed her arms while walking deeper and deeper into the caverns and tunnels within Hell.

"**That boat can only take us so far… we're going to need to hitch a ride if we want to get any farther into Hell."** The Demoness explained as they walked further into the depths of Hell.

"Wait, who the hell can we hitch a ride from in a place like this?" Naruto demanded and the Demoness sighed while walking forward, Naruto looking to Itachi who remained stoic as ever. As they passed under an archway, the Demoness suddenly stopped and placed a hand on her hip while pointing to a large volcanic rock-formation.

"**He is who we'll be catching a ride on…"** She stated while pointing to the rock and Naruto raised a brow while, stared at the rocks, then the girl.

"A bunch of rocks?" He asked and the Demon-Raven shook her head as Hell itself began to shudder and quake around them.

"**No, that is the most powerful of the Demon Lords, Lord Agni of Hellfire himself…"** Raven replied simply while the rocks shifted and Naruto gaped in shock as he saw the beast slowly reveal itself…

It was quite literally double the size of Kyuubi at its full height, its body made up of numerous obsidian stones, lava flowing between the crevices to carve out dozens of runes and symbols into its body, each of its four arms are tipped with hands that were tipped with five digits, each bearing a monstrously curved claw, its shoulders had massive spikes forming off of them, and its head had three glowing green eyes that were "Closed", the single eye in its forehead formed like a vertical slit, its mouth nothing but a fang filled maw at best with smoke flowing from it, several tall spikes surrounded the top of its head like some form of enormous crown with flames forming from it like hair, and its legs looked more like a long tail of lava…

"Holy shit!" Naruto exclaimed with wide eyes while Raven smirked slightly at his reaction to the gargantuan Demon-Lord. As he watched on, he spotted a pair of rocks from its shoulders moving and visibly gaped at the sight of a pair of enormous wings that stretched out languidly before folding down, the membrane of the wings actually made of some kind of semi-solid lava…

"**You might want to be quiet through here, Lord Agni has this extremely pissed off temperament when people wake him up."** The Demoness noted and Naruto placed both of his hands over his mouth while Agni breathed in several deep breaths, his breathing echoing within the depths of hell itself.

"An impressive creature if nothing else… I can see why these Demon-Lords would be so feared by so many…" Itachi noted aloud and Naruto silently nodded his head in agreement with the man.

"**Yeah, he gets that reaction from mortals quite often."** Raven noted with her arms crossed over her chest while Naruto just continued to gape at the sheer size and mass of the "Demon-Lord".

"How in the hell are we going to hitch a ride on that without him noticing and then squishing us?" Naruto demanded of the Demoness and she smirked for a moment before replying.

"**We're literally going to ride on his shoulders. Hopefully, he won't look down and see us…"** She replied and Naruto twitched before letting out a grunt and walked towards the Demon Lord silently.

"Fine, but if I die I blame you!" Naruto stated and Raven frowned for a moment before walking forward and grabbing the back of his coat.

"**I may be a demoness, but I won't willingly put you in harms way, Naruto…"** She stated before releasing his coat and walking ahead of him, Naruto blinking for a moment before muttering under his breath about not understanding her. Following behind the two, Itachi chuckled inwardly even as he looked towards the gargantuan form of the Demon-Lord Agni of Hellfire…

'_If we survive hitching a ride on him I'll be surprised…'_ Itachi couldn't help but think to himself as he, Raven, and Naruto made their way towards the beast of hell…

(Jump-City…)

The Titans, Tartarus, and JLU looked at Juubi in a combination of shock and fear as the gargantuan beast stood ominously in the distance. The three groups were staying out of the beast's sight, or at least they hoped they were as it looked around for a few moments. The Beast then snapped its head to the side and slammed one of its paws into a building, grinning darkly as the entire building caved in on itself. _'We are so dead dude…'_ BB thought to himself before gulping audibly, Batman frowning to himself before looking over to a wide eyed Dr. Fate.

"Any idea what this thing is?" Batman questioned and Dr. Fate slowly nodded his head while the massive Ten-Tailed beast growled and stretched its body, loud cracks audible even from the distance.

"Unfortunately, I believe that to be the Hell-Beast I mentioned earlier, however it seems that it's weaker than the one I saw in Raven's book…" Dr. Fate replied while watching as the beast sat up and then opened up its lower-mouth while a strange violet mist flowed out of the air and into it.

"That thing is enormous and your saying it's weaker than the one you saw!" Jinx demanded with wide eyes and Dr. Fate sighed for a moment while shaking his head.

"I said weaker, not smaller, and this thing is actually much bigger than the Hell-Beast was, however its overall power is still only at Mid-S-Class… and it seems like its actually getting weaker." Dr. Fate replied while they all looked on as the Juubi's ears twitched and it looked right at them.

"Uh guys, I think it found us…" Seemore whispered with one wide eye as the beast then moved a single paw forward and placed it onto an entire building before leaning forward and narrowing its eyes onto the three groups.

"**Well, well, well, what do we have here?"** The enormous beast questioned in a deep ominous voice, a cruel grin stretching across both it's upper and lower mouth. **"The tiny mortals who kept Trigon busy so he could become a part of my being."** The Juubi noted while looking down at them as if they were ants, a cruel laughter echoing from its throat.

"What do you want?" Nightwing questioned of the beast warily and the Juubi merely chuckled while looking down at him with a grin.

"**That is quite simple actually. All I wanted was my full power restored. But that is a story for another time, little one; right now all I want is to rid my new world of you remaining mortal trash."** The beast declared before roaring loudly, the sheer force of its roar sending the group flying in all directions, only to separate them as they all landed at different points around the city. **"Ah, it's been so long since I've had such power at my command."** The beast mused with an insidious chuckle before it flicked its tails about, flames flying from them and into the air.

Chuckling lightly for a moment its tails shot to the ground before they then dug its tails into the ground. It's ten massive tails then shot out of the ground all around Jump-City, Juubi grinning as he got down and yawned for a moment. **"While I could always just crush them or kill them in an earthquake… I feel like I should entertain myself with these mortals for a while."** The Juubi mused to himself while closing his eyes and then inhaled a deep breath into his lungs. **"Lets see just what kind of power I have now, and if I still know how to use it."** Juubi said with a chuckle as he closed his eyes, the beast then exhaled a strange purple haze into the city.

The haze slowly spread throughout the city, making its way outwards until nothing within the city was untouched by the strange haze. Deep in the city, Starfire groaned while sitting up, a hand to her head as she looked around and spotted Donna lying nearby. "Are… are you undamaged?" Starfire questioned of the amazon, but when she didn't hear a response, the girl moved over to her. Feeling for a pulse, she was happy to see she was alive, then mentally sighed as she figured the girl was unconscious.

"Oh, I fear this is most unfortunate." Starfire said to herself only to blink when she noticed the strange haze and put a hand to her head. "W-what is this strange fog… it is most disorientating… perhaps it was this that put friend Donna into the unconsciousness…" Starfire mumbled quietly while looking around noticing shadows deepening and light slowly fading out of view. As this happened the fog started to move, soon the shadows rose up and Starfire's eyes widened when Nine Foxes appeared out of the mist around her.

However, these foxes were far from the cute fluffy things she commonly saw on television. No, these were each sleek and thin beings with dull rust red colored fur and numerous deep scars littering their forms, the tips of their tails, ears, and paws all colored jet black, and their undersides were an off cream color, a string is tied around each of their necks bearing a colored jewel on them, each a different color yet all of them had the Kanji for "Incomplete" written within them.

The Nine Foxes then started to walk around a surprised Starfire, the girl looking at them strangely. The Foxes made an odd high-pitched sound a second later and their tails rose upward, balls of purple fire forming around them as they did. "Oh my…" Starfire whispered as the foxes suddenly roared out before lunging at her. The Foxes lashed out at Starfire, hurling the spheres of Foxfire towards the Alien princess. Not knowing what it was but not wanting to find out, Starfire ducked out of the way and picked up both Donn before flying into the sky.

'_Please let them not be able to attack us up here, I fear I will not be able to protect both Friend Donna if they do…_' Starfire mentally pleaded while keeping an eye on the many Foxes below her. Meanwhile the purple flames seemed to spread forming into a Kanji for "Pride" as they did so, the foxes screeching before rushing towards building on either side. The Foxes then "Pulled a Naruto" as Starfire assumed BB would say when they ran up the sides of the buildings and then flipped on top of them and started to growl towards her.

"I must confess, I am greatly confused by earthly beasts… but even I know that is not normal." Starfire said to herself under her breath while one of the foxes spun in on itself, changing its shape into an anthropomorphic fox with digitigrade legs and a muzzled face. "Yes, I do believe I am correct in assuming that these are not normal earth animals." Starfire said with a nod only for the Anthro-Fox to crouch down before lunging forward and jumping at her with a swipe of its claws…

Elsewhere, Cyborg and Mammoth groaned while slowly pushing themselves up, the Titanium Teen shaking his head as he noticed the strange fog all around them. Pushing himself to his feet, Cyborg saw Mammoth shake his head as he tried to shake off his own disorientation. "Ugh… what hit me… and what's with all this weird fog?" Mammoth questioned while rubbing his head and looking around, Cyborg shaking his head while looking around as well.

"Don't know, just woke up as well." Cyborg admitted until he saw the shadows around him start to move his eyes widening as they did. "Uhm, Mammoth, are you seeing any of this?" Cy asked while Mammoth gaped as he saw the shadows form together, soon changing into something else. They each became a demon of some kind, one was red, one was blue, and the last one was green, each had a face with large tusk like teeth coming up over their upper lips and snout like noses, horns though they varied between the three, three toed feet, large clawed hands, and a physical build similar to that of Mammoth, they wore tiger skin loincloths, and carry heavy looking iron clubs…

"Uh… depends, you seeing three pissed off looking monsters glaring at us or is it just me?" Mammoth asked the Titanium Teen seriously and Cyborg slowly backed away, Mammoth following his action. As they did, the three demons roared, flames sprouting up around them to form the Kanji for "Wrath" while the demons lunged at Cyborg and Mammoth. Cursing loudly, Cyborg quickly moved, grabbing Mammoth and pulling him with him as the beast like men ran after them, one of them smashed its club into a streetlight along the way, knocking it to the ground like it was nothing.

"Crap! We just had to run into the one thing as physically built as us!" Cyborg complained loudly while Mammoth looked around and then slid on his heel. Growling, the burly-teen then barreled into a building, ramming his way through it. Mentally sighing at the damage, Cyborg then followed behind him, looking back in time to watch the three beast-men try to stop, only to slam into one another, barreling each other over. Breathing a sigh of relief, Cyborg ran towards Mammoth with a grin.

"How'd you know they'd have trouble turning?" Cyborg asked the red head and caused him to look at him in confusion.

"They have trouble turning?" Mammoth asked seriously and Cyborg palmed his face for a moment before shaking his head. Hearing the beasts roar, he decided not to question him on it and made a break for it with Mammoth…

Away from there, Kid-Flash gets to his feet and rubs his head while looking around. "What is with all this fog?" He had to wonder before spotting Blackfire to the side and rushed over to help her up. "Need a hand?" He asked and merely got a glare from the dark-haired alien princess as she floated up and then crossed her arms.

"No." She stated flatly and KF grinned nervously for a moment before looking around with a frown.

"I wonder where the other's are…" KF mumbled and Blackfire merely grunted while rubbing the side of her head.

"I'm more interested in where that demon went, I have a bone to pick with it about knocking me around like that…" Blackfire grumbled aloud and Kid-Flash sighed while turning around to look at her.

"Okay, aren't you even the least bit worried about your team, or even Starfire! She is your sister after all." Kid-Flash reminded the girl and she scoffed while crossing her arms over her chest.

"My sister can take care of herself, I'd rather find then kill the bastard demon so we…" Blackfire started to say before narrowing her eyes and looking to the side, raising a brow, Kid-Flash followed her gaze and gaped when he saw a shadow start to rise up from the ground before changing its shape. The Shadow changed into a woman who fell over and groaned in pain, dressed in a colorful robe with a yellow red and black pattern along its length, a red obi wrapped around her waist, her long dark hair spilling down her back while she twitched upon the ground as if in pain.

"A girl?" Kid-Flash wondered for a moment while Blackfire narrowed her eyes on the strange woman.

"Help… please help…" The woman called out in a weakened tone while reaching out towards them, her hand covered by the sleeves of her robe. Seeing this and not even thinking, Kid-Flash quickly ran over to her, Blackfire slapping her face as he did. _'Doesn't he realize it could be some kind of trap?'_ The dark haired alien-princess wondered to herself while Kid-Flash knelt down in front of the woman.

"Don't worry your safe now." KF declared with a grin and saw a strange smile cross the woman's lips…

"Perhaps…" She whispered as an evil chuckle echoed from her throat.

"Would you get away from her! She's dangerous!" Blackfire suddenly shouted at Kid-Flash and the teen turned around to her and blinked.

"How can you tell? I mean, she looks normal enough to me…" Kid-Flash questioned while walking towards Blackfire, only to stop when he nearly tripped on something. "What the…?" The Speedster questioned only to spot a thin thread, like a string of silk, wrapped around his ankle…

"_**But your not safe, Ningen!"**_ The woman suddenly shouted with a demonic hiss to her voice as eight yellow / black spider like legs extended out of her robe, a pair of mandibles snapping out of her mouth as she started to pull on the thread. When she did she also pulled Kid-Flash off of his feet and then started pulling him over towards her. Cursing loudly, Blackfire quickly moved, grabbing Kid-Flash with one arm and firing a starbolt with her free hand. The bolt hit the Spider-Woman in the face, causing her to hiss as she rose up, now standing at twice her original height.

"Ever seen one of those before?" Kid-Flash questioned and Blackfire frowned deeply for a moment.

"Looks kind of like this one Cironielian Chrysalis eater I know…" Blackfire admitted with a shrug of her shoulders while Kid-Flash looked at her strangely as the spider woman crouched down and hissed darkly while glaring at them, purple flames rising up around it to form the Kanji for "Lust"…

Elsewhere Jinx and Private HIVE found themselves outside of a museum, shaking her head as she got up from where the Juubi had blown them. Jinx looked around, for a moment and then walked over and helped Private to his feet. "Oi, I don't think I want to do that again, maim." Private noted and Jinx completely agreed with the militant member of her team. Noticing the fog around them, Jinx couldn't help a bad feeling she suddenly got while looking around warily.

"We should move and find the others before something happens…" Jinx decided while continuing to dart her eyes about, Private nodding his head in agreement with her. However before they could try to leave, they watched on as the shadows around them suddenly came alive. They rose up from the ground before shifting and changing, forming into two forms as large as Jinx and Private were in height. The two forms then roared to life, their fur being a creamish color with black orange trimmed splotches, revealing a pair of massive cats with sharp sabertooth fangs, large green eyes, a long tail on each of them and flames flowing from both its paws and tails, and finally was a talisman with the Kanji for "Incomplete" within them much like the foxes before them…

"Uh, maim, what are those big cats supposed to be?" Private questioned while the massive cats snarled as they started to move towards them, Jinx gaping as she recognized the basic design of them.

"A fucking Bakeneko (Ghost Cat)!" Jinx exclaimed while the Bakeneko both roared at lunged at them, swinging their razor sharp claws at them. Cursing, Jinx ducked out of the way of one while Private held up his shield to block the claws of the other. "Shit! Two _very_ real Bakeneko!" Jinx added while looking at the two massive beasts in shock while Private slammed his fist into the side of one of the Bakeneko's face and causing it to stumble back. As it did, Jinx rolled out of the way as the other came at her, nearly snapping its jaws on her.

Quickly getting to her feet, Jinx narrowed her own slitted eyes onto the beasts and then twisted around, throwing a massive hex into the Bakeneko. Instantly, the ground beneath its feet cracked and crumbled, causing it to fall down into the sewers below. Grinning at her victory, she then mentally groaned as the Bakeneko crawled out of the hole and glared at her. "Right, cats always land on their feet…" She muttered to herself before ducking to the side, just as the Bakaneko swung its tails, flames trailing from them and directly towards where the girl had been.

Growling angrily as she managed to evade the flames, the Bakeneko circled Jinx, its green eyes narrowed dangerously. Keeping her own eyes glued onto the big cat, Jinx stayed low and tense when it suddenly stopped. The Bakeneko then crouched back before launching itself at the pink haired girl, moving fast as a bolt of lightning. Cursing lightly, Jinx stepped back to evade a quick swipe of the beast's claws. Coming to a halt, Jinx then widened her eyes as the Bakeneko sent both of its tails at her.

Raising her arms as the tails came at her from both sides, Jinx then blinked as the String of Beads on her right arm began to glow brightly, a white shield forming around her and keeping the giant cat back. Shaking her head afterwards, the pinkette then grinned while tossing another Hex-Bolt into the Bakeneko, knocking it back. Looking to the String of Beads as it glowed brightly on her wrist, the girl then narrowed her eyes. "I don't care what Raven or anyone else says, if I ever see Temp again I'll…" She started to say, only to duck with a curse as the Bakeneko came at her once more. Frowning, Jinx finished her thought in her mind and then got into a stance while glaring at the Bakeneko.

Nearby, Private batted the other Bakeneko away with his shield, disorientating it before he ran forward. Slamming into the massive cat, Private then ran forward before stopping suddenly, throwing the beast back into a wall. Frowning deeply, Private then crouched down while the Bakeneko got up with a roar and started to circle him. Roaring loudly, the beast lunged at Private, the yellow clad teen blocking with his shield before slamming his fist into its jaw, knocking it back a few paces. As he did, flames roared to life beneath the two big-cats, suddenly forming into the Kanji for "Greed"…

Shayera shook her head as she got back to her feet, looking around she narrowed her eyes. Moving her hand through the strange fog that was hovering around, Shayera briefly wondered what it was. However, not seeing anything else besides the fog close at hand she relaxed slightly before she spotted Dani sitting up with a groan. "Oi, what hit me?" The ghostling girl questioned while rubbing her skull, Shayera frowning for a moment before answering.

"A giant monster roared…" Shayera replied flatly and Dani blinked before scratching her head as she remembered what happened.

"Oh yeah… man, the weirdest shit always seems to happen to me." Dani noted while floating off of the ground and Shayera smirked slightly.

"Join the club, it seems to happen to all of us…" Shayera replied and Dani scoffed while crossing her arms over her chest with a frown.

"Sorry, not interested, I'm just not into the whole hero-gig." Dani replied while looking around and wondering where the fog had come from.

"Oh really? Any reason for that?" Shayera questioned with a raised brow and Dani breathed out a huff before turning to the red head.

"Yeah, my dad is a hero and everyone expects me to be just like him!" Dani replied with a low growl and then blinked when she heard something. Frowning when she heard it as well, Shayera then narrowed her eyes as the shadows started to move, soon rising up into the air to form four strange beings.

The beings had bird like features, with the head of a red-eyed crow, a pair of black-feathered wings flowing out of their backs with a crows tail visible behind them, sharp taloned hands and feet, they wear white kimono tops with a red colored under kimono, bright scarlet red beads around their neck and down their chests, a pair of gray Hakama pants with a red sash around their waists, a katana sheathed at the side of their waists, simple looking wooden greaves over their shins, and finally is the black tokins "monks caps" on their heads.

"What in the hell are those things?" Shayera demanded and Dani shook her head even as the birdmen started to unsheathe their swords.

"No clue, but boy do they look mad!" Dani replied with wide eyes and Shayera grunted while activating her Hammer. Crouching down, the Birdmen suddenly lunged towards the girls. Cursing, Dani formed a pair of glowing green Ethereal-Blades into her hands to block two of the birdmen's blades while Shayera flew into the air, soon followed by the other two. As Shayera left, Dani muttered under her breath about being stuck with the "Leftovers" before glittering her teeth as she shoved both the birdmen back. However as they landed, flames suddenly rose up, Dani raising a brow as a Kanji for "Cowardice" suddenly formed out of the flames…

Billy Numerous slowly got to his feet and shook his head for a moment while looking around. "Dang Billy, what's wit all this here fog?" Billy asked one of his clones and it shrugged its shoulders for a moment.

"Don't know Billy, but it sure do look mighty suspicious." A different clone noted while looking around then spotted Kid-Wykkyd standing on a streetlight to the side. "Yo Kid, what y'all doing up there?" Billy asked loudly and Kid-Wykkyd narrowed his crimson red eyes dangerously while looking into the distance.

"Billy, Y'all think Kid sees something we don't?" A clone questioned and Billy shrugged his shoulders while looking around.

"Besides dis here fog aint much around to stare at." Billy replied only to yelp as the Shadows suddenly rose out of the ground. "Of course I could be wrong…" Billy admitted to himself while Kid crouched down and allowed his cape to cloak around his body, a serious look on his face. As he did, five "pure as snow" white dogs seemed to form out of the shadows with obsidian claws glinting in the light, ivory fangs bared in a deep snarl, a talisman tied around their throats with the Kanji for "Incomplete" placed within it like the Foxes and Cats before it, however their crimson red eyes and feathered wings proved instantly that they weren't real Dog's.

"Uh, Billy I don't rightly think that these things mean anything good…" One of the clones noted while backing up and Billy nodded his head in agreement with the clone as it slowly got up, Kid-Wykkyd moving forward, shifting into a Shadow along the way. Forming out of the shadow before the Winged-Dogs, Kid swung his cape at them like a blade however they blurred into movement, Kid slashing at air before landing on the ground. Widening his eyes for a moment, Kid-Wykkyd then turned around and frowned when he saw the winged-dogs had managed to move behind Billy.

"What y'all looking at, Kid?" Billy questioned and Kid silently pointed behind the red-clad teen, Billy turning and then yelping when he saw the dogs. Running away from the dogs he slipped behind Kid while the dogs snarled and growled towards them. Suddenly, flames rose up and Kid frowned as they formed into a Kanji as well, the Kanji for "Envy"…

Elsewhere in the city, Seemore groaned lightly as he sat up and looked around for a moment. "Man, where the hell am I?" He wondered while a cursing Gizmo walked out of a large building with a scowl across his face. Walking over to Seemore with his Spider-Legs, the Tiny-Terror then glared heatedly at the one eyed youth.

"Get up gack-muncher, we've got major problems!" Gizmo ordered and Seemore shrugged his shoulders even as he got up onto his feet and looked around.

"I don't see any problems…" The teen noted and caused Gizmo to pinch the bridge of his nose for a moment.

"That big ten tailed thing you moron!" Gizmo reminded loudly and Seemore made an Oh with his mouth before waving a hand through the thick purple / black fog around them.

"Man what is up with all this fog?" Seemore questioned mostly of himself and Gizmo muttered something before taking out a scanner and checking the fog. However his scowl then turned into a wide-eyed gaping expression as he found out what it was.

"Oh shit! That fucking beast just spread its Chakra all around the city!" The Tiny Terror exclaimed and Seemore tilted his head to one side before scratching his cheek.

"Is that bad?" He questioned and got a glare from Gizmo that basically told him to shut up. Deciding it was best not to get on the Tiny-Terror's nerves, Seemore then looked around and stopped when he saw a blob of a shadow rise up. The Shadow then morphed into a sleeping animal, one that threw him for a loop. The animal looked like a very large and plump Raccoon, only it was brown instead of grey, its tail was slightly large for a Raccoon and completely bear of any rings unlike the Raccoon, and it was wearing an old Straw-Hat with a bottle of Sake propped at its side, a strange looking talisman with the Kanji for "Incomplete" around its neck like the Foxes Cats and Dogs before it, and a blue hoari…

"Uh… Giz, what is that thing?" Seemore questioned with a raised brow and Gizmo blinked before turning to see what the one-eyed teen was looking at. Upon seeing the Fake-Raccoon, Gizmo gaped for a moment as it yawned and then turned onto its side, sleeping silently. The beast was only silent for a moment before unconsciously drumming on its plump belly, the words "Pon-Poko-pon" echoing out as it did so. Shaking his head for a moment, Gizmo aimed his scanner at the beast and then continued to stare at the creature before turning to Seemore in shock.

"Holy shit! It's a real live, Tanuki!" The green clad midget exclaimed and Seemore looked very confused. Grunting at that, Gizmo pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment before huffing loudly. "A Raccoon Dog?" Gizmo asked and Seemore made another Oh with his mouth, as he understood what that was.

"So its one of those Japanese Raccoon things then?" Seemore asked and Gizmo frowned while the Tanuki continued to unconsciously drum on its belly while chanting out Pon-poko-pon…

"Unfortunately… and Tanuki are from a race of monsters known as Yokai… which means that big Juubi thing summoned it." Gizmo replied with a frown while glaring over at the still sleeping Tanuki.

"Uh, how is this guy bad? He just sleeping…" Seemore noted aloud and the Tiny-Terror grunted for a moment before answering.

"Because if that fucking thing can summon _this_, what _else_ can it summon?" Gizmo replied in question while staring at the Tanuki with a frown as it remained sleeping, flames suddenly rising up around it and forming the Kanji for "Sloth"…

Batman stands with a frown on his face, Nightwing rubbing his head beside of the Dark-Knight. "Any idea what's going on with those symbols appearing around the city?" Nightwing questioned of his former Mentor and a deep frown worked its way across the man's face.

"No." He replied gruffly before taking a scanner from his Utility-Belt and holding it up to scan the area. Narrowing his eyes on the scanner, Batman noticed the odd fluctuations in power that the symbols were causing.

"Well they have to mean something…" Nightwing responded and Batman nodded his head with a frown, both men then hearing screams from around the city. "The others!" Night cried while quickly leaping to his feet and jumping to the building across from him. As he did, Batman noticed a new fluctuation and widened his eyes when he saw it was appearing under Nightwing.

"Nightwing, wait!" The Dark-Knight exclaimed only for Night to be thrown back as the shadows grew out of the ground. Frowning deeply, Batman jumped over to Nightwing and helped him up as the shadows formed into six weasel like creatures. However, these weasels had long sharp sickle like claws ending their frontal paws, sharp wicked teeth, a now eerily familiar talisman around their neck with the Kanji for "Incomplete", and glowing red eyes.

"W-What the hell?" Nightwing questioned and Batman frowned even as he put his scanner back into his Utility belt.

"Kama-Itachi, or "Sickle-Weasels" an ancient Japanese Yokai said to work in teams of three, riding on whirlwinds and causing numerous deep yet painless gashes with their long sickle like claws." Batman mused while looking at the three weasel demons that suddenly started to spin around. Narrowing his eyes, Batman then grabbed Nightwing and pulled him out of the way as the three demons created a whirlwind and nearly tore into them with their razor sharp claws.

"Put me down!" Night shouted and Batman frowned before dropping the teen as the Weasel-Demons turned around, coming at them once more. Narrowing his eyes, Batman threw a Batarang into the demons only for it to be sliced into pieces as they came closer and closer to them.

"Get down!" Batman ordered while ducking, Nightwing doing so as well more on reflex than anything else. Looking back up as the Kama-Itachi passed, a scowl crossed over Batman's lips as flames roared to life forming into the Kanji for "Betrayal"…

In a store, BB and Duela have landed, Duela oddly enough sleeping and curled up like a cat. Getting up after a moment, BB then groaned as he looked around, noticing the fog that seemed to have formed all across Jump-City. "Dude, like what's going on around here?" The Green Titan wondered aloud and then spotted the sleeping Duela and shook his head from side to side. "She's as bad as, Suu…" The Green Titan said to himself before blinking when he felt a strange feeling. "But at least she's not a monster." He added while moving over to Duela and started to shake her, the girl mumbling lightly.

"No, Dani go away… I don't wanna play with you right now…" The red haired girl said while pushing BB away and then curled up into herself even more. Blinking for a moment as ideas of what "Play" between Duela and Dani could be caused the green teen to space out for a moment.

"I wonder what she means by saying that?" BB wondered to himself for a moment, Duela sitting up and looking around, as the green furred teen was preoccupied with "thoughts". Seeing the look on the green teens face, Duela tilted her head to one side for a moment before grinning cheekily.

"Hey green bean, what cha doin?" She asked while grabbing the boy in a hug from behind, BB screaming when she did. Quickly changing into a rabbit, the green teen then scurried away, hopping behind some rubble soon after. After watching this the red haired girl suddenly burst out laughing, holding her sides as BB cautiously looked out from behind the rubble. "Oh man that was just priceless! You should've seen the look on your face!" Duela exclaimed with a grin and tears in her eyes, BB frowning as he looked at the strange clown-like girl.

"Dude! Don't scare me like that!" BB shouted at Duela and she snickered before looking around and raising a brow at all the fog.

"Okay, from the looks of things the author has set up some ultimate evil scenario and we're about to be attacked by something…" Duela noted while flipping to her feet then watched on as the shadows around them rose up. "Hey cool! I was right!" The girl suddenly exclaimed with a grin as the shadows then changed shapes, BB gulping as they formed into strange beings.

There were ten of these strange beings, and they were all covered in fur of various colors, simple paper masks over their faces with different Kanji on them depending on the color of fur, hoari's worn over their shoulders each of various colors as well, what looked like musical instruments held as weapons, horns on their heads, and they also noticed what looked like claws on their hands and feet with Tiger-skin loincloths…

"Dude! What are those things?" BB demanded with wide eyes and Duela frowned while staring at the creatures, and then snapped her fingers.

"Amanojaku! (Wicked Demon of Heaven!) Though I think some Anime and Manga call them "Imps"." She replied with a wide grin on her face, BB gulping as the Imps started to move towards them. "Yeah, they are really mischievous little devils and are the spirits of contrariness and perversity. They also like to drink Sake, and really like to torment and frustrate people." Duela explained with a nod of her head, arms crossed over her chest while the Amanojaku surrounded them…

"D-Duela… what are we going to do?" BB asked and the red haired girl frowned in thought for a moment before snapping her fingers.

"I know! Lets give them some Sake! That should stop them!" Duela decided with a wide grin across her face and BB gaped at the girl in shock. "And if it doesn't stop them at least it'll make them drunk!" Duela then added and BB slapped his face while the Amanojaku looked to one another, having clearly understood the word "Sake".

"Dude! Like where in the hell do you expect us to find Sake for those things! The world has pretty much ended already!" BB demanded and Duela reached back into her backpack and produced a bottle of the said beverage. "Uh… why are you carrying Sake around with you?" BB asked the girl with a raised brow and the Clown-Girl snickered for a moment.

"Are you kidding, this stuff is awesome!" She replied and BB fell over even as a Kanji for "Gluttony" appeared in flames around them…

Meanwhile, standing atop the tallest remaining tower is Dr. Fate, the man's arms crossed over his chest while Etrigan sits next to him silently. "This is most troubling, Etrigan… the beast seems to be transforming the negativity it has absorbed into monsters to do it's bidding." The Gold-Helmeted man noted while looking at the numerous Kanji that had appeared around the city, Etrigan nodding his head silently at his side.

"**Would it be that you know more than you seem, please answer, if you know, what these strange symbols mean…"** Etrigan pleaded and Dr. Fate crossed his arms over his chest while looking down upon the world.

"I do indeed know what those symbols mean my friends… and it is very simple to explain." Dr. Fate replied before throwing his arms out, his cape flowing in a light breeze as he did so. "Pride. Greed. Lust. Wrath. Gluttony. Envy. Sloth. Cowardice. And Betrayal. All Sins that this evil beast has somehow changed into monsters…" Dr. Fate noted mostly to himself as he looked at the Kanji around the city.

"**Such a terrible power it has my friend, it almost seems as if this shall be our end."** Etrigan replied with a frown and Dr. Fate nodded his head in agreement before looking around as flames rose up around them. **"And now my friend I truly fear, that even more beasts quickly draw near!"** Etrigan added while Dr. Fate looked around as a Kanji for "Despair" formed out of the flames and the shadows rose up into one final batch of monsters. These monsters were eight long serpentine dragons that each easily spanned over several miles in length, however they had a talisman around their throats, the Kanji for "Incomplete" held within much like that of the nine foxes, dogs, Tanuki, weasels, and the two giant cats.

Each of the dragons were identical, they had deep hellish red eyes, with dark scales that were an unearthly obsidian color, their undersides were red and inflamed almost as if they had dragged them across rugged terrain for too long, a strange purple moss grew along their backs half covering a long row of ridges along their spines, two long antler like horns protruded from their heads, strange ridges extending from their jaws with almost catfish like "whiskers" coming from their upper lips, and long sharp ivory teeth extended from their mouths…

As Dr. Fate and Etrigan looked to the eight enormous beasts in shock, the eight Dragons moved almost as one and looked down at them. The beasts seemed to narrow their eyes before suddenly rearing back their heads and unleashing a hellish roar towards the two heroes…

(Pits of Hell…)

Naruto mentally twitched as he, Itachi, and the Demon-Raven slowly sidled along a wall towards the towering demon lord, Agni. _'This is __**such**__ a bad idea and I just know it's going to get me killed in some horribly painful fashion… wait… I'm already dead, never mind…'_ The blond haired Ex-Shinobi thought to himself as he soon came upon Agni's shoulder. According to Demon-Raven, this would be the hardest part, namely, making it across Agni while not getting onto the super-heated portions of his body. Thus far it was working out fairly well, they had made their way up the sides of the chasm and then slowly worked their way onto the Demon-lord's shoulder.

Now was the real hard part in Naruto's opinion, figuring out how to make the enormous Demon go where they wanted him too. Mentally groaning at the thought, the blond haired youth reached to the side to grip another high rock, then slowly sidled along a ridge on Agni's arm and over to his shoulder. Climbing up, passed numerous crevices and cracks filled with molten lava, the three soon came onto his shoulder and took hold of the spikes on his arm to steady them. Breathing out a quiet sigh of relief, Naruto then looked over to Itachi and The Demon-Raven.

"Okay, now how do we get him to move?" Naruto demanded flatly of the red-skinned demoness and she grimaced slightly.

"**You're really not going to like it…"** She replied and a look crossed Naruto's face as he gave the demoness an annoyed glare.

"Just spit it out… I already don't like the idea of riding on this guy's shoulder the rest of the way down the river styx…" Naruto retorted with a frown and she blinked before inclining her head for a moment.

"**Agni is kind of a ritualistic creature, if we wake him up, he'll walk down the river to get home. Our next stop and the "Human" Raven's current location is also on his way to his home deeper in hell. He comes down here to rest because of how little noise the Fire-Wraiths make when compared to the Ifrits he rules over."** The Demoness replied while they held onto Agni's back and Naruto palmed his face.

"And how are we going to do that, Kara-Chan? This guy's skin is rock hard, and we can't touch half of it cause its _molten_ rock in case you've forgotten! Unless you've got a way to create a blizzard I really don't think we're going to be able to hurt this thing even slightly…" Naruto reminded and The Demon-Raven frowned for a moment while nodding her head in agreement. Truthfully, she'd never considered going after her other half, after all, she was probably more than enough for the blond to handle… but he was greedy, and being a Demoness she could respect that.

"**We need to wake him, but not startle him too badly. Thus even if I could make a blizzard, we can't try to cool him off, he'll wake up furious if we do, think someone's trying to attack him, notice us instantly, and start looking to attack and kill us. So we also have to be careful not to startle him too badly, or we're all dead meat."** Raven explained and a grimace crossed Naruto's features while Itachi frowned for a moment before an idea came to mind.

"Would fire wake him up?" Itachi questioned and Demon-Raven frowned deeply as she thought about it for a moment.

"**Perhaps the right kind of fire could… but there is no mortal fire that could possibly awaken a being that is all but **_**made**_** from lava. Only the sheer heat of the sun itself could actually accomplish that feat."** Demon-Raven mused aloud and Itachi nodded his head for a moment, Naruto frowning.

"Going to use Amaterasu on him?" Naruto asked the Uchiha simply and Itachi hnned while turning back to Raven.

"Would Hell-Fire wake him up?" Itachi questioned and the Demon-Raven snorted before snickering to herself.

"**He's Agni **_**of**_** Hellfire, it's his element, and it'd probably relax him even more than he already is. You can try, but if that Amaterasu thing is nothing but the fires of hell, it'll be useless on him."** The Demoness replied and a frown crossed over Itachi's features as he considered their options.

"What if you used your fire and my Amaterasu?" Itachi questioned and the Demon Raven frowned for a moment before shaking her head.

"**It'd be hot enough yes, but our fires are both linked to hell, they'd be more calming than shocking to him apart… we could combine them yes, but there really is no guarantee it'd work that way either."** She replied simply and Itachi reached up and rubbed his chin, thinking of what they could do before sighing.

"Lets first attempt to combine our flames together to awaken him, if that doesn't work, we'll have to resort to our only other option." Itachi replied while placing a hand onto Naruto, the blond raising a brow as he does so.

"What are you doing?" Naruto questioned and Itachi sighed for a moment.

"My Chakra no longer exists inside of me. Instead, I'll have to draw on the power I put within you…" Itachi replied then looked to the Demon-Raven who nodded her head and narrowed her eyes while forming blue-flames into her right hand. Nodding his head, Itachi closed his eyes for a moment before opening his now Mangekyou Sharingan eyes. **"Amaterasu!"** Itachi stated darkly as black flames formed on Agni, Demon-Raven quickly hurtling her own flames at the black flames, causing them to mix together as they tried to burn into the enormous Demon-Lord.

However, Itachi then frowned as Agni merely twitched, and green flames suddenly formed out of his skin. The Green-Flames instantly flowed to the Black and Blue flames and consumed them completely. Sighing for a moment and resigning himself to their only _other_ option for awakening Agni, Itachi then looked to a frowning Naruto. "Very well then, Naruto-kun, it looks like I can no longer wait. You'll have to learn what the power I placed within you truly is." Itachi suddenly said while looking to the blond seriously and Naruto gave the man a look.

"Uh, I don't think right now is really the best of times to be learning a new trick, Itachi." Naruto stated and Itachi hummed while looking up and then smirked towards the blond Ex-Shinobi.

"Perhaps it's not, but what I will teach you should be enough for us to wake, Agni so we may continue." Itachi replied and then reached over and placed a hand onto the blond's head. "First of all, the power I left within you is just that, raw untapped power. It has no form or shape right now, which is why I left some of my Chakra with it, so I could survive within you, and you could learn a counter to Amaterasu's flames, should you ever be forced to face another Uchiha with the Mangekyou Sharingan." Itachi explained to the blond and a deep frown crossed over Naruto's features.

"Then why didn't you teach it to me sooner? Like when I was fighting that nut-job of a brother of yours? No offence meant, but he's completely mental…" Naruto questioned with a slight growl and a small smile crossed the man's lips.

"None taken, I'll be the first to admit he's too serious for his own good… and I didn't see a point to teaching it to you before, after all Naruto-Kun, you did manage to defeat Madara on your own… with only the Kyuubi on your side." Itachi replied and Naruto muttered something under his breath before inhaling deeply and then exhaling.

"Alright, what do I have to do?" Naruto asked and Itachi instantly went stone serious as he concentrated for a moment.

"Naruto-Kun, you are well aware that all Shinobi with a Kekkei-Genkai protect them with their lives… but, did you know that Bloodline Ninjutsu can be… copied without need of the bloodline itself?" Itachi questioned and Naruto blinked for a moment before remembering how Sakura told him about Sasori. How he had a puppet of a Kazekage who was able to use abilities similar to that of the Shikaku's container…

"I don't know about bloodline Ninjutsu, but I am aware that a Jinchuuriki's abilities can be copied… and if they can be copied, I'd say a Bloodline Ninjutsu wouldn't be too different." Naruto mused aloud while looking to the older man and Itachi nodded his head with a slight smile.

"Actually you're quite correct, but the sheer Chakra necessary to effectively duplicate a Jinchuuriki's natural attack capabilities are phenomenal at the very least. Only a Kage would be even able to try and attempt such a thing." Itachi replied and then took a deep breath as he continued to concentrate his remaining Chakra that was within Naruto. "Now then Naruto-Kun, what I am going to do is help you to recreate the Amaterasu's fire without my Mangekyou Sharingan, thereby, the flames should be the same, and yet different, thus a perfect counter to them, and a way for all three of us to attack Agni with our fires." Itachi continued to explain to the blond and Naruto frowned for a moment while giving him a strange look.

"Don't look at me like that, it won't be hard and it won't take long with me to guide you… now, concentrate on your chakra and feel what I do inside of you…" Itachi ordered and Naruto mentally rolled his eyes before closing his eyes and doing as told. "Feel how I shift and move my Chakra, then follow the same path." Itachi ordered and Naruto frowned as he noticed Itachi moving the chakra in an intricate pattern. Following it as carefully as possible, Naruto then listened to Itachi for further instructions.

"Good, you can follow my Chakra's movements… lets see if you can do this, I will change the element of my Chakra, I want you to match it. With the Rinnegan, this should be easy for you to do." Itachi stated and Naruto mentally nodded as Itachi first shifted his chakra to water. Frowning for a moment, as he almost used no real Water Jutsu, and his Natural Lightning Element Chakra was apposed to it, Naruto concentrated and finally managed to feel out the transition to Water Chakra. As he did, his Pale-Blue Chakra became clearly visible to both Raven and Itachi.

"Good… now this one." Itachi ordered and Naruto felt a warm feeling, thus figured it was Fire-Chakra, a common trait of all Uchiha. Sighing once more, Naruto concentrated on changing his Chakra to fire element, which wasn't quite as hard as he'd thought. He supposed having a Wind-Nature Affinity, which fed flames, and a Lightning Nature Affinity, which created them, and thus also helped him with changing his Chakra to Fire-Chakra. Feeling his Chakra he converted it into Fire-Chakra, a flaming aura forming around his body as he did so.

"Excellent Naruto-Kun, we're almost done. All you need to do now is feel how I change the frequency of your Chakra. All Bloodline-Ninjutsu are activated by a different "Frequency" than usual Ninjutsu. This would normally make it impossible for anyone not of that particular bloodline to use it. You however have the Rinnegan, which allows you to use any technique you want. So, feel what I do with my Chakra and follow it exactly." Itachi explained and Naruto nodded his head silently, even as Itachi activated his Mangekyou for the first time in a long time.

"**Amaterasu!"** He stated coldly while looking up to the Demon-Lord's head, inwardly making it a point to really slow down what he was doing to allow Naruto to feel the difference in how his Chakra moved and acted now when compared to before. As he did the familiar black flames suddenly appeared on Agni, the Demon-Lord merely snoring as his Green Flames rose up and consumed them. Grunting and blinking back tears of blood for a brief moment, Itachi released Naruto before he reached up to wipe the blood from his eyes before looking to the blond.

"Now you try, Naruto-Kun." Itachi then ordered and Naruto concentrated on the odd sensation he felt when Itachi created the Amaterasu Flames. Kneeling down, Naruto closed his eyes and then clenched his right hand into a fist as he felt out his Chakra. Feeling a sudden pulse, the blond reared his arm back before suddenly slamming it down into the ground.

"Alright, here we go!" The blond declared as pure white flames suddenly surged forth from his fist, then quickly trailed out and into the many crevices and cracks that were a part of Agni's body. Agni merely grunted as the flames appeared, his own green flames surging forth and consuming the ivory flames, however Itachi noticed it was at a significantly slower pace than his or Raven's flames had been consumed. Opening his eyes to see the white flames, Naruto gaped in shock for a moment even as a low grumble echoed from Agni and they fully vanished.

"Interesting, it would seem that you messed up the frequency, however you still managed to summon some kind of fire… we'll have to look more into it later." Itachi mumbled while Naruto looked at some flickering flames dancing on his fingertips.

"Is that why they're white?" Naruto wondered aloud even as he moved his hand around for a moment, The Demon-Raven leaning over to look at the flames even as Naruto shook his hand, the flames slowly going out as he did.

"**Impressive, the Fires of Heaven to counter the Fires of Hell…"** The Demon-Raven said with a nod of her head and Naruto turned and looked at her in shock.

"Wait… you mean to tell me I just channeled Heavenly Flames or something?" Naruto questioned of his semi-girlfriend, what, she was technically only half of Raven…

"**Yes. White flames represent the Arch-Angel Michael, Agni's natural counter and enemy in heaven."** The Demon-Raven replied simply and Itachi raised a brow for a moment before deciding not to look too into it.

"Regardless of that, this is a new Ninjutsu currently unique to you Naruto-Kun, so I believe that you deserve to name it as well." Itachi reminded the blond haired youth and he blinked before nodding his head with a slight frown.

"Then I guess I'll call it, Shiranui! (Unknown-Fire)" He replied with a grin and Itachi chuckled lightly, easily understanding why the blond thought that name was appropriate for the admittedly odd white-flames.

"**Fine, he named it, now lets get moving before our collective friends are eaten alive and I have to live under my… **_**father's**_** rule for the rest of eternity."** The Demon-Raven reminded with a shudder of disgust at the word father she'd used for Trigon, which made sense to both Naruto and Itachi given the girl's relationship to the enormous demon.

"Very well then, ready Naruto-Kun?" Itachi questioned and Naruto nodded his head while flexing his right hand for a moment. "Then attack!" Itachi ordered while placing a hand onto Naruto's shoulder and activating his Mangekyou Sharingan once more. **"Amaterasu!"** The man exclaimed while Demon-Raven threw her flames into the black flames as they hit Agni's head. Naruto then reared his arm back and slammed it into Agni with a wide grin on his face.

"**Shiranui!"** He cried out and the White, Black, and Blue flames combined together, burning into Agni and causing him to sit up with a slight start. Cursing lightly, Naruto pushed some Chakra into his feet, Itachi holding onto the blond in order to steady himself while the Demon-Raven grabbed hold of one of the many spikes on Agni's enormous shoulder.

"**Everyone hold on tight!"** Demon-Raven exclaimed as Agni moved his hands to the sides and slowly pushed himself up from where he'd been resting. Pushing himself up, his hellfire body suddenly roared to life, green flames alighting within the crevices of his body. The Mighty Demon-Lord of Hellfire then stood to his full two-hundred-feet tall height, and stretched out all four of his arms with a deep horrible rumble echoing from his throat. His three, Hellfire green eyes also opened as he looked forward, wings stretching out for miles while Naruto gulped audibly with no small amount of fear.

"I _really_ don't like this idea…" Naruto muttered even as Agni moved forward, the swirling tail of fire that replaced his legs moving along the lava and down the enormous cavern, the three holding on tight as he went. Looking to Demon-Raven for a moment, Naruto saw her twitching and holding on for dear life, Itachi keeping a hand on his shoulder just to use the miniscule amount of his Chakra within his body. Mentally breathing out a sigh, Naruto held onto the enormous demon-lord with all his might, still hoping that this ride wouldn't last long.

Unlike with Gamabunta and other toads, Agni didn't make a rumbling quake when he walked, rather, as he moved he was eerily silent. His body flowed on the lava silently, allowing the enormous lord of hellfire to sneak up on small beings even with his gigantic size. Reaching up as they approached a large low hanging stalactite, the Demon-Lord narrowed his eyes before bashing it down with a single powerful swing of his arm; Naruto inwardly imagining what a hit like that could do to a lesser demon…

"I can see why he's a Demon-Lord, no one would know when he was angry until he got too them…" Naruto mumbled to himself while shivering at the thought of this particular demon pissed off at him. Shaking his head after the thought passed, Naruto looked to Demon-Raven and watched as she looked off of his shoulder.

"**We're approaching our stop!"** The Demoness exclaimed and Naruto looked up and briefly wondered if Agni knew they were there, and just didn't care.

"Alright then, Itachi get ready." Naruto shouted at the dark haired man and his nodded his head. Twirling the staff in one hand, the man dug it down into Agni's shoulder to brace himself while standing up, Naruto slowly standing as well while Demon-Raven leaned into the spike she was holding onto. Narrowing her four eyes into the distance, the Demoness spotted a long trail ahead and slowly moved away from the spike while crouching down.

"**Jump!"** She suddenly exclaimed while jumping off of Agni, then formed a black circle with her powers and breathed a sigh out as she landed on it. Looking up, she then watched as Naruto and Itachi jumped off as well, the Demoness quickly forming a circle of black energy under each of them as well. **"Need a ride?"** Demon-Raven quipped with a smirk and Naruto rolled his eyes before grinning down at the Demoness.

"You offering, babe?" The blond quipped in reply and the demoness briefly wished he wasn't so greedy as to want all of her… but then again, that was also one of the many things she liked about him.

"**Oh I'm offering that, and so much more handsome."** The Demoness replied with a wink and Naruto chuckled lightly.

"As interesting as it is to be here for you two to flirt, we really must keep moving." Itachi reminded the two and Demon-Raven nodded her head in agreement while bringing them all down to the ground where two paths split ahead of them. "Which way from here?" Itachi questioned while looking to the demoness, and she pointed forward with a slight smirk.

"**Now all we need to do is keep moving forward."** The Red-Skinned Demoness replied and Naruto walked passed her and was soon followed by Itachi and The Demon-Raven. Coming to a flight of stairs, Naruto walked up its length, coming out of a small cave and spotting a line of torches on either side of a path, spikes forming upwards on either side of the long stretch of road, and what looked like some kind of grand-cathedral in the distance at the end of the path.

"Well, I see where we're going now." Naruto mused while looking to Itachi and Demon-Raven, both nodding to him before they walked forward. Walking down the long stretch of road, Naruto twitched when he saw that the torches were made of screaming faces that made him mentally pause. "Naraku-Hime, what exactly are these things made of?" Naruto asked while looking at the torches and the Demon-Raven blinked for a moment before rolling her eyes.

"**The lost tormented souls of the damned…"** She replied casually and Naruto widened his eyes even as a frown crossed Itachi's features.

"One good thing about our universe, our version of the Underworld isn't half as horrific as this one…" Itachi noted aloud and the Demon-Raven looked over to him with a raised brow.

"**How's that?"** She questioned as they passed another couple of torches, which changed into Fire-Wraiths behind them.

"Because, besides being a dark, dank, empty pit of death and decay… no one is overtly tortured or suffer eternal damnation for their sins…" Itachi replied and the Demon-Raven crinkled her nose up before crossing her arms.

"**Where's the fun in that?"** The Demoness questioned seriously, Naruto chuckling while Itachi palmed his face with a grunt. Coming to a sudden stop, Itachi then twisted around and slice the two Fire-Wraiths behind them in half with his staff.

"I'd love to explain to you why Yomi is better than this place, however we seem to have more important matters to deal with…" Itachi noted while looking around with his eyes narrowed onto the many Fire-Wraiths forming around them.

"Do these guys ever learn?" Naruto wondered while pulling a Ninjatou from his back and tossed it over to Itachi. Catching the blade, Itachi smirked slightly as the fire-wraiths soon completely surrounded them.

"Apparently not, Naruto-Kun…" Itachi replied while the Demon-Raven grinned evily as she held her hands out, black energy forming over them. Cracking his neck, Naruto then reached back and pulled both The Kusanagi and his other Ninjatou from his back and held them at his sides.

"Alright then boys and girls, lets really get this party started!" Naruto cried while lunging towards the cathedral and Fire-Wraiths, Itachi and Raven quickly following him into battle. Twirling his blades in his hands, Naruto then swung the weapons, cutting an X through the beast as he passed. Itachi then lunged ahead of him and twisted around into a swing, slicing the next wraith in half. As he did, Raven grinned darkly and formed a ray of obsidian energy into her hand before throwing it forward, the beam tearing through two more Fire-Wraiths as Naruto passed her.

Grinning to himself, the blond then pushed his Chakra into his blades before forming the flames of Shiranui overtop them. The ivory flames roared to life along the blades of each sword, and Naruto twisted around and slammed them into the ground, an arc of flames roaring forward and smothering the many fire-wraiths up ahead. "Well that wasn't too bad." Naruto noted while smirking to himself, Naruto then reabsorbed the chakra on his swords before placing them both back onto his back.

"True, but now we should keep moving." Itachi reminded while tossing Naruto his Ninjatou back, the blond muttering something to himself as he sheathed the blade and the Demon-Raven shook her head. Walking up to the cathedral, Naruto raised a brow at the door, scowling when he saw the familiar S shaped rune over it. Deciding not to ask why that was on the door, the blond haired teen brought his leg back and then kicked the door open, revealing the inside of the cathedral to them all. Walking into the building, Naruto frowned when he saw that the roof was practically gone, and that the light outside turned the skeletal windows an eerie red…

"I really don't like the look of this place." Naruto mumbled quietly as they wondered further and further into the building. Mentally wondering why Raven's human half would be in a place like this, Naruto then shook his head and narrowed his eyes. "Kara-Chan!" Naruto called out while walking down the isle of the cathedral, Itachi looking around as well while the Demon-Raven rolled her eyes.

"**You do realize that since I embody half of Raven's collective being, that since I am brave and fearless, she would be meek and cowardly."** The Demon-Raven reminded and Naruto blinked before nodding his head as that made sense. Looking around, Naruto saw something over to the side and narrowed his eyes.

"What's that?" He wondered aloud and saw a gray-cloaked figure suddenly move away, rushing down the isle. "Figures." The blond muttered while running after the gray-cloaked being, inwardly chuckling at the irony of the color, as it was the same one that Raven's "Timid" self wore. Seeing the figure duck passed some rubble, Naruto followed after the girl with Demon-Raven and Itachi following behind him. "Whoa, Kara-Chan wait!" Naruto called while running after the figure who fell down as Naruto approached from behind.

Slowly walking forward, Naruto reached out and took hold of the cloak before drawing it back and gaping. What he saw was clearly Raven, however she looked to be at least ten-years younger, her hair was short once more, and she was dressed in a white version of her long-sleeved leotard, a small version of her chain-belt around her waist, with white versions of her old boots. Looking up at the blond with wide violet eyes, the girl moved back slightly, clearly afraid. "Who… who are you?" The girl asked timidly and Naruto shook his head even as Demon-Raven and Itachi came up from behind.

"**Hello, Sister."** Demon-Raven noted with a grin and the girl widened her eyes and ducked behind Naruto, shaking in fear at the sight of the larger girl. **"Alright, we've found my weak other half, are you satisfied now?"** The Demon-Raven questioned of the blond and Naruto blinked for a moment, then looked from the Young-Raven to Demon-Raven and scratched his head.

"Why is there such a dramatic age-difference between you two?" Naruto demanded and Demon-Raven grinned darkly, the young version giving off a "Meep" sound while hiding behind the blond.

"**I'm her Demonic-Incarnation, everything sinful and fun… she's the "Pure and Innocent" side, and what's more innocent than a child?"** The red-skinned demoness replied while looking to the blond and Naruto blinked before nodding his head since that made about as much sense as anything else in this hell did… Shaking his head, Naruto then turned to the young-Raven as she hid behind him timidly, then handed her her cloak back.

"Hey, you okay?" Naruto asked kindly and the girl blinked before accepting the cloak and pulling it on around her shoulders, her demonic half huffing.

"I-I'm lost." She replied and Naruto grinned while placing a hand onto her head.

"Don't worry, we'll help you get home." Naruto told the girl with a smile and the young-Raven looked over to her demonic-self even while hiding behind the blond.

"Then why's she here? She's bad…" The Young-Raven asked while pointing to the Demon-Raven and she grinned down at her Human-Half.

"**Guilty as charged and loving it! I especially love being old enough to partake in certain activities with Naruto… unlike you, miss goody goody."** The Demon-Raven replied flamboyantly, moving her hands down her hips and sides suggestively while Naruto palmed his face, inwardly wondering what part of Raven actually acted like this…

"Er… she kind of helped us find you Kara-Chan." Naruto explained and Young-Raven tilted her head to one side for a moment.

"Why do you keep calling me "Kara-Chan"? My name is Raven…" The girl questioned and Naruto palmed his face for a moment before answering with a sigh.

"Where I come from, the word for Crow and Raven are the same, it's Karasu. Thus I shorten it to kara and call you Kara-Chan." Naruto explained and the young-Raven slowly nodded her head in understanding. "But in any-case, would you happen to know a way out of here?" Naruto asked and the young-Raven shook her head no, a frown crossing the blond's lips as she did. Muttering to himself as he stood up and the Young-Raven gripping the edge of the blond's coat, Naruto looked around and saw Itachi looking at a wall with a hand on his chin.

"Yo, you see something, Itachi?" Naruto questioned while walking over to the dark-haired man and Itachi slowly nodded his head.

"Come take a look for yourself, Naruto-Kun." The dark haired man replied and Naruto walked over to him, both sides of Raven following after him. Coming to where Itachi stood, Naruto raised a brow upon seeing six rings embedded into the wall of the cathedral.

"What are these?" Naruto wondered while also noticing they were spaced only so far apart from one another.

"**Those? Not sure, though given the amount of dirt, soot, and dust covering them, I'd have to say they've been here for quite a while."** The Demon-Raven replied while crossing her arms and the Young-Raven scooted to Naruto's side and held onto his coat once more, trying to get as much distance from her demonic half as possible without leaving the "Safety" of Naruto.

"Agreed. But what are they for…" Naruto wondered before looking around, then took a step back and crouched down. Frowning to himself, Naruto then started to brush away the dirt and dust from the floor and found a circular opening. "Well, this probably has something to do with the rings…" Naruto mumbled before snapping his fingers and looking over to where Itachi was standing. "Yo, hand over the staff." Naruto ordered and the dark-haired man gave him a look.

"Very well…" He replied and tossed the object over to the blond, Naruto twirling it in hand before jabbing the ring at the top into two of the six rings on the wall. Hearing a click, Naruto then twisted the staff around; attaching it to the other four rings in the wall and yanked back on it as hard as he could. As he did, the rings were pulled outwards, five long chains coming out with them, dust and dirt falling away until they stopped and formed an outline of a doorway. Raising a brow, Naruto then pulled back and placed the metal-tipped end of the staff into the circular hold on the floor and frowned while looking from the doorway to the staff for a moment.

"**Interesting, but what is it?"** The Demon-Raven questioned at Naruto's right while her human-half stayed on his left, Naruto shaking his head for a moment as he then gripped the staff tightly.

"Just watch and see…" The blond replied while pulling back on the staff, causing the chains to yank on the wall as he did so. "Stand back!" Naruto ordered while digging his heels into the ground and gritting his teeth as he pulled the staff back, causing it to pull down on the chains as he did. The chains as such yanked on the wall, pulling it back until it finally fell down, revealing a passageway beyond it. Breathing out a sigh once he was done, Naruto then heard something snap and looked down to see that the chains had released the rings now on the staff, making it look like a Shakujo. (Buddhist Monk-Staff)

"What the hell? Why would a Monks Staff be down here in hell? No, better question, why the hell was this thing the key to this door?" Naruto questioned while scratching his head and looking at the staff, while Itachi merely walked passed the blond and into the newly opened passageway.

"It doesn't matter right now Naruto-Kun, instead we should find out where this new passage leads us and hope that it is an exit of some kind." Itachi reminded and Naruto blinked before nodding his head, walking over to Itachi with the two raven's following behind him as he carried the ringed-staff in one hand, both the Kusanagi and it pulsing as he did so…

(?)

Orochimaru walked behind Slade with an amused look across his features, nearly laughing as Slade slipped on a loose rock and slid down to the ground below. _'Oh how the mighty have fallen, eh Slade?'_ Orochimaru mused to himself with an amused smirk on his face, before sliding down behind Slade. Looking down at the man for only a moment, Orochimaru then saw two possible paths, and then grinned when he felt Naruto's energy signature over to the side. _'Good, so little Naruto-Kun is still alive, in a manner of speaking, it'd be oh so boring in this world if he wasn't around to entertain me…'_ Orochimaru mused to himself as he then turned to Slade as he climbed to his feet.

"This is why I seek Immortality, dying would be such a bother." Orochimaru mused and Slade glared at the man as he leaned down and looked him straight in the eye. "It makes you… desperate, weak, vulnerable…" Orochimaru listed before reaching forward and lifting the man by his bandoleer, Slade twitching as he did so. "I could almost pity you, if it wasn't so amusing to see someone like this…" Orochimaru mused while releasing Slade, the man landing on his feet and brushing his arms off.

"I'm so thrilled to see you're overjoyed by my weakened state… but we still have to move forward." Slade reminded the man and Orochimaru merely shrugged his shoulders while crossing his arms. "Now come, what I seek is in a slightly… hotter place." Slade suddenly added while walking along a path to the side, Orochimaru silently following behind the man as they made their way into the depths of Hell. Looking around with a critical eye, Orochimaru also made a note to never ever die in this world, as this Hell was far worse than the "Underworld" or Yomi in his world.

Walking down the path, the two soon came to a deep chasm and Slade mentally grimaced. Leaping forward, the man landed on a rock only for it to break and fall down into the depths of hell. Shaking his head silently, Orochimaru jumped down and ran along the side of the chasm's walls with a smirk on his face. _'If nothing else, this journey into hell is amusing.'_ The Serpentine man mused inwardly before chuckling as Slade fell off of his rock, slamming into the sides of the chasms walls before finally hitting the ground, sending his mask sliding to the side.

Moving down gracefully, Orochimaru jumped down from rock to rock nimbly before flipping in mid air and landing in a low crouch. Smirking slightly, Orochimaru turned to where Slade was crawling towards his mask and shook his head. "How remarkably pathetic… to think you could fall this far." Orochimaru mused even as Slade got up and leaned into the side of the chasms wall, giving the serpent eyed man a glare as his only response. Shaking his head without placing his mask back on, Slade then placed a single hand onto the side of the wall and journeyed deeper into its depths, Orochimaru following behind the man silently as he did so…

(Jump-City…)

The Juubi no Yami watched on with a grin as the many "Heroes" across the city faced the monsters it'd called forth. **"Most amusing indeed. These mortals do provide excellent sport. Though their fight, like their lives, is pointless…"** The Juubi mused to itself while lying down, resting its body and absorbing even more negative energy from the dying world around it. However, it then narrowed its eyes, as its massive fifth eye seemed to glow a bloody crimson, a wicked grin spreading across its features.

"**Ah, so my former Container and Trigon's Daughter are both still "alive", in some sense of the world, how very amusing… though only remnants of Raven still exist. This little rescue of Naruto's poses me little threat. Even with his own powers growing stronger, his own Juubi form is weak and useless against me at my peak."** The Juubi no Yami noted to itself before its eye pulsed as it saw something else as well.

"**And of course the new Yamata no Orochi is also on the move with my former Servant, Slade. What do they think they can accomplish? Retrieve Slade's flesh and then what… attempt to attack me? Such foolish creatures these mortals are proving themselves to be…"** The Juubi thought to itself while shaking its head silently, then yawned loudly, looking back to the three groups moving further and further towards The End…

"**Even with Naruto and Raven's two halves together they are too weak to face the true power of a Juubi. Let alone myself! I was the Kyuubi, the Nine-Tailed beast… but I was also the portion of my being that remembered myself as the Juubi. I've spent centuries trying to re-obtain my former glory, from absorbing the negative energy of my first world, to possessing Trigon, all was in order to regain my true glorious form! Even should they come to fight me, I will not give up this power so easily."** The Juubi said to itself before its eye pulsed and he looked upwards, frowning when he saw a large black bird heading his way.

The Black-Bird however was clearly not a normal forest-raven of anykind to him, though it was no bigger than one nor any different in shape, its eyes gave off a brilliant golden glow like that of the sun itself, its body covered in numerous bone-like plates much like Naruto's Juubi form was, reddish-orange markings lined its sides and wings, and it had three legs with the middle leg holding onto a strange sphere being the strangest part of the creature.

"**Ah so I see "Her" pet has decided to make an appearance in this world as well. To what do I owe this pleasure, Yatagarasu? (Eight-Span Crow/Raven)"** The Juubi questioned while the three legged bird landed on a metal pole and glared at him before a shrill kaw echoed from its throat. Chuckling lightly as the bird looked at him angrily, the Juubi grinned darkly while crossing its paws. **"Don't get high and mighty with me bird, you're less than powerless in this world."** Juubi reminded the Raven and it glared at him once more before flapping its wings and flying towards the struggling heroes, causing the Juubi to chuckle once more.

"**So you're going to help the mortals then… I see your just as weak and predictable as ever, Yatagarasu."** Juubi said with a shake of his head and then yawned while laying his head down. **"You can do whatever you like, in the end, it won't matter what you do… this world is mine now."** Juubi declared while closing his many eyes and slowly falling into a deep trance like state to absorb even more power…

TBC…


	57. The End Pt4

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

**Chapter 55**: **The End Pt. 4**…

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

(Jump-City…)

Starfire twisted around as the foxes tried to swipe at her with their claws once more. After the first had changed shapes into an anthropomorphic form, two more had followed, the other six following behind those three as they attacked her. _'Why do the foxes wish to do me harm? They are never so vicious on the earthly Television…'_ The girl thought to herself before turning her head and firing her eyebeams, the rays slamming into the chest of one of the Foxes, causing it to fall back. Almost as soon as it did, one of the foxes behind it lunged onto it and bit into its neck.

The downed fox began to glow afterwards; soon vanishing entirely while the fox that had bit it grew a second tail, the Kanji for Youko (Demon-Fox) on its brow. Widening her eyes in shock at that, the other foxes seemed aware of what happened and turned towards the two-tailed Youko. It suddenly grinned, an evil twisted looking expression carving its face as its already red eyes began to bear a sinister glow. Roaring out, the fox suddenly began to glow as it also changed into an anthropomorphic form, its Digitigrade legs still present while its forepaws were now more dexterous…

Crouching down, the Youko lunged forward; jumping off of one of the other foxes and twisted into a kick. From its paw/foot, a jet of purple flames arched out towards a shocked Starfire. **"Kitsunebi! (Fox-Fire!)"** A rough feminine voice cried out as the fire flowed towards the shocked Alien-Princess. Shaking her head, the red haired girl quickly ducked down to avoid the flames, only for two more of the foxes to jump on the Youko's back and then up towards her. Moving out of the way, Starfire watched as the Foxes landed, the blinked when she heard a light groan.

"Ugh… my head." Donna complained while placing a hand to her throbbing Skull, Starfire shaking the girl and causing her to blink. "Starfire, what's going on?" She questioned and the Alien Princess looked down to where the Youko was working together with the other two Anthropomorphic Foxes and crossing / lacing their arms together.

"I am most afraid that we do not have time for the speaking friend Donna, for there are many bad foxes wishing to harm us at the moment." Starfire said and Donna rolled out of Starfire's arms, stumbling for a moment in the air as she got her bearings straight, then turned around to see what the red head meant. Upon seeing the foxes, Donna initially raised a brow in confusion, until of course the Youko suddenly launched two of the smaller foxes towards them. As the approached, the foxes spun in place, the bodies soon covered by purple-flames.

"What the hell!" Donna exclaimed as she and Starfire evaded the flaming foxes, both landing on a building behind them. Shaking her head, Donna then turned towards the anthropomorphic foxes as the Youko suddenly grabbed the other two by their arms. Twisting and spinning around for a moment the fox then threw them at the girls. Moving out of the way of the foxes, Donna and Starfire then watched as they collided with the other two foxes behind them, a bright glow encompassing their impact before two more Youko suddenly crawled out of the rubble twin tails flicking the air lightly.

"Starfire, those are not normal foxes…" Donna stated flatly as she turned towards the twin Youko and Starfire faced the original.

"Yes, I figured as much friend Donna, but they look so much like the earth foxes I didn't know what else to call them…" Starfire replied and Donna inwardly gave the red head that much even as the now twin Youko lunged from the building and into the air, twisting around into a kick. Much like the first, the word Kitsunebi echoed out as purple flames flowed towards Starfire and Donna. However like before the girls moved out of the way before Donna suddenly lunged down, ramming into one of the Youko and sending it flying back.

The fox flipped in midair however and landed next to the other Youko, both glaring up at the girl. "These things are far too skilled in combat to be normal." Donna stated and Starfire ignored her while hurling Starbolts at the Youko and foxes before her.

"Perhaps, but I am more concerned with how we shall be doing the destroying of these foxes, they are most durable!" Starfire noted while the Youko on her side crouched down, the three remaining foxes looking to one another before spiraling inwards.

"What are they doing now?" Donna questioned wearily and then widened her eyes when a new Fox formed, this one with three flowing tails, its crimson red eyes looking up at them darkly. Upon the brow of the beast was a Kanji for "Kiko (Spirit-Fox)" and its fur had changed from red, to an off white color with flames trailing halfway up its legs, its eyes narrowing onto Starfire dangerous as it then assumed an Anthropomorphic form as well. "Great, now we've got three of them coming together to make only one with more tails, what's the difference?" Donna wondered with a frown while the Kiko crouched down and then jumped upwards into the air, only to drop down and stop in midair…

"It can fly now…" Starfire offered with wide eyes, as the fox seemed to hover in midair and then lunged towards the two. Looking at Starfire strangely, Donna frowned while holding still, arms crossed even as Starfire ducked to the side. "Friend Donna, you should move it is…" Starfire started to say only to blink as the Kiko seemed to vanish into thin air as it touched Donna. "… not there." She whispered and Donna frowned while looking around, wondering where the Kiko had run off to.

"Starfire stay alert, that thing is using illusions to trick you…" Donna advised while noticing the Youko watching on silently, probably waiting for a time to strike the two girls.

"But if that is so, how are you able to see through the illusion?" Starfire questioned and Donna rolled her eyes for a moment while looking all around for the Kiko to come out at her.

"Basic training on Amazonia was to see through such simple mind-tricks, unfortunately I'm only able to see through the ones that only affect sight… if its an illusion based around more than one of my senses I won't be able to tell it from reality…" Donna replied while looking all around, then grunted when something sliced into her back from behind. "And it seems this damn thing knows how to mask its scent, the sounds of its movements, and cast an illusion over its form to become invisible…" Donna grumbled and Starfire blinked before yelping as the Youko lunged at her.

"Why is it the fox of three tails wishes only to attack you and not me?" Starfire suddenly asked while dodging an attack by one of the Youko.

"Probably a matter of pride, I saw through its illusion pretty easily so now it's pissed off at me." Donna replied while looking around, then grunted as she felt the Kiko's claws dig into her side. Donna quickly lashed out at the side the strike came from, and then twitched when her fist met open air. Turning around at a sound, Donna's eyes widened as an arc of fire flowed towards her. Quickly flying up and over it, Donna then roared out while lunging at the spot the Kiko had been, connecting with it at long last and ramming it through a building.

Meanwhile Starfire was twisting and dodging around the three Youko, growling as they all seemed to want a piece of her, literally in this case. Ducking under a swipe from one of the Youko, she then grabbed it by its foot and twisted around with a roar, grabbing the next one to approach her and slamming them into the ground. Lifting them up off of the ground, Starfire kicked herself into the sky before spinning around and throwing both Youko as far away as she possibly could.

"Good, that is two down, now there is only one more to go." Starfire said to herself while turning around and narrowing her eyes onto the last of the Youko, a grin twisting its way across its features…

Meanwhile down below, Ravager was making her way around the city trying to find someone. She had been separated from the others and now found herself alone, she'd seen some of the creatures the Juubi had formed, but only from a distance. _'As if Trigon wasn't powerful enough…'_ She couldn't help but think to herself with a frown, only to raise a brow as something impacted with the ground before her. From a small crater then crawled a creature, one that immediately put her on high alert.

It walked on digitigrade legs, with its feet being paws with razor sharp claws, four ting long tails flowed from its tail bone, strangely though its forepaws were dexterous like hands, its head had two very long almost rabbit like ears, its fur was completely jet black, with blood red tips at its ears and tails, a strange white mask was placed over its face, having red upward curled markings at the lips and eyes, a pair of grey almost cloud shaped marks where placed where the eyebrows would be, the kanji for "Kuuko (Void-Fox)" was placed on its brow between them, and its glowing crimson red eyes staring ominously from behind the mask, and lastly was a strange medallion is worn around its neck, a sphere with the Kanji for Incomplete held within it.

"A Kitsune?" Ravager suddenly questioned while the Kuuko got down on all fours, the mouth of its mask twisting into a grin, greatly surprising the girl when it did. Upon the fox's four tails, purple flames suddenly roared to life, Ravager frowning as they did. "Fox-Fire… oh great, it's a Kitsune alright." The white-haired girl muttered to herself as the Kuuko lunged forward, twisting into a kick in midair. Rolling her eyes, Ravager blocked the kick, digging her feet into the ground before pushing the Kuuko back and into a building. However, the fox's fire suddenly set the building ablaze, the fox itself leaping out of the flames, grasping a pair of pipes half covered in concrete and two long chains over its arms.

"You're going to fight me with a pair of chains and heavy clubs… Really?" Ravager asked the Kuuko with an amused smirk on her face, only to blink as the fox grinned. Twisting the chains around its arms it then formed some familiar purple flames at its hands, melting the chains to the pipes it was holding. Grasping the pipes like handles it then moved its Kitsunebi down into the stone on it and slammed them together. Quickly ripping them apart soon after, Ravager widened her eyes as it had formed a pair of wicked flame shaped blades.

"Okay, that was unexpected…" Ravager admitted to herself while unsheathing her twin Katana from her back and grinning towards the Kuuko. In response, the fox quickly twisted its own blades around and into a reverse handed grip. Lunging forward, the fox then twisted into several swings with the weapons, Ravager narrowing her eyes as she blocked the first few strikes then kicked the fox in the chest. It stumbled back a few paces before hissing as it crouched down then lunged at her once more, swinging the Machete almost wildly.

As she blocked this poor attack as well, Ravager narrowed her eye when she recognized the style the Kuuko was using. _'It fights like Naruto…'_ She realized before ducking beneath another swing from the Kuuko and then ramming her shoulder into it, knocking it back a ways. The Kuuko righted itself quickly however and then moved forward much more quickly, Ravager's eye widening as she realized the fox was only getting better and better the longer they fought…

Meanwhile Jinx and Private ducked out of the way as the two Bakeneko lunged at them, fangs and claws bared. "Ma'am, I really don't like these cats!" Private noted while ducking down as one of the Bakeneko nearly took of his head from his shoulders. Striking the side of the Bakeneko's head with his shield, Private then looked to see Jinx flipping back and away from the other.

"Trust me, I know the feeling!" Jinx growled out as she twisted around the Bakeneko before her and began to think quickly. Looking around, an idea soon came to the Rosette causing a grin to form over her face. Ducking under another swing from the Bakeneko attacking her, Jinx then lunged towards Private. Grunting for a moment as she approached him, she then flipped over Pricate and landed on the back of the Bakeneko he'd been fighting. The Bakeneko that had been attacking her then lunged over Private, the militant teen ducking down as it lunged over him.

Grinning at the Bakeneko's approach, Jinx jumped off the one below her and onto the one approaching. Flipping off of it, the pink-haired girl landed beside of Private as the twin Bakeneko slammed into one another. The two giant cats skidded across the ground, rolling back into a building. Looking to Private with a grin, Jinx saw the militant-teen smirk as he knew what she was thinking. Spreading out her arms, Jinx formed a familiar pink energy over them before bringing them inwards and sending a wave of Hex-Energy flowing towards the building.

Grunting lightly as he wasn't as used to doing this as Mammoth, nor as strong, Private then jumped into the air and brought his hands together before slamming them into the ground with the Hex-Energy, causing a massive tremor that knocked the building down on top of the twin-bakeneko. Standing up when his work was done, Private nodded his head while looking at the rubble and crossed his arms. "Well, guess those cats just ran out of lives." Private said with a nod of his head and Jinx snorted before snickering into one hand, the yellow-clad teen looking at her in confusion.

However, before Jinx could explain, the rubble on top of the Bakeneko suddenly shuddered, and then was sent flying as two tails ripped their way out of it. Widening her eyes, Jinx then watched as a massive roar tore out of the rubble, throwing it every which way. Widening her eyes, Jinx then saw an enormous cat that was at least double the size of the Bakeneko and with two tails walk out of the rubble, growling lowly while glaring at her and Private. Unlike the Bakeneko, this cat was orange with black stripes in a Tiger like pattern, purple flames forming along its paws and the tips of its ears and tails, two large saber-tooth fangs jutted over its lower lips, a pair of fire-red eyes glared at them, and finally, the medallion that had been worn by the Bakeneko remained save that it now had the Kanji for "Nibi" within it…

"Oh that is so bad…" Jinx said with wide eyes as the "Nekomata" (Forked Cat) suddenly roared loudly. Crouching down, the beast then lunged towards the two, swinging its flaming claws towards them. Cursing loudly, Jinx pushed Private out of the way as the Nekomata's claws narrowly missed them. Rolling to the side as the Nekomata then snapped at her, Jinx quickly got to her feet as it crouched down, looking too much like a Tiger stalking its prey for Jinx's liking. Backpedaling from his position on the ground, Private looked at the Nekomata with wide eyes, glad the thing wasn't looking to make him its lunch.

However, drawing both Private and Jinx's attention was a sudden cry, and upon looking to the side they saw Mammoth and Cyborg running from the trio of monsters from before. Gaping for a moment, Jinx then shook her head and yelped as the Nekomata jumped on her, the white-shield formed by the String-of-Beads protecting her from it. Mentally thanking Naruto for the present, for the thousandth time, Jinx then pushed the Nekomata back with a burst of Hex-Energy. Rolling back she then watched as Cy and Mammoth ducked to the side and caused the three Oni to slam into the Nekomata.

Breathing out a sigh of relief, Jinx then groaned as a furious Nekomata then bit into the throat of one of the Oni, the other two crying out as they slammed their clubs into the beast, only for its tails to grab onto them. "Man you have no idea how glad I am to see you!" Mammoth said to Jinx only for her to grab him and Cyborg while backing away from the pile of furious Yokai.

"No time for talking, it won't take that Nekomata long to turn those Oni into cat-treats, we have to get out of here before it does!" Jinx stated and then glared over at Private as he watched the Nekomata slaughter the Oni with ease. "Private! Fall in!" Jinx shouted in order, and the militant teen shot to his feet and rushed over to her.

"Private H.I.V.E., Reporting for duty, Ma'am!" The teen stated while saluting and Cy couldn't help but snicker for a moment, only for Jinx to slap the back of his head with a deep scowl.

"Yeah yeah its funny, now lets get the fuck out of here before that Nekomata uses us as chew toys!" Jinx shouted at them before dragging Mammoth and Cyborg away from the enormous cat as it continued to viciously slaughter the Oni…

Elsewhere, Gizmo is frowning as he uses his Spider-Legs to walk across the city, with Seemore walking beside him. Behind the two a wire has been extended from Gizmo's pack to the Tanuki, where it is wrapped around it's right ankle. "Why are we bringing this thing with us?" Seemore asked while looking back at the sleeping Yokai warily, more than a little aware it could be very dangerous whenever it finally woke up.

"Because dipshit, if anything tries to eat _us_, we can let it have this guy instead." Gizmo replied with an evil grin on his face, Seemore blinking before nodding his head in agreement with that plan. Walking along the street with only the occasional chanting of "Pon-poko-pon" from the Tanuki, the two soon came to a street corner and Seemore was bowled over by the combined mass of Jinx, Cyborg, Mammoth, and Private. "Damn, what a way to go…" Gizmo said while shaking his head as Jinx pulled herself out of the mass of bodies and brushed off her dress.

"Gizmo, you run into any Japanese demons?" She asked quickly while looking around warily and Gizmo snorted while pointing a thumb to the still sleeping Tanuki.

"Just this thing…" Gizmo replied with a flat expression and Jinx blinked for a moment then gaped before slapping her hands over her mouth as the Tanuki twitched and seemed to slowly start to rouse.

"What y'all doing, Jinx?" Cy questioned as he and the others looked at the girl, and then noticed the Tanuki falling back to sleep. Breathing a quiet sigh of relief, Jinx then glared over at Gizmo who scratched his head before snapping his fingers.

"Oh right, Tanuki were hedonistic little bastards." Gizmo said while nodding his head and Seemore and Mammoth looked confused.

"Hedo-what?" Mammoth questioned and Cyborg frowned while realizing why Jinx was staying quiet.

"Hedonistic. In other words Mammoth, a Tanuki was a spirit that liked three things. These things were, Women, food, and Sake'. And they weren't above using illusions or shape shifting to get what they wanted. So, because it's around, Jinx is uncomfortable and afraid it might try to turn into something big, and then probably try to kidnap her." Cyborg explained and Jinx silently nodded her head while backing away from the sleeping Tanuki.

"Oh so its no different than any other Teenage Villain." Seemore said aloud and a snort then snicker from Mammoth was his only reply.

"Shut up gack-muncher! This is some seriously bad shit, I mean if this sucker wakes up, it might kill us all! Some Tanuki were really cruel, one formed an army and tried to conquer an entire nation, another killed an old woman, turned her into soup, and tricked her husband into eating her!" Gizmo shouted at his friend and watched Seemore turn green and Mammoth stare at the Tanuki warily.

"Uh… we should find something that wants to eat this thing like real quick…" The One-Eyed-Teen said to himself, Mammoth nodding in agreement before they heard a familiar roar.

"Crap! The Nekomata is done with those three Oni things!" Cy exclaimed while Mammoth cursed and ran over to Jinx, Private following him and carrying Seemore over one shoulder, leaving Gizmo to gape.

"Wait a damn second! You guys got to see a real Nekomata!" He demanded only to hear the roar was much closer, then turned and gaped as the enormous Nekomata was running towards him. Cursing, Gizmo twisted around, throwing the Tanuki into the air where the Nekomata caught it in its gaping jaws. This quickly woke up the Tanuki that blinked open a pair of large coal-black eyes. Seeing that it was inside of a Nekomata's mouth the Tanuki screamed loudly and started to flail its arms around.

"Waaaah! Help me, help me, help me! Pon poko pon!" The Tanuki exclaimed causing Cyborg to blink while staring at the thing as it continued to flail its arms about as the Nekomata twitched and then tossed it into the air. The Tanuki screamed loudly when it did, and the Nekomata used its tails to grab it, then slammed it into the ground before tossing it into a building.

"Uh… you guys sure it was actually dangerous?" Seemore asked from Private's shoulder only to watch as an enormous version of the Tanuki lunged out of the building. The Beast was slightly smaller than the Nekomata, with the same markings of the Tanuki, however it had razor sharp claws and fangs, glowing red eyes and a medallion around its neck with the Kanji for "Ichibi"…

"That answer your fucking question jack-nutt?" Gizmo demanded with wide eyes as the transformed Tanuki lunged at the Nekomata and bit into its neck. The Nekomata roaring out in pain before slapping its tails into the Tanuki's face and causing it to release its neck while rolling to the side. As the two continued to try to kill one another, Jinx turned and ran away, only to curse as Dani and Shayera flew towards them while being chased by the four birdmen from earlier.

"Out of the way!" Dani shouted while ducking under a swipe from one of the strange creatures then saw the battling monsters up ahead. "Yo, you got the same idea I do?" Dani then asked Shayera who nodded her head and held out a hand towards the Ghostling girl. Taking Shayera's hand Dani looked back and then forward, grinning as they approached the two only to turn intangible, causing the mass of Yokai to slam into one another, the Tanuki and Nekomata turning their aggression onto the mass of birdmen that had slammed into them.

Resolidifying, Dani grinned as she watched the mass of Yokai attack one another viciously. The Birdmen using Katana while the two "Tailed-Beasts" used their fangs, claws, and powers against them. "Wow, talk about an anime lover's dream come true." Dani mused aloud and Shayera looked at her strangely before flying over to Jinx and the others.

"You all alright?" She asked and Cyborg exhaled before answering the winged heroine.

"More or less, could've done without being chased through half the city but what can you do…" Cyborg replied and Shayera nodded her head in agreement before looking up as Batman and Nightwing landed nearby, followed shortly after by six sickle-clawed weasels riding in a whirlwind.

"Crap, Kamaitachi too!" Gizmo shouted in shock as Batman and Nightwing looked to one another and then the mass of battling Yokai. Waiting for the Kamaitachi to approach them, Batman and Nightwing then split up, the Kamaitachi breaking into teams of three and following them. Running down the street on opposite sides, the Dynamic-Duo then ran towards one another, only to flip forward, kick off of one another's feet and over the Kamaitachi, causing them to slam into one another. Landing behind the Kamaitachi, the Dynamic duo then made their way towards the rest of them.

"Wow! You two are just awesome when you work together!" Dani noted while Nightwing scowled and Batman merely frowned, only for both to turn as the Kamaitachi shrieked, then started to merge together.

"Shit, why do they all have to mix together?" Cyborg wondered tiredly before a seven-foot tall, six-tailed weasel with glowing red eyes and long scythe like claws suddenly roared to life, a medallion around its neck with the Kanji for "Rokubi"…

"Uh, maybe we should start running again…" Dani suddenly stated and rather than talk, the bulk of the group just started to run away, the Nekomata, Tanuki, and Karasu-Tengu seeing the new Rokubi-no-Kamaitachi and moving passed it, the group of Yokai rushing after the mass of "Heroes".

Nearby, Billy Numerous is with Kid-Wykkyd, both are hiding from the five winged-dogs. Currently, the only hiding spot they could find was moving beneath some rubble downwind of the winged-dogs, clearly not the best thing they could've done, but they didn't have very many options. "Oh this is one might fine pickle we're in this time, eh Billy?" One of them asked and his clone nodded his head in agreement.

"I do believe y'all are right on that Billy." The clone agreed as Kid looked out from their rather poor hiding spot and twitched when he saw the Winged-Dogs were heading their way. However before the dogs could move, an enormous spider-woman fell on top of them from the side. Blinking in surprise, Kid then watched as Blackfire flew into view with Kid-Flash zipping towards them.

"You guys need a hand?" KF questioned and Kid nodded his head, then grabbed Billy and pulled him out of their poor hiding spot.

"Those two always need help… no wait, Billy does, while Kid is at least semi-useful." Blackfire replied while casually flying over to them, only for the four teens to blink when they heard the dogs start snarling. Turning back towards the dogs they then watched as the body of the Spider-Woman was thrown away, the many dogs having merged together into one massive dog. The Dog was approximately eight feet tall, pure white fur with two magnificent wings on its back, five long tails flowing from its backside, two glowing crimson red eyes, and a medallion around its neck with the Kanji for "Gobi"…

"Well that can't be good…" Billy noticed and got looks from Kid, KF, and Blackfire for the obvious statement. The Gobi then lunged forward, roaring out loudly as it jumped at them with its mouth wide open. Grumbling under her breath, Blackfire grabbed Billy and Kid-Flash and flew out of the way while Kid whisked his cape over his form, vanishing into the shadows as he did. Landing on top of Billy's clone with a growl, the enormous Gobi looked around before growling as it saw Kid reappear on top of a building, Blackfire hovering over it.

"Alright, Kid-Flash I have an idea so listen." Blackfire ordered and Kid-Flash nodded his head while the Gobi flapped its wings and rose up into the sky, Billy's eyes widening as it did so.

"Uh… I don't mean to rain on y'alls parade, but that thing is heading this way!" Billy shouted and Kid-Flash nodded his head to Blackfire as she put him down and the Gobi lunged at them. Quickly moving down to the ground, Kid-Flash then started running around in circles, causing a miniature Tornado to form. Smirking as the Gobi moved around it, Blackfire fired her eyebeams at the beast, the energy slamming into its chest and throwing it back and into the Tornado. The Tornado spun the Gobi around, only for Kid-Flash to stop and then quickly run back to Blackfire. As the Tornado dispersed, the Gobi yelped before falling and slamming into the ground below.

"Alright, now lets get out of here while its disorientated!" Blackfire stated while grabbing Kid-Flash and flying away, Kid-Wykkyd rolling his eyes as he flowed into his cape and vanished into the shadows. Shaking its head, the Gobi growled while climbing up on top of the building and looked all around for the teens. Sniffing the air, the Gobi then narrowed its eyes before jumping from building to building, seeking out the teens…

As it did, Blackfire and her group entered into the same building as BB and Duela. However, what they found was Duela laughing with several of the Amanojaku, most of the Imps playing a slow slightly drunken tune while BB looked uncomfortable with the whole thing. However upon seeing them, the green teen jumped up and ran over to them, hugging Blackfire around the waist. "Oh dude you have no idea how glad I am to see you! Duela got all those Imp things drunk on Sake'!" BB exclaimed and the others looked to where Duela was laughing to herself with both her arms over an Amanojaku's shoulders…

"What's sad is, I expected as much from her…" Kid-Flash said and Billy and Blackfire both nodded their heads in agreement with the red haired Titan. Soon after, Kid-Wykkyd formed out of the shadows and then raised a brow upon seeing Duela with the Amanojaku.

"Don' ask Kid, just… don't ask." Billy pleaded with a shake of his head and Kid wisely decided to take his advice while KF turned and looked outside.

"Beast-Boy have you seen any of the others?" Kid-Flash questioned of his green-furred teammate and BB shook his head.

"No dude, before you guys showed up I was starting to think I was stuck with Duela and those things." BB replied while Kid-Wykkyd walked over to the group of Amanojaku, grabbed Duela, and then dragged her away from the Sake' drinking Yokai.

"Aww… and I was having fun…" Duela complained before hiccupping in a drunken fashion, smiling goofily as well. "Bye-bye guys!" Duela exclaimed while waving to the Amanojaku, the Yokai drunkenly waving back and replying in Japanese to the red haired clown-girl, then returned to their drunken song.

"Ugh… as if a normal Duela wasn't bad, a drunken Duela is probably even worse!" Blackfire grumbled with a shake of her head and Kid-Flash nodded his head in agreement with her, BB looking from them to the clearly drunken clown girl for a moment before sighing.

"Well look at it this way, at least those dudes don't want to eat us or anything." BB noted while motioning over to the Drunken-Amanojaku, the other teens instantly nodding in agreement with him.

"Now we should go out and find the others. Maybe then we can…" Blackfire started to suggest, only for Starfire and Donna to crash through the roof, the Youko and Kiko falling with them. Roaring out, the girls managed to twist the Kitsune onto their backs, causing them to slam into the ground back first. Getting up, the both then walked away from the Kitsune while the Kuuko and Ravager fought their way into the building. Flipping back, Ravager evaded the Kuuko's blades and landed on top of one of the larger Amanojaku, the Imp looking up in confusion even as Ravager flipped over the Kuuko and kicked it into them.

Rolling back for a moment, the Kuuko soon came out of the roll and seemed to vanish into thin air, Ravager rolling her eyes as it did. Closing her sole eye, Ravager then dodged and evaded all of the Kuuko's attacks before finally kicking the Kitsune in the chin. Stumbling back for a moment, the Kuuko then shook its head and watched as Ravager grabbed hold of its fur and then rolled back and kicked it onto the other two Kitsune to the side. Rolling onto her feet, Ravager then twirled her blades in hand before sheathing them on her back in one fluid motion.

Upon seeing the act, those Amanojaku still standing began to clap as if impressed by the action. Blinking in surprise, Ravager looked around before giving an overdramatic bow to the Amanojaku and then walked over to the rest of the teens. "So, anyone else find these poor excuses for monsters too easy to fight, or is it just me?" Ravager questioned while crossing her arms, only for a roar to sound out as the Gobi knocked the roof down and landed on top of the Amanojaku.

"It's just you…" Blackfire replied and Starfire groaned upon seeing the five-tailed winged-dog heading towards them.

"Please, must we fight the numerous enormous animal with the many tails? I have found them most annoying to do battle with and would greatly prefer it if we were to do the running away…" Starfire pleaded of the others, BB all too happy to agree with her, and Donna groaning as she rubbed a cut at her side.

"I hate to say it but I don't think even all of us working together are a match for this many of them." Donna added while looking around the room, from the Kiko, to the Kuuko, then the Youko, over to the Gobi, and then finally to the Ten Amanojaku… and then palmed her face as the Jorogumo from earlier made its way into the building as well. "How many of these creatures are there!" Donna demanded and Kid-Wykkyd didn't wait for a decision, instead he swung his cape around the entire group, swallowing them all into the shadows as the Yokai looked on in surprise.

Growling for a moment, the Gobi then roared and rammed its way through the walls of the building. The three Kitsune and the Jorogumo then joined the Gobi in the hunt for the teens. Hanging back for a moment, the Amanojaku looked to one another, then to the empty Sake' bottle they had… The Amanojaku then started to shout loudly at one another before finally one said something to the others. Listening to it for a moment the Amanojaku all nodded soon after before quickly rushing after the other Yokai so they could find some more Sake'…

Meanwhile, Kid-Wykkyd reformed himself and the others on the ground, Batman, Nightwing, and the rest of the group soon running into them. As the two groups collided, Jinx managed to pull herself out of it all and shook her head for a moment. "Ugh… please tell me we've finally lost all those killer Yokai?" She pleaded only to hear a loud roar, then looked up and widened her eyes as she saw the Gobi, three Kitsune, and Jorogumo heading their way.

"That answer your fucking question!" Gizmo demanded while looking on with her, Kid-Flash spotting the other group of Yokai, the Tanuki, Nekomata, and Karasu-Tengu, thus gulped.

"Uh Blackfire, we have at least six more of those things heading from the other side…" Kid-Flash noted aloud and Blackfire mentally cursed while she, Starfire, and Donna pushed the others off of themselves, Mammoth, Cyborg and Private doing so as well as they all managed to separate and went back to back in a large circle as the Yokai started to circle around them.

"Dude, I so don't like these odds…" BB stated while looking around towards the many Yokai that had managed to surround them.

"Hey, is it just me or are we missing someone?" Dani then asked while looking around and both Batman and Shayera's eyes widened.

"Where are Etrigan and Dr. Fate?" Shayera demanded and eight dragon-heads suddenly burst out from a nearby building as if in answer. Looking on with wide eyes as the heads weaved and slithered around one another, the large group then watched as it looked down at all of them, even the Yokai, with hunger in its sixteen blood red eyes.

"Get down!" Batman called out loudly and the group did so more on reflex than anything else as the Dragon-heads lunged down, easily snapping up the Yokai into their jaws before devouring them all whole. Looking up as the enormous beast even devoured the Kitsune, the group of "Heroes" then watched, as its tails seemed to come out of the building across from its heads, Etrigan and Dr. Fate before thrown out of a building before rolling into a skid across the pavement.

"Etrigan! Dr. Fate!" Shayera cried as she rushed over to the two and helped Dr. Fate up to his feet, Etrigan groaning as he got up on his own power. Looking over the two injured heroes, Shayera then looked up towards the eight dragons with wide eyes.

"Oh we are so dead!" Mammoth exclaimed as the eight dragons suddenly twisted and spiraled around one another. Soon enough the eight dragons merged together, forming an enormous eight branched dragon, one of its many heads having a familiar circular gem with the Kanji for "Hachibi" within it.

"Oh man, its _another_ giant snake that looks like a Hydra!" BB complained loudly while Batman frowned and backed up slowly from the beast even as it began to crack its eight necks and then looked down at them darkly.

"What is that thing?" Shayera demanded while looking up towards the gigantic creature and Dr. Fate looked up with her weakly, and then groaned while holding his injured ribs.

"That would be the true Yamata no Orochi… a fierce Water-Dragon and not a snake as is the common misconception with this particular beast." Dr. Fate replied and the Titans and Tartarus grimaced, remembering how Orochimaru had changed into a similar creature that had actually been a snake. However, they then looked back to the Yamata no Orochi, as it reared back its eight heads then launched them forward, roaring loudly and sending shockwaves towards the group of "Heroes".

"Dude!" BB exclaimed loudly as he and the others struggled to stand from the sonic waves being produced by the enormous branched dragon. However, just as the sonic-waves were becoming too much for them, a familiar Raven with three talons swooped down and flapped its wings, creating a gust to push back the Orochi. Growling angrily, the multi-headed beast then lunged towards the Raven, only for it to quickly fly out of the way while the heroes look up towards it.

"Uh, is that good or bad?" Seemore questioned as the Raven flew around the Yamata-no-orochi's heads, causing them to bite into one another.

"Good, very good. That is Yatagarasu, a fabled Raven with three legs. It's also about as far from being a demon as they come, it's a holy beast and it looks like it's helping us for the moment." Batman replied while watching Yatagarasu keep the Yamata no Orochi busy.

"At least we're getting some amount of help from the divine…" Jinx muttered to herself and then watched a furious Yamata-no-Orochi glare down at them.

"Oh I really don't like that look in its eyes." Dani stated mostly to herself before the Orochi inhaled deeply and then exhaled a jet of Foxfire towards the "Heroes". However, Yatagarasu quickly flew in front of them, flapping its wings rapidly and creating a gust of wind to keep the flames back. Soon finished, the bird flew back into the air and drew the Orochi's attention away from the "Heroes" once more.

"We have to think of some way to take this thing down and fast! That bird can only distract this thing for so long!" Cyborg noted aloud while watching Yatagarasu literally fly circles around the Orochi and Nightwing nodded in agreement with his second in command.

"I'm all for saving the bird at some point, but for now can we just try and survive this encounter!" Jinx demanded and the group quickly scattered as the Orochi ripped its way through the building it'd been within, its numerous heads lashing out and trying to gobble up the large group of "Heroes" and Yatagarasy whole, while the Juubi watched on in the distance with clear amusement in its eyes…

(Depths of Hell…)

Orochimaru walked beside of Slade as he journeyed deeper and deeper into the depths, his body clearly weakening the further in they went. _'Must be a side-effect of his pseudo immortality.'_ The pale-skinned man mused to himself with an amused smirk, arms crossed behind his back as Slade leaned heavily into the wall at the side. Panting slightly as they came to a set of stairs, Slade looked down and narrowed his sole burning red eye onto a massive pair of double-doors with a familiar S shaped rune emblazoned on the front of it.

The being was heavily built and stood to at least seven feet tall with pale white skin with noticeable cracks in it, a bright red and very familiar S shaped rune seemingly carved into its chest, a metal helmet completely covered its head and neck from view and greatly resembled an executioners hood, while a double-bladed ax is clutched in its right hand, steel bangles covering its wrists and half of its forearms, a steel cod-piece covering its groan with thick black leather pants, and finally are a pair of steel boots covering its feet and most of its legs.

"_**The Hollow Journey of your fated vessel ends here."**_ Came a cold, metallic voice from the being as he stood impassively before the doorway, Slade and Orochimaru approaching even as he did. _**"What you seek, cannot be reclaimed."**_ The being then stated as Slade approached across a bridge and stood before him.

"_**Perhaps."**_ He admitted while placing his mask back onto his skeletal face and glared at the being darkly. "But its not like I have anything left to loose." Slade replied while the being uttered nary another word, twisting its ax-staff into position as Slade lunged forward. Throwing a punch at the being, Slade then grunted as he blocked it and sent him flying back in a single fluid motion, Orochimaru watching on with curiosity. Sliding back, Slade quickly looked up and his single eye widened as "The Guardian" raised his ax up.

Mentally cursing, Slade rolled out of the way of the battle-ax before quickly looking over to an amused Orochimaru. Coming to a stop, Slade reached into his belt and pulled out his collapsible staff and extended it to its maximum length. Lunging at the Guardian, Slade twisted into a swing with the staff, only for the Guardian to easily block his attack and counter with a steel boot to his skull. Stalking towards the undead madman impassively, The Guardian then swung his Battle-Ax at the man. Cursing under his breath, Slade rolled to the side before turning to glare at Orochimaru.

"Didn't you come down here to help me?" He demanded in a low hiss before turning back towards the Guardian and using his staff to block another swing from his staff. Chuckling lightly, Orochimaru merely grinned at Slade for a moment before crossing his arms.

"Yes, but you seemed to have everything under control on your end…" The Serpentine man replied and Slade twitched before kicking the Guardian back and then backpedaling away from him.

"Then think of this, should I die, you'll never gain what I promised you…" Slade reminded and Orochimaru's eyes suddenly hardened, a cold look appearing in his golden amber orbs as they narrowed on The Guardian dangerously. Blurring into movement, Orochimaru slammed a palm into the Guardian's chest, sending him skidding back to the point he had to use his Battle-Ax to slow down. Cracking his neck, Orochimaru then pulled two Kunai from his clothes and grinned towards the Guardian dangerously.

"Now I'm afraid I cannot allow you to have this man, he is going to be very useful in my endeavors to reach immortality… and as such, I'm afraid you'll have to go." Orochimaru stated before blowing out his breath, wind forming along his twin Kunai and forming two Scimitar-esque blades. Grunting for a moment, the Guardian looked towards Orochimaru and a deep grumble echoed from beneath its helm.

"_**So it is you, Orochimaru, the same man who has escaped The Shinigami innumerous times in the past… your head shall make for a fine trophy…"**_ The Guardian noted ominously as he approached Orochimaru, the serpent-eyed man merely grinning as he crouched down, Slade reaching into his belt for something as they both prepared for battle…

(Jump-City…)

The "Heroes" fighting against the evil Juubi, were suddenly thrown back as the Yamata-no-Orochi ripped and tore its way through yet another building. Roaring loudly, the legendary dragon then lunged down at the Titans, biting and snapping at them even as they barely evaded being eaten alive. BB panted heavily with wide eyes as the Orochi loomed over them all ominously. "Dude, what does it take to kill this thing!" BB demanded as the Orochi reared all eight of its heads back before exhuming a mass of purple flames towards the group of teens yet again.

Cursing, the groups ran out of the way of the flames, Donna flying with Shayera through the sky towards the beast. Dodging around one of its many heads, Shayera activated her mace before roaring out as she slammed it into the beasts rubbed raw underside. The head screeched loudly in pain, then rammed forward, knocking Shayera out of the sky where Starfire quickly caught her. Roaring out in fury, the Orochi then twisted its entire body around, its tails slamming into the ground and nearly the rest of them as well.

Cursing lightly, Nightwing fired a grapple to get away, those who could fly carrying those who couldn't in order to avoid being crushed by the enormous dragon. Turning and looking towards the Orochi, Cyborg then blinked when he saw the three-legged bird from earlier, flying towards the Orochi bravely. As it approached the Orochi, Yatagarasu suddenly flapped its wings, rising up into the air and then opened its wings and began to beat them rapidly, sending a gale down towards the Orochi. The enormous dragon roared out as the wind pushed it back, then tried to breath more fire out towards Yatagarasu, only for it to flow back onto it, burning it instead.

"I don't know how to kill it, but it's sure nice to have a little help from that bird up there…" Cyborg noted as the Yatagarasu then swooped down, ducking under and around the beast's many heads. Twisting around with surprising grace, the bird caused several of the heads to bite into one another, disorientating them as it flapped its wings and quickly rose back into the sky. Grinning at the opening this provided Cyborg fired his Sonic-Cannon, the beam from the weapon slamming into the rubbed raw underside of the Orochi. Seeing what he was doing, the others with a long-range attack quickly followed suit, firing into the rubbed raw underside of the beast.

Roaring out in pain, the Orochi's heads and tails suddenly thrashed all about, lashing out and knocking buildings down and causing the "Heroes" to move out of its way. "Cyborg, don't do that…" Nightwing grumbled as a now completely pissed off Orochi lunged forward, unleashing a mighty roar that threw them all back. Skidding to a halt, the "Heroes" slowly got up while the Orochi lunged at them, its body slithering and coiling around buildings, crushing them under its sheer weight. Groaning lightly, Jinx shook her head and looked up as one of the Orochi's heads spotted them and narrowed its eyes.

"Shit!" She exclaimed loudly, she and the others quickly running as the head came down and bit a chunk out of the ground. "How the hell are we going to stop this thing?" She then demanded, Batman frowning as he looked to where the Orochi was now knocking down buildings in an attempt to find them.

"Dude, how did they stop this thing in old legends?" BB suddenly asked while the Orochi looked for them and Batman sighed for a moment.

"They made a large fence around the orochi before making eight gates, at each gate they formed a platform and placed wine vats on each of them. After that they filled the vats with a specially refined Sake. Upon drinking it, the Orochi got so drunk that all eight heads passed out and Susanoo, god of the seas and storms, cut it into pieces, finding the Kusanagi no Tsurugi within it's middle tail." Batman replied while the Orochi continued to search for them around the city, Donna blinking before rolling her eyes.

"Unfortunately, we don't have any alcohol on us… well, besides Duela." Donna noted while giving a look to the clown girl, Duela blinking for a moment before shrugging her shoulders.

"Sorry, the Ama-no-jaku drank it all." She explained and Nightwing pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment.

"We know Duela, but Batman also said that it was specially refined, and last I checked none of us could do anything like refine sake…" Nightwing reminded while the Orochi knocked down another building, Dr. Fate frowning in thought before looking to Jinx strangely.

"We can't get it drunk but perhaps we could give it a little Bad Luck instead." Dr. Fate mused aloud and Jinx blinked for a moment before glaring at the helmeted man.

"Are you insane! That thing is enormous, I've never used my powers on something that big before, for all I know it'll come crashing down on top of us!" Jinx growled at the man and he held up his hands in a placating manner.

"Yes I know, but it's also our only option at this point. We can't directly attack it, so perhaps your bad-luck powers will cause it to partially fall into the sewers, this would hopefully disorientate it long enough for us to come up with a more suitable counter attack." Dr. Fate replied while turning and looking to where the Orochi was standing, Jinx muttering something under her breath as Gizmo gave her a look.

"Think of it like this bitch, do it, or we're all dead anyways!" The Tiny-Terror exclaimed with Mammoth nodding his head, the rosette blowing into her bangs and crossing her arms over her chest.

"Fine… but I want it on the record I'm doing this under extreme protest!" Jinx shouted behind her as she walked to the side and then peered around the corner to where the Orochi was slithering around looking for them. "I hate my job…" Jinx mumbled under her breath as she allowed her Hex-Bolts to form around her arms, and then ducked out and sent a massive wave of pink-energy flowing towards the enormous dragon. As it did, the energy passed under the Orochi, and then suddenly the ground began to crack before they suddenly gave way, caving in on the beast.

Blinking as it worked, Jinx then widened her eyes as all of the streets started to crack. "Dammit! The one time I have bad-luck as well just had to be now!" She exclaimed while running back, away from the crack as the ground began to cave in all over the city. Seeing the others, Jinx didn't stop running only shouting a quick warning as she passed them.

"What'd she say, Billy?" Seemore suddenly questioned only for Kid-Wykkyd to bolt as well, the Titans and other "Heroes" looking to see the ground caving in nearby…

"Oh that's simple, Billy… RUN!" Billy exclaimed while running away, followed by the rest of the group, those who could fly picking up the slower members and moving above the collapsing ground. Soon reaching a building, the group entered and then looked outside, Jinx wincing as a building fell on top of the Orochi…

"_This_ is why I say I'm bad luck…" Jinx suddenly offered with a frown across her face, her eyes set in an annoyed glare at the scene outside and none of the heroes felt the need to correct her as they could see her point.

"Dude! How'd you do all this damage anyways? I thought you knew how to limit your powers or something…" BB questioned and Jinx looked to the brightly glowing "String of Beads" on her arm for a moment then to the massive amount of damage outside. _'My powers couldn't cause this kind of damage normally… well, unless it was on Friday the Thirteenth, but it's the tenth, so something else is going on here.'_ Jinx thought to herself then glared at the "String of Beads" darkly. _'And something tells me you're the cause of this.'_ She added mentally while looking at it, then looked up to see BB and her own team looking at her for an explanation.

"I don't know…" Jinx replied flatly while glaring at the green teen pointedly and Nightwing palmed his face, Cyborg snickering to himself at the sight. Blowing into her bangs, Dani then flew to the side and saw Ravager watching the Orochi intently.

"Hey, I don't think we've got time for this little chat, the Orochi's thrashing around like its in pain." Ravager suddenly called out, Dani tilting her head before flying through a wall and looking towards the beast. The Orochi is indeed thrashing around, its many heads and tails all twisting and coiling around before slamming into buildings, purple flames arching from its eight mouths as if it was in an unbearable amount of pain. Frowning to herself for a moment, Dani quickly flew inside and landed beside of Jinx.

"Ravager's right, that thing really does look like it's in some kind of pain." Dani confirmed and Batman frowned deeply, wondering what could be hurting the Orochi for only a moment before his eyes widened.

"We need to get over there, now!" Batman declared while running out of the building, followed by the rest of the group. As they exited they saw the Orochi, its many heads and tails still lashing out at nothing before it shrieked loudly. Batman frowned as it did and the others prepared for some kind of attack, however instead, a bright glow came from the area where it's many necks and tails connected together.

"What the hell is going on with this thing now?" Cyborg demanded and Batman narrowed his eyes, Etrigan shivering as he had a good idea, and Dr. Fate floating into the air while trying to calm himself down.

"In ancient Japanese Folklore, Kitsune could survive through almost anything, even being eaten alive wouldn't kill them… so I believe those Kitsune the beast devoured, are essentially coming back to life by ripping their way out of the Orochi." Dr. Fate explained with worry clear in his tone, only for all to go silent for a moment as the Orochi lifted its eight heads high into the air in a perfect circle.

"Unfortunately, this is much worse… thus far all the creatures that the Juubi created have shown an ability to merge with each other… and the Orochi devoured the last remaining Kitsune alive all at the same time. This isn't a few Kitsune anymore…" Batman started to explain, only for nine golden tails to suddenly rip their way out of the Orochi's body, and then twisted around slicing the enormous dragon into dozens of pieces. As soon as that was done, blood and gore were sent flying around, and a ball of brilliant golden light shot out of the Orochi's Remains.

The sphere of light zipped too and fro for a moment before suddenly slamming into the ground. The ground buckled under the orb of light as nine long and thin golden furred tails suddenly fanned out from the sphere. Soon the form of a six-foot tall golden furred fox resided where the sphere had been, standing on all fours, followed the tails, purple Fox-Fire flowing up over its lower legs and paws, three spikes of fur flowing back from its shoulders, long rabbit like ears curving from its head, and an ivory fox shaped mask over its face with a crimson smile on its lips, crimson lines over its eyes, and two grey Tomoe marks at its brow, the Kanji for "Tenko (Heavenly-Fox)" upon its brow.

The group looked on in shock as the beast shook the blood from its brilliant coat of golden fur then reared its head back and screeched heavenward. Narrowing his eyes at the sight of the beast, Batman pulled a Batarang into either hand while crouching back. "It's one Kyuubi now." Batman stated even as a grin seemed to form over the mask on the Kyuubi, its brilliant crimson red eyes snapping open and glowing ominously as it gazed towards the gathered heroes.

"Dudes… we are so dead…" BB suddenly stated while looking at the newly formed Kyuubi with wide eyes, no one moving to disagree with him as the Kyuubi lunged towards them, purple flames launching forward from its tails towards them…

(?)

Naruto twitched as he found himself, both sides of Raven, and Itachi walking up an enormous Spiral-Staircase. On Naruto's back, rests the Human Half of Raven, the child like version of her wrapping her arms around his neck while he kept her up with his free arm. Mentally sighing as he remembered the time in his head where he'd been forced to climb an enormous tower, Naruto lightly tapped his shoulder with the staff. "I really hate stairs!" The blond complained loudly, a scowl on his face even as he carried the battle staff from before.

"**Quit complaining, we could have to fight dozens of monsters instead of climbing a bunch of stairs, so all and all, this isn't so horrible."** The Demon-Raven noted aloud, Itachi nodding his head in silent agreement with the violet haired girl while Naruto muttered something under his breath, then stopped when they reached the top of the stairs and frowned, an ominous feeling coming from the hallway ahead of them.

"Anyone else just get the feeling that someone or something is walking over their grave?" Naruto questioned and Itachi narrowed his eyes as glowing spheres of light floated passed them and down the hall.

"Pretty…" The Young-Raven said as she saw the glowing spheres then reached out for one and giggled as it flowed down her arm for a moment, and then began on its trek down the hall once more. "They're like fluffy little clouds." She observed while the glowing spheres floated away, Itachi closing his eyes for a moment before sighing.

"They are called, Hitodama… (Human Souls)" Itachi mumbled while watching the Hitodama float down the hall towards a large doorway.

"Um, I don't think this is a good idea…" The Human-Raven suddenly noted from on Naruto's back, the blond smirking in response.

"Don't worry Kara-Chan, as long as I'm here everything will be just fine." Naruto assured before walking down the hall with Itachi at his side, The Demon-Raven looking to the walls with a frown on her face.

"**What are all these weird Symbols? And for that matter, what part of hell are we in? I've explored quite a bit and I've still never seen anything like this before."** The Demoness questioned as they wandered down the hall, Naruto looking at the symbols and frowning when he saw they were Japanese Kanji.

"Those are Japanese Kanji, and they say, "Abandon all hope, ye who enter this place"." Naruto replied and then frowned at the ominous warning that the walls gave to them all. Hearing the explanation made a smirk cross The Demon-Raven's lips as she could easily think of another place with that warning up above.

"**Oh, so its like the warning on the Gates to hell. Okay."** The Demoness said with a nod of her head, the Human-Raven looking around worriedly while Naruto rolled his eyes and then stopped when they came to a door. The door was made completely out of stone, a strange hole in the center of it which the Hitodama flowed into and then through.

"Looks like a keyhole of some kind…" Naruto mumbled to himself as he looked at the hole, then placed the top end of the staff towards it. "Too big…" He mumbled and twisted the staff around and placed its bottom end towards the hole, only to frown. "Too small…" He stated and then had an idea, leaning the Staff against the wall to his side he pulled the Kusanagi free and stabbed it into the hole as far as he could, then twisted it around, hearing a click as the door slowly slid apart. "Heh, just right." Naruto said to himself as he sheathed the Kusanagi once more and walked passed the doors.

Walking passed the door, Naruto then blinked when he saw a statue of a man in the center of a large room, Hitodama floating all around. The statue was of a man with a Shakujo in one hand, he was knelt down on one knee and with his free hand making what Naruto guessed was supposed to be a Hand Seal, with a somewhat familiar looking sword sheathed on his back. Frowning for a moment, Naruto tilted his head as he gazed towards the statue. "Am I the only one who thinks this guy looks familiar?" Naruto suddenly questioned and Itachi silently shook his head as he walked forward, almost in reverence.

"Look here Naruto-Kun…" Itachi urged while looking at something below the odd statue and Naruto walked over to them man and raised a brow when he saw several Kanji were written on its base.

"Ware annei chitsujo o nasu mono." Naruto read aloud and caused both sides of Raven to look at him strangely.

"**And just what does that mean then?"** The Demon-Raven questioned and a small smile suddenly graced Itachi's lips.

"I am the one who will establish peace and order." Itachi replied while gazing up at the Statue, Naruto frowning as he recognized those words.

"A quote from the Rikudo-Sennin." Naruto noted while looking at the statue silently, frowning only slightly as he did so.

Sadly however, time had worn and torn the large statue, its face rubbed down and only the barest hints of horn like spikes where its forehead was, six Magatama jewels around its neck were still visible, though only just barely, and its clothes looked somewhat odd for an old time Sage to be wearing, as they seemed like battle garb to him, however even that was hard to tell with how worn and torn the clearly ancient statue had become. "Dammit, and here I was thinking I'd finally be able to see what this guy looked like!" Naruto complained with a scowl, Itachi shaking his head as he looked to the statue of the Sage for only a moment longer.

"Regardless Naruto-Kun, we need to press forward and find a way out of here." Itachi reminded the blond haired youth and Naruto nodded his head in agreement before looking around the rest of the room. It was a pretty standard looking room, it was circular with the Hitodama floating around it, four doors cut out of the walls all around it, and what looked like massive archways rising up to a single point above them.

"**Great four doors and no way to know which one is the right way out of here."** The Demon-Raven noted while looking around and Naruto frowned for a moment to himself, then looked to the Shakujo in his hand before clicking his tongue.

"Well. I did meet a priest when I was traveling with Ero-Sennin, and he had a real simple trick to choosing which way to go whenever he hit a crossroads." Naruto offered and got looks from both of the Ravens and Itachi. "Just humor me." Naruto then added as he put the bottom tip of the Shakujo to the ground and then breathed inward. Muttering something under his breath he let go of the staff and opened one eye to watch it. The staff tilted for a moment before falling towards the door to the right, where the Hitodama seemed to be avoiding like the plague…

"Well I guess we go…" Itachi started to say only for Naruto to move the staff with his foot towards the door with Hitodama flowing into it…

"Devine intervention." The blond declared while kicking the staff up and walked towards the door, an amused Demon-Raven following him.

"**This guy sounds like my kind of priest."** She noted aloud while Itachi mumbled something while rubbing his face and following the two.

"Was all that really necessary? And if it pointed that way, why are we going this way?" Young Raven asked Naruto and he nodded his head with a smirk.

"Of course it was. And we aren't going that way cause whenever we actually followed that Lecherous Priest's directions, we somehow either ended up at a Brothel… or attacked by pissed off husbands, though more often than not it was a brothel. Hence why Ero-Sennin ultimately insisted that we stay with the guy for almost six months…" Naruto replied with a flat expression on his face and the Demon-Raven blinked before laughing to herself and Itachi raised a brow at that.

"**Like I said before, sounds like my kind of priest!"** The Demon-Raven declared and Naruto rolled his eyes, shaking his head as he remembered all the trouble he, Jiraiya, and "Miroku" had gotten into back in the good old days when he was still training with the old pervert… and also remembered how often he'd ended up dragging both men around after a particularly harsh beating from pissed off women, for Jiraiya peeking on them, and Miroku's "idle hands" getting the better of him…

"What's a Brothel?" The Young-Raven suddenly asked innocently and Naruto blinked before grinning nervously.

"I'll tell you when you get older…" Naruto replied before shivering in dread at the thought of that conversation. "And hope you don't kill me for knowing…" He added while the Demon-Raven watched him with clear amusement in her four glowing eyes.

"**Sounds like a fun explanation to me, mind if I help Love? We could even give a demonstration."** The Demoness noted aloud and the Young-Raven tilted her head in confusion as Naruto turned several shades of red.

"Have you no shame? She's a child for Amaterasu's sake!" He demanded of the demoness and she merely rolled her eyes while smirking towards the blond.

"**No."** She replied and Naruto hung his head while walking down the hall he'd chosen with the demoness and Itachi.

"Of course you don't." Naruto said with a shake of his head as he continued to walk deeper down the tunnel, then stopped when he saw another set of stairs and mentally groaned. "Of course it had to be even more stairs…" The blond grumbled to himself as he started up the stairs, the Young-Raven giggling once more because she thought that he was acting silly than anything else. Coming up the stairs, Naruto soon noticed a haze of fog and mist and blinked before looking up with a frown. They soon came to a final doorway blocked by a massive boulder that had Shimenara (Enclosing Rope) with Shide (Zigzag Paper Streamers) coming off of it, and Naruto looked to Itachi and Demon-Raven warily.

"Am I the only one who has a bad feeling about this?" Naruto asked the two seriously, The Demon-Raven shaking her head as she felt like someone was walking over her grave. Itachi however didn't bother to answer, instead moving to the side of the boulder and grunting as he tried to push it out of the way. Rolling his eyes, Naruto picked the Young-Raven off of his back and handed her over to her demon self before helping Itachi with the boulder. Gritting his teeth, Naruto pushed some Chakra into his legs and arms as he pushed with Itachi, finally causing the boulder to move to the side.

Exhaling a breath once they were finished, Naruto then blinked as Itachi unsheathed his Ninjatou and walked into the room with them in hand. "Hey!" Naruto shouted at the man before quickly rushing after him, the Demon-Raven following him while muttering something. However as soon as they entered the room, Naruto felt his eyes widen as a blinding light temporarily blocked his and both forms of Raven's view.

Soon opening his eyes, Naruto looked around and was shocked to find himself standing within an area almost reminiscent of a morbid graveyard. What was stranger to the blond was that it vaguely resembled a graveyard from Japan, and weirder still, that it greatly resembled a painting he'd seen as a child, one of the "Land of the Underworld" Yomi-no-Kuni. Shaking his head, Naruto walked through a dark fog that covered everything, even as Hitodama floated around gravestones embedded in the ground and gave off an eerie glow, ancient bones littering the ground as well as old barren trees. Upon looking to the sky, Naruto wasn't surprised to see that it was completely dark, no sign of clouds a sun or even a moon.

"**I've never been to this place before either…"** The Demon-Raven noted as she entered into the strange realm, her younger self hanging onto her and whimpering in fear as she looked all around herself.

"Th-this place is s-scary…" She responded while burying her face into her Demonic-Half's chest, the Demoness frowning as she did so.

"**How were you and I ever the same person?"** She demanded while shaking her head slowly, Naruto frowning as he came to a stop where several bones had been torn apart and left in tattered pieces.

"Itachi came through here, but why did he start slicing up old bones?" Naruto wondered to himself before blinking and placing a hand to his ear. "Hey, Naraku-Hime, do you here that ringing?" Naruto asked and saw her blink for a moment, ceasing a glare aimed at her human half before shaking her head. "Okay… so it's just me." Naruto said to himself before looking down as he saw several bones rolling together and then groaned aloud while palming his face. "Oh shit, a Gashadokuro (Creaking-Skull)…" He muttered while flipping back as an enormous skeletal hand reached out of the ground and nearly grabbed hold of him.

Frowning to himself, Naruto pulled the Kusanagi from his back, his Shakujo held in his opposite hand. As he stood his ground, Raven's Demonic-Side grinned and began to float off the ground to watch the show, her human-half pulling her cloak up over her head and trying her best to become invisible in her demonic sides arms. Meanwhile, a second enormous skeletal hand suddenly reached out of the ground, both moving to the side and lifting the upper torso of an equally enormous human skeleton from the ground, flaming red spheres of light inhabiting its eye-sockets, and unusually sharp teeth.

"**Okay, what kind of monster is that? I mean c'mon, a giant skeleton, is that all they could come up with?"** The Demon-Raven suddenly questioned while shaking her head as she looked towards the enormous skeleton, causing it to glare down at her.

"Gashadokuro or Creaking-Skull, they are the bones of those who died of starvation brought together. Upon awakening they reach out for any humans they see and bite their heads off unless they can get away quickly enough." Naruto replied with a frown as the Gashadokuro reached out for him once more, the blond frowning as he merely lifted up the Kusanagi in a lightning fast swing, sending a wave of wind that completely severed its right arm from its body. "Sadly for it, my people never found them all that dangerous, they make this ringing sound in your ears when they start to appear and we're fast enough to evade them." Naruto added as he then twisted around, extending the blade of the Kusanagi and cutting the giant skeleton in half.

However, its left arm then reached out for him, Naruto pinching the bridge of his nose even as he twisted around, swinging the Kusanagi and lopping that arm off as well. Muttering something under his breath afterwards, Naruto then lifted the Kusanagi, extended its blade and cut the Gashadokuro completely in half, right down the center of its body. The Gashadokuro fell to pieces once he had, both halves falling to the side as several Hitodama began to flow out of its destroyed form. Shaking his head, Naruto then sheathed the Kusanagi on his back and walked further into the strange Graveyard, The Demon-Raven following behind him with her Human-Half in her arms.

"**You seemed to finish that monster fairly quickly… not having any fun killing these things down here?"** The Demoness questioned with a raised brow and Naruto shook his head while looking around warily.

"No. I'm just more cautious down here cause I feel like I'm walking over my grave." Naruto replied before walking deeper into the strange "Land of The Dead" as he was mentally calling it, The Demon-Raven casually following behind him while looking around as well. Finally spotting Itachi, The Demon-Raven smirked before tapping Naruto's shoulder and pointing to the man.

"**Look, there's the guy who took your swords."** She then stated with a smirk and Naruto muttered something under his breath before walking over to the dark-haired man.

"Hey-Itachi!" Naruto called as he approached the two, only to slow down and look down as something grabbed hold of his leg. "What the…" He whispered and then lifted his leg, cursing as he saw a rotting corpse hanging onto him. Kicking the corpse to the side, Naruto then widened his eyes seeing a familiar grey mask covering its head, two tomoe shaped eye-holes with a third tomoe at the upper part of the mask, a spot at the center of the mask with numerous rings going outwards in a ripple like pattern.

_**(GAKI!)**_ A tired haggard and pain filled voice roared out from the rotting corpse as it reached out for the blond. Blinking, Naruto also noticed the black tattered outfit half covering the corpse, filled with holes and tears… as he did an almost evil grin worked its way across Naruto's face.

"Hello Madara, you look like shit." Naruto told the corpse with a mocking grin, and then took a thoughtful look for a moment. "No wait, shit looks better than you." The blond decided with a nod of his head while the corpse of the man who had been his greatest enemy glared at him, crimson spheres of light glowing within his mask. Floating up beside of Naruto, The Demon-Raven gazed down at Madara impassively, while her human-half whimpered in fear of the still living corpse. _**'So this is the one who caused Naruto so much misery in his life…'**_ The Demoness thought to herself before the corpse looked up, its hellish eyes glaring at them.

_**(You will pay for what you've done to me!)**_ Madara declared in Japanese, the Demon-Raven wondering what he said even as she looked at the rotting corpse with a slight frown on her face.

"**Do you think it'd be wrong to put this thing out of its misery?"** The Demon-Raven suddenly questioned of Naruto and he scoffed while crossing his arms.

"I'm not going to. As far as I'm concerned, he can stay here and rot for the rest of eternity. Literally in this case, cause you see Naraku-Hime, here in Yomi, you aren't tortured, you just rot for all eternity." Naruto replied while glaring at Madara, Itachi walking out of the fog and towards them.

"I see you found someone familiar…" Itachi noted while Madara glared up at him as well, his hellish eyes showing only fury. However, before anything else could happen, a rotted gray hand pierced the fog and dug its claws into Madara, then pulled him into the fogs depths. Cursing lightly, Naruto ran into the fog after Madara, soon followed by Itachi and the Demon-Raven. Soon coming towards the figure, Naruto felt his eyes widen while Itachi narrowed his eyes. Both the Young and Demon-Raven then looked to it, both girls seeming to cower before the imposing figure before them.

It was tall, at very least it was ten feet tall, its body was a rotting sickly grey color with black rune or perhaps seal like markings over what was visible of its left hand and forearm, sharp obsidian black nails, "O-Nenju" or Japanese Prayer Beads wrapped around its left hand / wrist, its face resembled a Hanya Mask, a pair of horns flowing out of its long spiky white hair, a knife sheathed in its razor sharp obsidian black fangs, a pair of demonic eyes glaring down at them, the sclera and pupil both a deep obsidian black while the iris was a brilliant golden color, and a long white robe the only thing covering its body, yet left its chest and some of its navel in full view.

"_**Ku ku ku ku ku ku."**_ A strange clicking chuckle echoed out as the being held up Madara's corpse with its dagger, then a long tongue escaped passed the obsidian teeth in its mouth. _**"Madara, you should know already, escape from me is impossible."**_ A deep scratchy yet feminine voice echoed from the being as Madara coughed up something, the corroded flesh of his body slowly falling apart under the strain of its newfound position in the air. Reaching up with its other hand, the being turned Madara's head towards it, even the Demon-Raven cowering as Madara whimpered in pain.

_**(I am… to be… the ruler… of all things… you should… obey me…)**_ Madara managed to croak out and the being's amber eyes seemed to narrow into thin slits, the fury within its gaze clear.

"_**Foolish, Ningen. You must learn your place…"**_ It declared sinisterly before wrenching Madara's head from his shoulders with one twist of its wrist. The Young-Raven actually screamed and buried her face into her demonic-halves chest, shaking in fear while Naruto turned slightly green at the sight. Itachi however remained impassive, watching on as the beast released Madara's body, turned and made its way back into the fog with Madara's head still managing to speak out in pained grunts…

"Sh-Sh-Shinigami." Naruto whispered when he was sure that the being was finally gone, the Demon-Raven twitching when she heard the name.

"**No wonder people like Madara and Orochimaru are so scared of dying, if that thing is waiting for them, I wouldn't want to die either…"** The Demon-Raven declared with a shiver, Itachi turning to her with a serious look on his face.

"This is Yomi… unlike you people, _all_ the souls of the dead end up here, good or evil doesn't matter. The Shinigami awaits us all in death." Itachi explained darkly before walking in the direction the wraith had gone. Blinking, the demoness turned to Naruto for confirmation, the blond merely sighing as he followed after Itachi. Looking more than a little disturbed by that tidbit of information, the Demoness narrowed her eyes while trying to think up some way of making damn well sure that her Naruto never ended up in this place of darkness and death even as she followed after him.

Walking through the enormous graveyard that was Yomi, Naruto and Itachi both noted that the Hitodama were giving off only enough light to keep the path below visible to them. Nearly tripping on another corpse, Naruto paused and looked down, only for his eyes to widen when he saw a familiar broken Tiger-Mask. "_You!_" He hissed while reaching down and lifting the form of a long dead and still rotting man, his body clad in pieces of grey armor, a mask covering his lower face entirely.

_**(So the little one lives on after all… come to torment me in death have you?)**_ The Voice also spoke in Japanese yet made Naruto growl even as the Demon-Raven walked up, a shiver running down her spine at the similarity between this man's calm cold voice and that of Slade.

"No, but I am a bit surprised to see you still have some flesh to rot!" Naruto replied as he glared at the living corpse of the man who murdered his mother, essentially damning her to a similar fate in Yomi.

_**(I do… because… time passes… differently for each of us… for Madara, it goes at decades at a time… soon he'll be naught but dust. And yet for me… it goes painfully slow.)**_ The nameless man explained to the blond and Naruto frowned while glaring at the man, the Demon-Raven looking to Itachi for an explanation. Sighing at the look from the girl, the dark-haired man closed his eyes and turned away.

"So, was death really what you wanted back then?" Naruto questioned of the nameless man and his single, glowing red eyes seemed to dim for a moment.

_**(In a way… yes… I wanted to see them all again… yet; I believe they have long since passed to the next world… leaving me here to rot.)**_ The Nameless Assassin replied and Naruto blinked, and then let out a sigh as he remembered the man's letter.

"If it helps you any… I… understand that to you it was just a job. You were hired to do it, and the person who hired you, has paid for it. So there's no hard feelings between us…" Naruto offered and then knelt down and left the rotting man leaning against a headstone. "But, that doesn't mean I can ever forgive you for killing my mother." Naruto finished while glaring at the man and he managed to let out a weak chuckle in response.

_**(I would expect nothing less…)**_ The man replied before turning his head and lifting his half-skeletal left arm up to point to the side. _**(The Shinigami went that way…)**_ He then stated and Naruto merely nodded his head while standing up, then made his way deeper into Yomi, Itachi and the Demon-Raven falling into step behind him. As they left, the nameless man merely dropped his arm and leaned back into the headstone, a name upon it covered by his form…

Meanwhile Naruto walked with his arms crossed over his chest, a deep frown across his face. Seeing the look, Itachi wisely decided not to speak to the blond as they walked further into Yomi. Behind them, the Young-Raven looked confused by what was going on, the Demon-Raven merely staying silent on the matter of the man. Soon enough, the group came towards the Shinigami, the Death-God holding Madara's head in one hand and looking up as they approached.

"_**Ningen, why do you invade my realm?"**_ The Shinigami questioned of them as they approached, Naruto shivering slightly as he came to a stop. Itachi walked passed him however, and merely knelt down before the God of Death, bowing his head as the being moved its attention towards him.

"Shinigami-Sama, I have a request of you, please allow these two passage back to the mortal world so they might stop the demons that were released upon the world up above." Itachi pleaded with the Death-God, and he merely chuckled, a strange almost clicking sound echoing from the God of the Dead.

"_**Why should I help these, Ningen? I have nothing to gain from saving that world up above."**_ The Shinigami questioned and Itachi looked back to the Death-God with a determined frown on his face.

"Shinigami-Sama, you know as well as I that both of them are still among the living. And as the God of Death, it is your duty to ensure that all beings live until their time has come… these two, still have time to live." Itachi replied while looking up into the eyes of the God of Death, and the Shinigami merely gazed down at him a second more before the clicking chuckle returned.

"_**Perhaps you are correct Ningen… but unfortunately, the treachery of the Kyuubi runs deep. For the Blond one cannot return to the world up above as he is now."**_ The Shinigami stated ominously causing Naruto to blink before walking to stand beside of Itachi.

"What do you mean I can't return?" The blond demanded and the Shinigami looked at him for a moment before chuckling once more.

"_**To return you as you are would be pointless Ningen. When the Kyuubi escaped your seal, it also burned out a large portion of your Chakra, leaving a hole of sorts in your Chakra Network that would limit if not cripple your body's ability to distribute its Chakra. Here, you are immune to its debilitating effects, allowing you to survive the loss of them. Even if you were returned, your body would slowly weaken, and ultimately perish, why should I even bother with the effort when you would just die anyways."**_ The Shinigami explained, causing Naruto to look to his stomach with wide eyes, and Itachi closed his eyes and rose up before the Shinigami.

"Shinigami-Sama, is there any way you could fix this and allow him to return?" Itachi questioned of the Shinigami, the Death-God narrowing its eyes even as it tossed Madara's head up and down in one hand.

"_**Perhaps… but I must wonder, what would you give to me in exchange for such a thing, Ningen?"**_ The Shinigami questioned of Itachi, its yellow eyes boring into his own obsidian black orbs.

"I am dead, yet you have yet to take my soul… in exchange for allowing them to return to the world above. You can have me." Itachi replied, a cruel grin spreading across the Shinigami's features while Naruto looked to the man in shock.

"Itachi are you insane! Look at this place! If you give yourself to the Shinigami you'll end up…" Naruto started to say only for Itachi to turn and look at him with a slight smirk on his face.

"Sadly, Naruto-kun, my time has already come. My family has caused nothing but pain and misery for so long… and Madara, my ancestor, ruined you life. Please, allow me, to do what I can, to redeem the Uchiha name in some small way." Itachi pleaded of a shocked Naruto, not waiting for an answer, the Dark-Haired man then stabbed the two Ninjatou he'd taken from Naruto into the ground and walked towards the Death-God.

"_**It is agreed… your soul, in exchange for allowing him to return to the world above however, I will add onto the deal and… sweeten it, so to speak."**_ The Shinigami stated to say before holding out its left arm and causing a swirl of familiar red energy to form. _**"In order to battle the Demon's above, I shall allow you to have the Kyuubi's Yin Chakra your Father Sealed, in exchange, you shall give me the half of Chakra and its soul that once resided in you upon its defeat… I will give you one hour to do so, or I shall take back the power completely."**_ The Shinigami offered and a slight smirk worked its way across Itachi's face while looking to the Death-God.

"It's a deal." He stated and Naruto gaped at the man before shaking his head and marching forward.

"Now wait just a damn minute here! Even if I do have the same amount of Chakra as the Kyuubi it'll still take me more than an hour for me to stop it!" Naruto shouted at both Itachi and the Shinigami, the Death-God chuckling once more.

"_**Is a Juubi really afraid of fighting a little Kyuubi?"**_ The being wondered aloud and quickly drawing Naruto's attention back to it. _**"Have you forgotten that you bear the Rinnegan, or that you yourself are a Juubi of sorts. As such for someone like you, defeating a mere Kyuubi should be all too easy."**_ The Shinigami noted aloud and Naruto frowned deeply while glaring at the Death-God.

"In case you've forgotten I have no clue how to use that power! You're going to double my Yin-Chakra and leave me with less than a quarter of Yang-Chakra, my Chakra-Control is going to be shot all to hell! Not only that but I have little to no-clue on how to use the more advanced Rinnegan abilities, and the ones I have managed to use thus far really drain my reserves!" Naruto shouted at the Shinigami and it reached up and rubbed its chin for a moment before chuckling darkly.

"_**Not my problem. The deal is with Itachi not you, and as he has agreed to this bargain, it shall be done. For his soul, you shall go back to your world, defeat the Kyuubi, and give its power and soul to me… should you fail, know that his sacrifice shall have been in vane."**_ The Shinigami stated while dropping Madara's head to the ground, pulling its dagger from its mouth, and then quickly grabbing Naruto with its free hand. Grunting and struggling in its grip, Naruto then widened his eyes as the Shinigami reared its head back and then spit out a familiar red Chakra that quickly flowed into Naruto's body.

Gritting his teeth, Naruto then began to thrash about on the ground, red chakra flowing over his form before his body began to change. His teeth became fangs, his nails became claws, and black fur started to spread over his form as he grow bigger and bigger within the Shinigami's grasp. Dropping the blond as the changes to the blond haired Ex-Shinobi continued, the Shinigami then grabbed hold of Itachi and looked down at Raven as Naruto thrashed on the ground.

"_**Take care of him little Hanyou, he will need you greatly in the coming days."**_ The Shinigami stated before an eerie chuckle echoed from its lips as it picked up Madara's head, and then vanished into a swirl of fog. As soon as it vanished a spiral staircase rose up from the ground where it had been only a moment before. Both sides of Raven then watched as Naruto soon got up on all fours, only to stretch out in the body of a wolf, ten long thin tails ripping out of his tailbone as he reared his head back and howled towards the moonless sky up above.

Panting heavily, Naruto then fell down, now in his Juubi no Okami form as The Demon-Raven moved over to him. Walking over to the massive obsidian furred wolf, she then hopped onto his back, and then placed her Younger-Self on the wolf behind her. Leaning forward, Raven patted the wolf on its head slowly, drawing its attention to her. **"No time to grieve for your friend, love, we still have to save both your friends and mine from Trigon and Kyuubi."** The Demoness reminded and Naruto blinked for a moment before growling lightly, moving his head to the side and biting the Staff he picked it up and snarled before lunging to the stairs and quickly running up them, intent on making Itachi's ultimate sacrifice meaningful…

(Jump-City…)

The Titans stumbled back as the Kyuubi-no-Kitsune lunged at them, flicking its tails forward like blades. Cursing, Cyborg grit his teeth as the tails cut into his armor, then tried to slam a fist into its face. However the Kyuubi merely grinned wider while ducking under the attack and ramming into him. Cyborg was sent flying back by the attack while Starfire flew down with Donna, the two girls grabbing hold of two of its tails each before throwing it into the air. Nightwing then narrowed his eyes before throwing an explosive disk up at the Kyuubi, only for it to chuckle and then slap the disk back at him.

Cursing loudly, Nightwing ducked out of the way of the disk as it made contact with the ground. Ravager lunging at Mammoth, the man-mountain crouching down then propelling her into the air where she started to swing her twin Katana at the Kyuubi. However the beast moved as if it saw every attack before she even swung the blades, then lashed out with a tail, wrapping it around her waist and twisting around behind her before kicking her to the ground with all four of its legs. Ravager was sent careening into the ground, only to widen her eyes, the back of her clothes now on fire.

Cursing loudly, Ravager quickly reached up and unclasped a couple of straps before throwing her black shirt off, leaving her upper torso clothed only in a skintight pale-blue long sleeved shirt. The small black shirt fell to the side with an audible clunk, proving to Nightwing it was some kind of body-armor, however was clearly ineffective against the Kyuubi's Fox-Fire as it was burned and charred into ashes within only a few moments.

"Fox-Fire, it burns hotter and faster than any other flame." Batman noted as he threw several Explosive-Batarangs towards the Kyuubi, only for it to lash out with its tails. However, narrowing his eyes, Batman then hit a switch on his belt, causing the Batarangs to detonate instantly, Nightwing blinking as they caught the Kyuubi off guard.

"How… but… I thought Kyuubi's were all supposed to be omniscient?" Night questioned of Batman and the Dark-Knight nodded his head while narrowing his eyes where the Kyuubi had been.

"If they were they wouldn't die. When a Kitsune of any kind reaches one hundred years of age, they gain the ability to see anything around them within a sphere of one thousand miles. Being able to see what any of us are doing at any moment is one thing, knowing what we're going to do to it is another." Batman explained while the smoke cleared, a frown marring the Dark-Knight's features as the Kyuubi looked virtually unscathed, a mocking grin on its masked visage.

"Dude, how do we kill this thing?" BB suddenly demanded and Batman shrugged only to pinch the bridge of his nose when he saw Duela running towards the Kyuubi. Oddly enough however, as the Kyuubi flicked its tails at her, Duela laughed and danced around the attacks. Twisting between its tails, Duela then pressed a switch on her arm, activating a micro-dosage of Venom, just enough to boost her strength without the harmful side effects, and slammed her Guitar into the Kyuubi's face. The Kyuubi skid to the side from the assault, then narrowed its eyes on the girl, only for her to blow a raspberry at it and then flip back to the ground with her usual semi-psychotic laugh.

"Why is it only the crazy one can actually hurt it?" Blackfire demanded while nursing a headache, Kid-Flash groaning to the side from where he was tossed around by the Kyuubi. Snickering for a moment, Dani floated over to the two, reclining in midair before offering her opinion on the matter.

"Probably because she's in her own little reality… and the rules of our reality don't really apply to her in this one…" Dani offered and Blackfire blinked for a moment before rolling her eyes, wondering why that made more sense than anything else she could think up.

"Enough talking! Just ice the fucking fox already!" Jinx shouted at her team and Mammoth grunted while looking to the building the Kyuubi was on, an idea coming to the Australian teen.

"Alright, time to rock the house!" Mammoth decided while lunging at the building, the Kyuubi tilting its head in confusion as he did so. However, a grin crossed Jinx's lips as she realized what her friend was up too and thus quickly reared her arms back before throwing them forward, a wave of pink energy flowing under Mammoth. Jumping up, Mammoth then brought his hands down, slamming them into the ground and causing a mini-tremor. The tremor caused the building the Kyuubi was on to shake and rock before suddenly it fell inwards with the Kyuubi still on it.

"Ha! Take that fox-face!" Mammoth shouted with a grin, only to grunt as a tail lashed out from the rubble, sending him flying back.

"Crap! It's not over yet!" Gizmo suddenly exclaimed as the Kyuubi pushed the rubble from its form and then shook itself off. "Alright, no more playing around, all missiles lock on target!" Gizmo shouted as a pair of missile pods shot out of the sides of his Backpack, its Spider-Legs activating as he also unlatched his Laser-Cannon. "Fire!" The Tiny-Terror then exclaimed as all his missiles shot towards the Kyuubi, the beast narrowing its eyes even as Gizmo fired his Laser-Cannon at it as well. Spreading its legs the Kyuubi then crouched down before jumping over the laser blast, leaving him open to the missiles raining down towards him.

Gizmo watched with a grin as the missiles approached the Kyuubi, only to gape at a nearly psychotic grin that crossed its features naught but a moment later. Twisting around, the Kyuubi dodged around the missiles, using them as stepping stones in order to mover around the other's coming down towards him. Finally, the Kyuubi flipped off of the last missile and into the air, spinning in a wheel and allowing fire to flow over its entire form.

"Shit!" Dani exclaimed as the Kyuubi landed on the ground, rolling towards them even as the missiles detonated against the ground and buildings around them. Jinx quickly rolled out of the way of the Kyuubi, Kid-Wykkyd pulling Seemore and Private into his cape to make a quick escape while Dani stood her ground. Taking in a deep breath she then unleashed it, screaming out loudly almost like a banshee and keeping the flaming fox-wheel back. Covering their ears, the others watched as the Kyuubi slowed down, and then stopped entirely, Dani forcing more power into her "Banshees Scream" and sending the Nine-Tailed-Fox flying back.

Swaying for a moment afterwards, her eyes then rolled up into the back of her head while she passed out onto the ground. Cursing lightly, Jinx ran over to the girl while Blackfire looked to where the Kyuubi was getting up once more, shaking off its body before narrowing its eyes onto them all dangerously. "Dude, for a demonic animal… this thing is really tough…" BB suddenly noted as he fell to his knees, no one moving to disagree with him as the Kyuubi continued its approach. Soon enough, the groups of "Heroes" were literally backed into a wall, the Kyuubi grinning darkly as it crouched down and prepared to lunge at the "Heroes".

"To think we're going to end up as fox-food…" Kid-Flash mumbled while Nightwing looked to Batman, the Dark-Knight remaining silent.

"Well… been nice knowing you guys… and hopefully… death won't us all hurt too much." Billy piped up while shaking the hand of one of his clones, the other clone blinking for a moment.

"Hey wait, we know Grim as a friend, we should be fine!" The clone noted with a grin and Billy blinked before nodding his head. However, before anyone could speak the Kyuubi lunged forward, fangs and claws bared. But just as it was about to strike, it was knocked back as a blinding sphere made of pure light appeared between it and the three groups of warriors.

"Dude!" BB exclaimed as the light appeared, the groups blocking it out as it nearly blinded them all. However, soon the light began to fade, Jinx opening her eyes and then gaping as she started to see what had saved them all. What she saw was a Shakujo with six rings that had dug its partly metal tip into the ground, the six rings on its top most portion ringing out faintly before finally falling silent. Soon, the rest of the group followed, opening their eyes to the strange sight of the staff, the Kyuubi growling as he lunged at them once more, only for a large circle of glowing white Kanji to appear them all and keep it out. Only Batman, Jinx, and Dr. Fate knew the meaning of the Kanji however, and it was simply "Okami"…

"Uhhh guys… how did a Staff do that?" BB wondered aloud, no one really sure how to answer while the Kyuubi growled as it glared at the protective barrier. Yatagarasu then flew down from the air and landed on the top of the staff gently, flapping its wings and cawing loudly as it did so. Instantly another sphere of light appeared, this one surrounded by a ring of energy made up of the Kanji for "Shinigami". Soon the ring and sphere of light disappeared entirely and the three groups saw a massive wolf appear, two girls riding on its back…

The Wolf stood to an impressive six-feet tall while still on all four legs, with ten long thin tails reaching back, its teeth and claws both seeming to be made of ivory marble, yet its fur was black as obsidian with a mane of "Hair" flowing back from its head, two mock-horns of hair forming from its forehead, with three red-orange lightning bolt shaped stripes on its cheeks, wind shaped finials flowing from its shoulders, more of the red-orange forming into spirals and stripes on its sides, red-orange over its eyes like the Sennin-Modo, only with two more streaks under its eyes this time, and its two eyes were an off purple-grey color with rings forming out from its pupils like ripples.

Finally a haze of mist formed around the ten-tailed-beast and then changed into bony-plates along the majority of its back leading down into spinal-plates that arched along the length of its tails, more plates forming into wind-shaped finials along the sides of its legs like greaves, six Magatama like beads forming around its neck, a skull shaped plate forming over the top of its head with an X cut out of it, and a familiar blade placed onto its back and hanging at an angle. However on its back, holding onto its mane was the Demon-Raven, the demoness smirking as she looked around, Young-Raven holding onto her demonic self by wrapping her arms around her waist.

"Raven!" Cyborg demanded upon seeing both girls, however the wolf snarled towards the Kyuubi before more comment could be made.

"Dude, what's with the big wolf? Is it another of those Japanese Youkai things or what?" BB demanded only for a slight smirk to cross Batman's features as the wolf circled the Kyuubi, soon leaving its back facing them. Upon seeing this Yatagarasu flapped its wings and rose up into the air, flying into the sky and keeping an eye on both the Kyuubi and the black furred Okami.

"No. While it is a Youkai, like Yatagarasu, it isn't one we need to fear Beast-Boy. The wolf or rather the "Okami" in Japanese folklore were unlike the other animals, they were honest and if treated with respect, benevolent beings that were known to be the pets, messengers, or even avatars of the gods. This might even be an Okuri-Okami or "Escorting Wolf" which were thought to follow humans in the forest and protect them from other more dangerous wolves and of course Youkai." Batman replied while the Demon-Raven got off of the wolf's back and brought Young-Raven with her as the wolf spread out its legs and roared.

The Kyuubi growled as it did before lunging at the Juubi-no-Okami, lunging at the beast and swiping its razor sharp claws. Flipping back, the Okami evaded the attack easily before landing and then lunging forward with a head butt to the Kyuubi's face. The old fox yelped as it stumbled back for a moment, the wolf, twisting into a spin with its tails lashing out, knocking the Kyuubi onto its back. Snarling, the Kyuubi-no-Yoko twisted back onto its paws before lunging at the wolf once more. In response, a smirk crossed the Okami's features as it lunged forward and sent its tails at the Kyuubi.

However, the Kyuubi danced around the attacks, twisting and turning before finally leaping into the air. **"Kitsunebi!"** The Beast the exclaimed as purple orbs formed on the tips of its tails, which it then shot forward, towards the Okami below. Seeing the attack coming, the Okami narrowed its eyes before a grin formed over its lips.

"**Shiranui!"** It cried out, pure ivory white flames completely coating its body, as it lunged forward, through the flames and then jumped up and rammed into the thoroughly shocked Kyuubi's chest. The Beast fell back and crashed through a building, leaving Dust and debris to fly up while Demon-Raven smirked from her hiding spot with her younger self.

"**You can just tell how much he loves hurting that fox… can't you?"** She questioned dryly while looking over to the Titans, Nightwing moving towards her warily.

"Uh… Raven, is that really you?" Night questioned and the Demoness yawned in her free hand while crossing her legs in midair, floating off the ground even as she held onto her Human-Half.

"**In the flesh, though I'm technically only half of the Raven you knew…"** The girl replied flippantly while Starfire floated over, tilted her head, and stared at the young-Raven held in the Demoness arms.

"Please, if you are friend Raven, then who is that little child you carry with you?" Starfire asked the demoness with her head tilted to one side and Night palmed his face for a moment.

"**Who this? This is just my weak, annoying, useless, human half…"** The Demoness replied with a frown as the Young-Raven winced and hung her head at the verbal abuse the Demoness like throwing at her.

"Wait… so then that means she's…" Cy started to say only for the child to turn to them and wave timidly.

"Uh… hi?" She questioned and got looks from all the Titans but BB, who was still watching the fight between Okami and Kyuubi.

"Dude, aren't Kitsune are afraid of Dogs or something, would if they are then why isn't the Kyuubi thing like freaking out over that massive wolf? If I was afraid of dogs and saw a Wolf that size I think I'd run until I put it at least a hundred mile distance between me and it." BB asked Batman and the Dark-Knight frowned for a moment before answering him.

"The older and more powerful a Kitsune becomes, the less fearful of humans and dogs it also becomes. Since that is a Kyuubi, its so powerful it no longer fears dogs or wolves." Batman explained and BB made an Oh with his mouth before turning back to watch the fight between the two massive beasts. The Kyuubi snarled as it got up onto its feet, glaring at a smirking black shaded wolf with ten tails. Twitching slightly the beast then crouched back before launching towards the Juubi-no-Okami. Ducking in on itself the Kyuubi turned into a Flaming wheel once more as it approached the Okami.

Raising a brow and smirking wider, the Okami crouched down at the Kyuubi's approach and then launched itself into the air, over the Kyuubi. Landing as it passed, the Okami then turned and saw the Fox-Wheel soon straighten out, the Kyuubi sliding to a halt with a snarl. Roaring loudly, the Kyuubi lunged at the Okami once more, ducking into a spinning wheel yet again and the Okami narrowed its eyes while spreading out its limbs and crouching down. As the wheel approached the Okami sent two of its tails forward and caught it by its sides.

Grinning widely, the Okami then threw the Kyuubi into the air and watched as it came out of its roll. A deep growl then echoed from the Okami as a brilliant purple light formed around its paws, soon forming into sharp looking blade like claws. Jumping up a second later, the Okami suddenly twisted into a spin and rammed into the Kyuubi, slicing into it and bringing a pained cry from the fox. Falling to the ground, the fox fell onto its side with a loud thud while the Okami landed gracefully beside it. Snarling furiously, the Kyuubi lashed out with all nine of its tails, twisting and slashing at the Okami with them.

Chuckling lightly, the Okami evaded each and every attack, moving fluidly around the tails before lashing out with nine of its ten-tails and catching the Kyuubi's own tails. Widening its eyes in shock, the Kyuubi then screeched in pain as the Okami's final tail lashed out, slicing across its right eye. Grinning widely, the Okami then lifted the Kyuubi by its tails and slammed it into the ground behind it, then lifted it up again and slammed it into the ground at its right, then once more it slammed the Kyuubi into the ground at its left before twisting around and throwing the Kyuubi away.

The Kyuubi skidded along the ground for a short distance before finally ramming back-first into a building. The Fox let out a pained bark as it looked to where the Okami approached it, Yatagarasu swooping down from the sky and landing on its head. Blinking for a moment, the Okami looked up to Yatagarasu and it cawed down at him. Raising a brow yet making no motion to get it off, the Okami then walked over to the Kyuubi silently, Yatagarasu cawing at the beast angrily. Looking up with tired eyes, the Kyuubi managed a weak glare at the Okami before opening its mouth and spitting a blast of Foxfire towards it.

Flapping its wings, Yatagarasu quickly flew off of the Okami's head and into the air, the wolf merely jumping up over the flames and allowing its tails to obscure it from view. Looking up slowly, the Kitsune stared at the sphere of black tails only to widen its eyes as five came towards it, opening like a black hand with bony armor along its fingers. Grasping onto the Kyuubi, the Okami's tails turned it into the air and slammed it into the ground. Barking pitifully, the Kyuubi managed a weak glare before the other five tails suddenly lashed out, stabbing the fox in every major juncture of its body save for its neck.

The Kyuubi's eyes widened in shock for a brief moment, until the Okami came out of its mass of tails and bit into its throat. Narrowing its eyes, the Okami then twisted the Kyuubi's neck at an angle, snapping it and killing the fox instantly. Releasing the Kyuubi, the Okami laid it on the ground while spitting out a bit of blood to the side. Shaking its body the Okami then looked up as Yatagarasu landed on his head once more and rolled his eyes.

"Uh, is it good the wolf just unceremoniously killed the fox or not?" Cyborg suddenly asked while looking to the massive wolf warily. Said Okami then turned towards them and walked over to them with an amused smirk across its features. Upon approaching the group, the Okami began to glow brightly before it straightened up. Soon the glow vanished as well, sparks of light flowing behind it as a familiar figure was revealed to the group.

"No way…" Cy whispered in shock as the form of a spiky haired blond walked forward, six-red Magatama beads around his neck and chest, his Omega-X-Suit intact with the helmet/mask folded back, a tattered black trench-coat covering the majority of his torso with the Kusanagi placed onto his back. An amused twinkle to his Rinnegan eyes, Naruto grinned while looking at his friends and enemies with clear amusement on his face, two spiky bangs of hair flowing upwards like a pair of mock horns.

"Hey guys, you miss me?" Naruto asked the shocked group before looking to his right shoulder, where Yatagarasu had found its perch to roost on.

"Dude! Nar your alive!" BB said loudly and the blond merely shrugged his shoulders with a smirk on his face.

"Tempest!" Jinx exclaimed as she launched herself at the blond and enveloped him in a hug, knocking him off his feet as Yatagarasu flew into the air and perched itself onto a scowling Demon-Raven's shoulder.

"Sensei!" Dani cried out happily as she zipped forward, flowed through the ground and managed to hug him as well, the blond grunting from the whole of Jinx's weight resting on his torso.

"Ugh… really now… its wonderful to have two _very_ beautiful girls hugging me and all, and if I wasn't already in a relationship with Kara-Chan… I might allow this to keep going on for a little while longer." Naruto grunted out as both Dani and Jinx hugged him for all he was worth. "Urgh… but could you maybe let me breathe or something so I don't die again!" Naruto demanded of the two loudly and both girls blinked before quickly getting off of him. Breathing a sigh of relief as he got to his feet, Naruto then grinned at the girls, patting Dani on the head and giving a quick hug to Jinx.

"Nice to see you both, trust me when I say I've been through hell today so seeing you both alive and relatively well is just what the doctor ordered." Naruto stated while then turning from two of the closest people in his life next to Raven and walked over to the rest of the Titans, Tartarus, and the JLU. "Oi, can't you kids last even five minutes without me here to save your butts?" The blond questioned with a grin on his face, Nightwing twitching as he glared at the blond haired teen angrily.

"Shut up, X. Or I'll be sure to through you in jail the second that Juubi thing is dead!" Night warned and Cyborg rolled his eyes at the threat, and then gave a meaningful look to the blond haired Ex-Shinobi.

"Anyways, how'd you survive when Trigon and that Kyuubi thing escaping, Temp?" The Titanium Teen questioned and Naruto looked back towards where the Juubi was rising up and frowned instead.

"You know I'd love to answer all your little questions about my absolutely fascinating trip through hell and finding Karasu-Chan and Naraku-Chan over there." Naruto mused Sarcastically before crossing his arms with a flat expression on his face. "But I think I've still got a prior engagement with an old buddy of mine." The blond replied while forming a handseal and vanishing in a swirl of white flames, Demon-Raven muttering under her breath before grinning as she looked at Jinx.

"**Think fast!"** She shouted while tossing her human half over to the rosette, Jinx blinking even as she caught the girl. **"Watch the brat for me, I've got to make sure he doesn't blow himself up."** The Demoness commented as she flew towards where Naruto was heading, Yatagarasu following behind her. Blinking for a moment, Jinx then looked to the tiny violet haired girl in her arms, then widened her eyes.

"Umm, hello miss my name is Raven. It's nice to meet you…" The girl offered timidly and a shocked Jinx looked from the girl to an equally surprised Dani.

"Okay… is anyone else wondering why we have a pint-sized Raven in white or is it just me?" Dani questioned of no one and got no answer as they all stared at the young Raven who seemed to grow more and more nervous from the attention…

TBC…


	58. The End Pt5

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Teen Titans, Naruto, or anything else that might make an appearance in this fic...

_**Naruto Ultimate 3: Red-X Rising...**_

**Chapter 56**: **The End Pt. 5**…

Normal Talking

_Normal Thinking_

Radio in use

**Demon Talking**

_**Demon Thinking**_

**Jutsu in use**

_**Inner Self-Talking**_

(Depths of Hell…)

Slade evaded another swing from the Guardian by ducking down, the burly behemoth slicing cleanly through a heavy stone slab. Ducking to the side to avoid another swing, Slade slid to a halt with one hand on the ground. Chuckling in his throat, Orochimaru then jumped onto the Guardian's back and stabbed his twin Wind-Scimitar into his back. Grunting in pain the guardian stumbled back and Orochimaru grunted as his own back impacted with the wall behind him, yet continued to hold on. Seeing a chance to strike, Slade lunged at the Guardian only for the behemoth to grab hold of him by his entire torso with one hand.

Slamming Slade into the ground, The Guardian reared his other arm back and conjured flames over the edge of his double-sided war-ax. However before he could do any damage, Orochimaru sent a snake out from his left sleeve that bit into his arm, holding the ax back as a grin worked its way across the serpentine man's features. "Ku ku ku ku ku. I do believe I'm beginning to see why Naruto-Kun enjoys this world so much… It has so many interesting opponents!" Orochimaru mused aloud and then moved one leg up and yanked back on the snake biting into the Guardians arm.

Seeing his chance, Slade moved his own legs up and propped them against the Guardian's torso. Grunting from exertion, the masked-madman then threw the behemoth into the air and towards the pools of lava nearby. Smirking to himself, Orochimaru then flipped off of the Guardian and landed next to the masked-madman. Smirking slightly, the serpent eyed man offered a hand to Slade before helping him back to his feet, only for them both to look to the side as the Behemoth crawled out of the lava, completely unharmed by it.

"Oh good, I was so hoping that wasn't the full extent of its powers…" Orochimaru noted while Slade backed away and began trying to catch his breath, the serpent eyed man cracking his neck and grinning. "After all, I've only just begun to have my fun!" Orochimaru declared before lunging at the behemoth and quickly dodged a swing from its Battle-Ax. Twisting around with unreal grace, Orochimaru then slammed his legs into the Guardian's side, propelling him to the side where he fell and skidded against the ground before coming to his final stop.

"_**Wretched Soul, like all other mortals, you cannot escape your ultimate fate."**_ The Guardian declared while using its ax to rise back to its feet, an amused grin splitting Orochimaru's lips at the declaration.

"Perhaps, or perhaps not, either way, it will take far more than the likes of you to put me in my grave." Orochimaru stated while marching towards the Guardian, dodging and weaving around several swings of its ax. Stopping in front of the behemoth, Orochimaru then slammed a fist into its helmeted head, causing it to stumble back, a series of spider-webbed cracks forming on the surface of its helm. Shaking his hand from the minor amount of pain of punching the steel helm, Orochimaru then threw his arms back before throwing them forward.

As soon as he did, dozens of Snakes shot from his sleeves and wrapped and coiled around the Guardian's body. Growling under his breath, the Behemoth then threw his arms and legs out, ripping the snakes completely apart while Orochimaru whistled lightly, still smirking arrogantly. "I will admit, your strength and durability are very formidable, however you lack a certain… something, that would make you a truly powerful enemy." Orochimaru noted aloud and the Guardian merely gripped its ax tightly while rising up from the ground.

"_**Enough of your blathering on! I will not be bested by the likes of you, body-snatcher!"**_ The Guardian declared as flames formed along the edge of his ax, a deep frown crossing Orochimaru as he rushed forward with surprising speed and sliced the man in half. However, Orochimaru then grinned, snakes shooting out from both halves of his body and pulling them back together. Temporarily stunned by the display, the Guardian was unable to block a quick roundhouse kick from Orochimaru, leaving him stumbling to the side and landing in a heap.

"You seem to be underestimating me behemoth. I am no mere Body-Snatcher, I am so much more…" Orochimaru stated darkly while a sick, cruel grin slowly slithered across his lips. "My name is Orochimary, one of the Densetsu no Sannin. And you should never underestimate me!" Orochimaru stated and then took a deep breath, his cheeks puffing out as he then leaned down and opened his mouth, sending out a massive wave of snakes slithering towards the Guardian.

Growling lowly, the Guardian lunged at the snakes, its ax's edge burning a bright crimson red. Swinging the weapon into the mass of snakes, the Guardian sliced through the mass of incoming Snakes for a moment, only to quickly dig its Ax into the ground and brace itself against the wave of snakes. Slade then watched on as the Guardian soon reappeared, wrapped up in a mass of Snakes it quickly ripped open. Lunging towards Orochimaru once more, the Guardian swung its ax at the man only for him to twist down and knock him off of his feet.

Kicking the Guardian away, Slade then smirked while the Guardian rolled to its knees and dug its ax into the ground to slow down. Looking up with the cracks in its mask glowing a fierce red, the Guardian then got up only for Slade to lunge at him with a punch. Grunting lightly, the Guardian grabbed Slade's hand and then bent it back and clenched his fist on it tightly. Slade then grunted as the Guardian ripped off the glove over his hand, revealing the bony limb beneath. Looking to it for only a moment, Slade then looked back to the Guardian only for the behemoth to slap him back where he impacted with the doorway he'd seen earlier.

Doubling over in pain, Slade held his ribs and panted heavily, Orochimaru appearing at his side with an amused look on his face as the Guardian stood opposite of them. _**"Your days have long since ended mortal, time to lie down with the rest of the bones."**_ The Guardian declared while marching towards Slade, Orochimaru merely smirking as he did.

"You first…" Slade growled towards the Guardian, a single crack in his mask glowing a fierce red as he glared towards the massive warrior. Moving quickly, Slade flipped back and then leapt off of the doorway and over the Guardian, deftly landing behind it. Turning around the Guardian then gave a surprised cry as Slade jumped up, ramming his knee into his already damaged helmet and knocking a chunk of its metal out of place, revealing an unblinking crimson red eye lay beneath it.

Using its distraction to his advantage, Orochimaru then reached up and rammed the head of the Guardian into the door behind him, the behemoth grunting as he did. Quickly rolling out from under the Guardian as he fell, Orochimaru then flipped to his feet with a grin. Roaring out, The Guardian swung his ax towards the serpentine man's legs, only for him to quickly jump over the strike, and then flipped out of the way. Landing to the side, Orochimaru then watched as Slade lunged at the Guardian and slammed his left fist into its gut, only for his eye to widen, as it didn't even seem to tickle the behemoth.

Growling lightly, the Guardian's ax suddenly lit with flames once more before the behemoth swung the weapon at Slade yet again. Dodging the first two swings from the Guardian's ax, Slade then grunted as he managed to tear into his side with the third swing, revealing his bony ribs. Grunting and placing a hand against his wounded side, Slade then looked to the Behemoth as it stood across from him. _**"You cannot hope to defeat pure evil…"**_ It declared while glaring at him and Slade looked up and held a strange device towards the Guardian.

"Actually… I'm not such a nice guy myself…" Slade growled out while hitting a button on the device, causing it to start beeping loudly. Quickly turning around to see what was going on, the Guardian widened his eye upon seeing a strange device on the doorway behind him, emblazoned with Slades own S shaped symbol. Mere seconds later, the device exploded at point-blank range with the Guardian, causing a brilliant explosion of light to flow forth from the newly opened doorway. As the light flowed outwards the formed into dozens of almost arrow shaped objects that flowed forth.

One of the arrows quickly slammed into Slade, the man's sole eye widening as he felt something form along his bones, a brilliant white light concealing the masked madman from view. Another of the arrows, strangely enough changed into a white raven, which flapped its wings and flew up out of the depths of hell towards the surface up above. Meanwhile, Orochimaru smirked as Slade soon reappeared out of the light, his armor and mask completely repaired. Taking in a deep breath as he did so, Slade spread out his arms and closed his eye while exhaling the same breath.

"Ah, my own flesh and blood." Slade noted while looking to his left hand, then gazed over to where a scorched and half melted helmet lay. "Don't get up. I'll let myself out." Slade offered the deceased Guardian mockingly, while Orochimaru chuckled to himself while walking over to stand beside of the masked madman.

"Good riddance to bad rubbish. A guardian who can't even do his job right and keep people out, isn't even worthy of being called a Guadian." Orochimaru noted aloud and Slade nodded his head in agreement with the Serpentine man, then knelt down and took hold of the Guardian's ax.

"I believe this will make for an interesting souvenir…" Slade mused while flames formed along the edge of the ax, a grin working its way across Orochimaru's face as he gazed at the unique weapon.

"I do concur with you, Slade-San, but I believe that you owe me something for helping you in accomplishing this little endeavor of yours…" Orochimaru reminded the masked madman and Slade leaned the enormous war-ax along his shoulders before looking back to the pale skinned man.

"Sadly, such information shall be useless so long as that demon up above has control of the world. If you want your immortality, we'll need to find some way of destroying that thing." Slade replied and caused Orochimaru to twitch slightly, before chuckling lightly to himself.

"Oh, I don't believe we need to worry about that Slade-San…" Orochimaru declared while turning around and starting up the stairs so they could return to the world up above. "After all, if little Naruto-Kun and his little Karasu are still alive, then they will be more than willing to attack that thing… if one of them doesn't manage to defeat it, I'll be very surprised." Orochimaru told Slade and the masked madman walked up the stairs behind Orochimaru with a frown on his face.

"You sound awfully certain those two will win against that thing… care to explain your sudden confidence in them?" Slade questioned of the serpentine man and a dark chuckle echoed out from Orochimaru's throat as he grinned back at Slade. The look alone was enough to cause Slade to halt as Orochimaru came to a stop as well, his yellow snake like eyes clearly displaying the madness so many before Slade had seen just within his eyes…

"Oh that's simple really, little Naruto-Kun has this habit of defeating anything in his way. Whether they are more powerful or not doesn't matter, he always finds a way to win in the end. And as such, I am confident that he will also find a way to defeat this Juubi up above… and once he does, our own little games with the Titans and him shall continue once more." Orochimaru replied and then started back up the stairs, Slade standing behind him for only a moment before chuckling to himself.

"I see, and since the Titans have the same habit as him, it's twice as likely that they will win this battle…" Slade decided while following Orochimaru out of the Depths of hell and back to the world up above…

(Jump-City…)

Naruto stood on the top of a large building with a frown, Yatagarasu landing on his shoulder soon after. Looking to the bird for a moment and wondering why it was following him, the blond then shook his head and pulled the Kusanagi from his back. Looking downward, Naruto narrowed his eyes on the Juubi as it slept below. _'Oh shit, what the hell did Kyuubi do… absorb Trigon or something?'_ Naruto wondered to himself while looking down at the enormous monster as it slept silently, clearly without a care in the world, as if it were some kind of unstoppable force.

'_And I really have to wonder, why are all the insanely enormous demon's always so arrogant?'_ The blond haired teen wondered to himself silently before pointing the Kusanagi towards the sleeping Juubi. "Alright Kyuubi, Juubi or whatever the hell your calling yourself! Wake up you lazy ass bag of fur!" Naruto shout out towards the beast with a snarl across his face, a mocking grin lazily splitting both of the Juubi's mouths.

Slowly, its four red eyes then slid open and looked up at the blond haired youth, its grin only seeming to widen as they did. It's fifth eye then opened up, Naruto twitching as he recognized the eye as the same one that was on Madara's final mask. The Juubi tilted its head soon after, gazing at him at an angle and then yawning loudly, Naruto standing against a surprising gust of wind coming from the Juubi's mouth. The beast then crossed its two frontal paws and chuckled while grinning down at the blond.

"**So your back from the dead, eh Ningen?"** Juubi commented even as its fifth eye began to glow, staring at the blond for a moment, before an amused chuckle echoed from its throat. **"And I see you got my old Yin-Chakra from Shinigami-sama while you were at it as well, how… interesting."** The Juubi decided while Naruto leaned the Kusanagi against his shoulder with a frown, Yatagarasu cawing towards him loudly.

"Whatever, at least I don't look like something a Neko spit up…" Naruto retorted with a slight smirk and the Juubi frowned towards him, its many eyes narrowing onto him dangerously.

"**Be glad that you amuse me Gaki, otherwise I would take great offense to such an insult."** The Juubi growled out towards the blond darkly, Naruto merely rolling his eyes and crossing his arms over his chest.

"Regardless of how fucking great you _think_ you are, Juubi…" Naruto growled out before turning to glare at the enormous beast furiously. "No matter what happens, I _won't_ lose to you, and I'll make certain you never harm anyone ever again!" Naruto shouted at the Juubi with a glare and it merely chuckled while looking down at him with one of its eyebrows raised slightly.

"**Your arrogance is most amusing, yet completely unfounded runt, you may have the power of my Yang-Chakra, but even combining that with your own impressive reserves would too little to match my Yin-Chakra and Trigon's demonic powers."** The Juubi said with a sneer before grinning down at the Demon-Raven with clear amusement. **"Humph, so I see that a small remnant of you did survive being sent to hell, how truly annoying, why can't you people just stay dead?"** Juubi questioned while tilting its head to one side, clearly bored before yawning slightly.

"**But, in either case, that no longer matters to me, for you see I am neither Trigon nor Kyuubi."** The beast stated and then grinned down at the two teens sinisterly, its eyes glowing with an eerie crimson light. **"I am the Juubi no Yami! And while you might've stood a chance against those who combined to form me, you two little runts are no match for **_**my**_** power!"** The Juubi declared and Naruto glared at it before crouching down and roaring loudly, as he changed into his Juubi no Okami form and then glared at the Juubi fiercely.

"_**I don't care who or what you think you are, I'm the Juubi no Okami, and I'm **__**still**__** going to take you down once and for all this time!"**_ Naruto sent out as a mental signal, Raven and the Juubi both hearing the message while the wolf roared, Yatagarasu flapping its wings and flying over to Raven's shoulder.

"**Don't forget me, Love. I'm here to help as well."** The demoness added as she hopped onto the Okami's back, the Juubi chuckling in its throat before falling into a full bought of laughter. Glaring at the beast as it laughed at them, the two prepared to attack, The Demon-Raven forming a familiar black energy over her free hand while Naruto crouched down. However the Juubi soon ceased its laughter and then looked at them, amusement clearly visible on its features.

"**Such… utter arrogance you Ningen possess! If the Rikudo-Sennin himself couldn't truly stop me at his peak, what could possibly make you believe that **_**you**_** two can? Especially since your own full strength only equals to a mere **_**fraction**_** of his full power!"** The Juubi demanded even as it lifted its paws, digging them into buildings on either side of Naruto and Raven, then pulled itself up onto its feet slowly. The Demon-Raven watched as it rose up, towering over them like a man would an ant and mentally shivered before gripping onto the mane of fur at the back of Naruto's head.

"_**Maybe because you're weaker than you were at your peak, which gives me and Karasu-Hime here all the advantage we'll need to take you down!"**_ Naruto exclaimed while spreading his limbs, eyes narrowed onto the Juubi dangerously.

"**True runt, I am not at my peak ability, but you lack the experience that is necessary to truly make use of your power in that form. While it is possible that we offset one another in equality, my experience makes every drop of my power count. Not only that but your not even a tenth of my overall size, you're little more than an annoyance no an **_**insect**_** to a being such as me!"** The Juubi suddenly countered as a grin split both sets of lips on its head, then roared loudly. The sonic-wave from the roar nearly pushed Naruto back however he quickly wrapped two tails around the Demon-Raven and then dug his other eight tails into the ground, holding himself firmly to the ground.

"**But if you must die for me to **_**finally**_** prove my point to you Runt, then so be it!"** The Juubi then exclaimed while leaping off of the ground and slamming down into it and creating a gigantic earthquake that managed to shake all of Jump-city. Quickly jumping off of the building he'd been perched on, Naruto then swung all of his tails back to create a burst of wind, throwing him towards the ground below. Running towards the Juubi as soon as his paws made contact with the ground, the Juubi-no-Okami then glared up at the truly enormous demon.

Twitching slightly at this, the Juubi then lifted its tails and sent them all stabbing towards Naruto. However, the shadow from the enormous tails allowed Naruto to steer and maneuver his way around the tails before swinging his tails back for a quick burst of speed once more. Narrowing its eyes dangerously, the Juubi then dug its tails into the ground as a grin crawled over its features. Its many tails then began to rise out of the ground and slam towards Naruto as he twisted and turned around them. Barely managing to evade the enormous tails, Naruto then opened his mouth and gathered a fair bit of Chakra within it.

"_**Kokuho!"**_ Naruto exclaimed mentally and thus fired off a salvo of miniature "Menacing balls" towards the Juubi's face. However, the beast merely grinned as several of its tails shot forward and took the hits from the attack. However, much to Naruto's annoyance the blasts were so tiny that they barely even managed to singe the enormous beasts fur, let alone damage it. _**"Well this is just great, looks like we'll have to take this fight and get up close and personal with the Juubi, Naraku-Hime!"**_ Naruto noted while sliding on his paws and lunging towards the Juubi, however one of its tails then ripped its way out of the ground, lifting up the street he'd been on top of it!

"**Die runt!"** The Juubi exclaimed with an insane grin across its muzzled face as its other tails then lunged towards them. Naruto yelped while flipping out of the way of one of the ten tails as it stabbed straight through the concrete street. Widening his eyes, Naruto then cursed while twisting out of the way of the next few tails as the street was torn apart by them. Looking around, Naruto lunged forward to escape from the tails, dodging and weaving around them as they continued to tear the street apart. Looking back as the tails started to come closer to him, Naruto then looked forward and widened his eyes as he approached the end of the street.

"**Love, hurry and just keep running towards that thing, I'll do the rest!"** The Demon-Raven ordered and Naruto briefly looked worried before shaking his head. Narrowing his eyes the black-furred Okami then lunged forward, evading the Juubi's many tails once more before lunging off of the street and into the sky. **"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!"** The Demon-Raven chanted while holding out a single hand, forming a platform for Naruto to land on. Grinning back towards the demoness, Naruto then flattened his ears against his head as he landed on the platform and slid to a halt. Shaking his head, Naruto then looked back and Demon-Raven silently nodded to him.

Narrowing his eyes, the Okami then lunged across the platform just as a tail came towards them. The Demon-Raven quickly held out her hand, forming a rectangular step, which the black-furred Okami moved over, more steps forming along the way. Growling low in its throat at the boy's approach, the Juubi then lifted up its right paw into the sky, casting an enormous shadow over Naruto. Looking up and cursing, Naruto quickly moved out of the way, pulling all his tails forward and then swinging them all back as one, pushing his Wind-Chakra into them for good measure.

The effect was instant, his tails created a gust of wind that propelled him out of the way in a burst of speed. Feeling his paws connect with another stair, Naruto then twisted on his paws and faced the Juubi's side. Narrowing his eyes, Naruto tried to think of something to do against it, but he wasn't sure on how to use the "Izinami" ability he'd used when this form was instinctually controlled. _'Yeah, I'd better make it a priority to learn my abilities in this form…'_ The blond thought to himself and then opened his mouth, forming a large sphere of Chakra into it as his tails curled forward.

Grinning to itself, the Juubi saw what the Okami was doing and thus lifted one hand just as Naruto fired an Imari towards him. Holding up his hand, the Juubi caught the Imari as if it were nothing but a baseball. Widening his eyes, Naruto then watched as the Juubi crushed the attack in his hand and then laughed to himself. **"So you want to fight like a true Bijuu then, eh runt, well then so be it!"** The Juubi declared while opening one of his mouths and forming an Imari, only Naruto's eyes bolted open as it completed the sphere of energy in a fraction of the time.

"_**Oh shit!"**_ Naruto cried out while propelling himself out of the way, Demon-Raven making a quick path for them to cross on. However, the Juubi's second mouth grinned as it turned and fired the blast at the two. Muttering curses under his breath, Naruto propelled himself faster and managed to just exit the radius of the blast. Then looked on with wide eyes as it tore a long deep trench out of the city. _'Okay… maybe it does deserve to be a little bit arrogant…'_ Naruto admitted to himself, though would deny it if anyone else were to ask him about it later.

Shaking his head of that thought, Naruto then turned to look at the smirking Juubi, its five eyes glaring down at him. _'Oi, what I wouldn't give to wipe that smug look off of his oversized face…'_ The Okami added mentally before crouching down as the Juubi moved, only to twitch as it yawned loudly. Looking towards the Juubi, Naruto took a quick count of its tails, and then growled lowly as he noticed that they were all swaying behind the enormous beast lazily. _'He doesn't even consider me a threat…'_ Naruto realized while mentally twitching, some of his old brash nature shining through as he hated anyone who underestimated him.

'_No, that isn't the type of thinking I need right now. Being my old impetuous self will only get me killed here. Even when I'm playing with the kids it's because I know they can't actually hurt or kill me. But he's different.'_ The Black-Furred Okami thought to himself while the Juubi cracked its neck and stretched out its massive body. **"Ahh… it's been so long since I've experienced true freedom. Between you, your bitch of a mother, and that other Uzumaki bitch, I haven't been experienced true freedom like this in years!"** The Juubi noted another flare of fury working its way into the Okami from the insult towards his mother.

'_Calm down Naruto! He's just bating you! He wants you to attack him in anger, you'll be that much easier for him to kill!'_ Naruto shouted at himself mentally while taking several long deep breaths and glaring at a smirking Juubi. _'Alright think, your human form can use more Jutsu, but those are too small or close range to be effective against this thing. This Okami form is faster, and has access to the heavily damaging Chakra attacks of a Bijuu…'_ Naruto started thinking to himself while considering his options for a moment.

'_Now then, I have my Rinnegan, my "Shiranui", Imari, Kokuho, and a few other basic attacks, but what else can I do? I mean, I know I can use two more abilities in this form, Izinami and Amatsu-Mikaboshi, but I still have no clue as to how they work. And since I have demonic Chakra, well, Kyuubi's Yang-Chakra, I should also have the Sonic Roar and Chakra-Limb ability I had in my Jinchuuriki Forms…'_ Naruto reasoned to himself while looking at the Juubi, then twitched as mentally listing his abilities really wasn't helping him, not only that but the Juubi seemed to be playing with him… clearly not seeing him as any kind of threat.

'_Okay, as for this fucker, it can at least fire two Imari's with those two mouths of its, has Trigon's "All Seeing Eyes" which I'm assuming is what that big fifth eye actually is. All the basic Chakra-Abilities of a Bijuu, is bigger than a fucking mountain… but its body is so big all its attacks are easily visible, and its arms are slow, the fastest thing on it is its tails… and it uses those most… meaning I'd need to target its tails, if I could get around to its back fast enough… but its too big for that to work.'_ The Black-Furred Okami thought to himself while watching the Juubi as it stared him down as well.

Mentally twitching as his options were more or less nill, the young Okami also considered his other Rinnegan abilities, thus quickly thought of the only way to truly take the thing down. Steeling his resolve, Naruto crouched down and snarled while glaring at the Juubi as it looked down at him. **"Think of something yet, Love?"** The Demon-Raven questioned and rather than answer, Naruto lunged forward, towards the Juubi. Growling lowly, Naruto then threw a paw forward, forming a hand of Chakra that shot out to a building and pulled himself over to it.

Grinning at this, the Juubi watched as the Okami continued with this course of action, pulling himself between the nearest buildings. Soon coming close to the Juubi, Naruto lashed out with a Chakra-Claw to its fur and grabbed on before pulling himself over to it. Chuckling to itself, the Juubi looked down as Naruto then lunged up the side of his arm. **"Interesting tactic, you think your size will help you here? That I won't attack for fear of harming myself? Intelligent, but with me, ineffective runt."** Jubbi mused aloud while swinging his tails towards the black-furred Okami.

Seeing the tails heading his way, Naruto narrowed his eyes before taking a deep breath and exhaling in a sonic-roar. The roar temporarily knocked the Tail back, however it quickly slipped towards him. Cursing to himself, Naruto lunged to the side as the tail came at him again and again while lightly slicing into his own arm. However, as Naruto looked back, he mentally groaned when he saw the wounds healing just as quickly as the tail managed to make them.

"_**Naraku-Hime, follow my lead! I think I know something that'll hurt this oversized demon!"**_ Naruto shouted back to the Demoness, causing her to raise a brow but still got a good grip on the mane of fur at Naruto's neck. Growling to himself as she readied herself, Naruto then took a deep breath before breathing out a torrent of familiar white flames onto the Juubi's arm. Seeing this, the Demon-Raven smirked while forming a crimson fireball into her right hand and then threw it into the white flames, adding it to the mix and burning into the Juubi's arm with the flames combined heat.

As soon as the flames hit its arm, the Juubi's eyes widened in pain and it shrieked, throwing its arm up and throwing Naruto and the Demon-Raven high up into the air. Looking down, the demoness cursed before quickly forming a circular platform for them to land on while the Juubi flicked its arm, scowling furiously as the flames burned its flesh. Looking up to where Naruto and the demon-Raven were, the Juubi's eyes narrowed and its ears flattened against his head. _'Oh shit… now he's really pissed…'_ Naruto thought to himself as the Juubi let loose with an earth shaking roar, the sonic-roar sending him and the Demon-Raven flying into the air.

Growling as they flipped in the air, Naruto twisted around to right himself while the Demon-Raven formed another platform for them. Looking from its still burning arm and then up to Naruto and the Demon-Raven, the Juubi narrowed its eyes into a heated glare at the two of them. **"Don't look now, love, but I really don't think setting it on fire was a good idea."** The Demon-Raven noted while looking towards the clearly furious Juubi, and then watched on as it raised a paw high into the air, into the clouds above them.

Watching on in shock as the paw came down towards them, Naruto quickly propelled himself with his tails and lunged out of the way. Twisting in the air, Naruto watched as the Demon-Raven formed several platforms, the Black-Furred Okami jumping from Platform to Platform. Sliding to a halt on the final platform, Naruto turned and watched on as the massive paw suddenly slammed into the ground, causing another earthquake to rock the entire city.

"**Love, I don't think our friends can take too many more hits like that… your barrier clearly wasn't designed to withstand against earthquakes."** The Demon-Raven reminded Naruto, causing the Okami to grimace before shaking his head as the Juubi narrowed its eyes onto him dangerously. Snarling with fury in its eyes, the enormous beast suddenly spread out all ten of its tails and opened up both of its mouths, the white flames of Shiranui still burning into its arm.

Watching the Juubi in confusion as he continued to run towards it, Naruto then felt his eyes bolt open as a tiny sphere of energy formed at the tip of each tail and within both of its mouths before expanding outwards. _**"Shit! Naraku-Hime, I need you to stay low on my back and whatever you do, don't let go or look up!"**_ Naruto ordered quickly, the Demoness deciding to do as told as she laid her body flat against the enormous wolf's back and then blinked as his ten tails wrapped around them to form a sphere. No sooner than the sphere was formed did the Juubi suddenly grin darkly.

"**Imari Rendon! (Menacing-Ball Barrage!)"** The enormous beast's voice echoed out as its tails spiraled inward and fired all twelve Imari's towards Naruto and the Demon-Raven. The spheres of energy also tore apart the city and caused the Juubi itself to fly back from the sheer force of the attack. Gritting its teeth, the Juubi had to use its tails to anchor itself down while Naruto spun in place.

"_**Shinra-Tensei!"**_ The blond exclaimed, forming a spherical barrier of gravity around himself and the demon-Raven. The shield staved off the barrage of energy blasts sent towards them by the Juubi, causing the beast to scowl as they continued to spin and fall towards the ground. Opening up his tails on his way down, Naruto then flapped them backward and propelled himself forward, his paws touching down with a building that he quickly lunged across. Blinking her eyes open, the Demon-Raven then looked around at the devastation that the Juubi had caused with but a single attack with wide eyes.

"**I hate to say it love, but I think we're outsized, outmatched, and plain old outclassed here."** The red-skinned demoness noted aloud and Naruto merely grunted while keeping an eye on the Juubi as it turned to them with an annoyed glare. Mentally growling, Naruto quickly lunged towards the enormous beast while the Demon-Raven continued creating pathways for the Okami to run along. Narrowing its eyes onto the Okami in the sky, the Juubi quickly raised its right arm into the air, before swinging it down towards the Okami. Twisting in the air to evade the arm, Naruto then allowed himself to fall through the sky and down towards the Juubi.

Growling low in its throat, the Juubi swung its tails up towards the black-furred Okami, only for it to twist out of the way. Latching onto the tails, Naruto then ran down their length and towards the Juubi's tailbone. Twitching in annoyance, the Juubi crouched down before jumping up high into the air. The velocity of the Juubi rising into the air caused Naruto and the Demon-Raven to fall down, unable to move as they were pressed into the Juubi's back. Landing on the ground while Naruto rose further into the air, the Juubi caused another city-shaking earthquake. Twisting out of the way of the small Okami, the Juubi then swung its tails towards Naruto once more.

This time the tails managed to knock into Naruto sending him spinning back in a roll before The Demon-Raven managed to form a platform, which Naruto's paws came into contact with. Growling lowly, Naruto looked towards the Juubi and propelled himself forward, towards the enormous beast. The Demon-Raven made several pedestals for Naruto to jump from, soon reaching the Juubi where the Okami quickly touched down on its nose and continued to move forward. Narrowing her eyes dangerously onto the Juubi, the Demon-Raven then formed a ball of fire in her hand; she then took the chance and unleashed a torrent of flames towards the beast.

The flames slammed into the Juubi's face, causing it to grunt out in annoyance while Naruto continued running up along its arm, hoping to reach its head. Twitching in clear annoyance, the Juubi quickly threw its arm to the side, tossing Naruto and the Demon-Raven off. Twisting in the air, Naruto managed to land on his paws and skidded back, landing in a low crouch and glaring towards the Juubi. **"I'll crush you both!"** It declared loudly while raising its tails high up into the air and then sending them all slamming towards the, to it at least, tiny wolf. Growling lowly, Naruto then flapped his tails for another burst of speed evading the falling tails before jumping off of a building and making his way towards the Juubi.

"_**Dammit, this sucks! Killing it like this will be all but impossible even for me, especially in under an hour. But right now I just need to get to its head for a moment and somehow distract it for my real plan to work."**_ Naruto explained to the demoness and she raised a brow but decided that didn't matter while forming several platforms for the wolf to run along once more. Soon approaching the Juubi, the two looked up and saw its eyes blaze a brilliant crimson while glaring down at them.

"**Enough of these games!"** It declared while lashed out with a hand and catching them in one of its enormous hands. **"I have endured your continued existence for long enough!"** The Juubi declared while reeling its arm back and then throwing the wolf and Demoness away. However before they could hit a building, Yatagarasu swooped down and grabbed two of Naruto's tails, quickly beating its wings and lifting him up, only to place him and the Demon-Raven onto the building gently. **"Meddling servant to the unworthy Kami! Begone with you!"** The Juubi roared out while its many tails lunged forward, lashing out at Yatagarasu.

Flapping its wings with all of its might, the three-legged raven flew around the attacks, evading every single strike from the tails and quickly moving into a dive. Zipping down with impressive speed, Yatagarasu then opened its wings when it approached the ground and flew towards the Juubi. The beast itself frowned as its tails slammed into the ground and yet the annoying bird somehow managed to evade harm yet again. **"You must learn, the reign of you pathetic Ningen has ended and that this world now belongs to me!"** The Juubi roared out at Yatagarasu while swinging one of his clawed hands towards the flying raven.

Seeing the incoming swing ahead of time, Yatagarasu flapped its wings and rose up into the air. Seeing the Juubi's incoming hand, the raven quickly flapped its wings, creating enough force to push itself out of the way of its enormous claws. Rising up into the air, Yatagarasu then righted itself and flapped its wings once more, pushing its body towards the towering Juubi. Folding its wings flat onto its sides, Yatagarasu then dive-bombed towards the Juubi. Growling low in its throat, Juubi opened its upper mouth and quickly began to form a sphere of energy into it.

"**Imari!"** The beast exclaimed while sending the sphere of energy flying towards the incoming Yatagarasu. However the bird quickly opened its wings and was propelled up into the air, out of the way of the attack where it then circled above for a moment before flying into the distance, a scowl crossing the Juubi's face. However, below Yatagarasu, Naruto rose back up onto his paws and shook his body for a moment. Closing his eyes and fixing several cracks and holes in his bone-like armor, the Okami then looked back towards the Demon-Raven, who was rubbing her head with a scowl.

"**Can we not do that again?"** The Demoness pleaded and Naruto merely grunted before lunging forward, off of the building and she sighed. **"I'll take that as a no…"** She grumbled out while forming numerous black platforms for the Okami to run along towards the Juubi. However, upon spotting them the Juubi grit its teeth and lashed out with one of its hands again. Flapping his tails back, Naruto was propelled forward, out of the way of the enormous hand and continued towards the Juubi. Narrowing its eyes onto the Okami, the Juubi then sent its numerous tails towards Naruto.

Grunting as the Juubi tried this tactic yet again, Naruto crouched down for a moment before rocketing forward. Propelling itself by pushing wind Chakra into his paws, the blond idly noticed a trail of silver light was flowing off of his paws. _'I've really got to figure out what all I can do in this form sometime.'_ Naruto thought to himself while narrowly evading the first tail and than narrowed his eyes as he saw one heading straight for him. Lunging forward, Naruto bit into the tip of the tail and the Juubi growled while throwing him up high into the air.

Propelling himself with his tails as he did, Naruto shot down towards the Juubi only for one of its tails to lunge at him. Moving to the side just in time to miss it, Naruto then ran along the length of the tail and then yelped as another Tail hit him from the side. Grinning darkly, the Juubi then shot out another tail, which then slammed into Naruto, sending him flying towards the ground. Cursing under her breath, the Demon-Raven formed a protective dome of black energy around them even as they both crashed into the ground, Yatagarasu cawing from above in some vain attempt to rouse Naruto.

Elsewhere in Jump-City, Jinx and the others watched Naruto slam into the ground in the distance from behind the protective barrier created by the Shakujo. Clenching her fists Jinx then turned around and faced the others. "What the hell are we doing just standing around here?" She demanded and Seemore scratched the side of his face with a confused look spread across his face.

"Uh… keeping safe like Temp told us?" The one eyed teen questioned and Jinx huffed while Nightwing frowned.

"I see what she means… why are we all just standing back and letting them do all the work for us… when we should be fighting with them." Nightwing stated while Jinx nodded her head to the former boy-wonder with a glare.

"Exactly! What are we a bunch of fucking kids or something? You titans have collectively kicked more ass than my team combined yet your all just sitting around here while Temp and the Demon chick fight that monstrosity! And you JLU guys aren't any better! You've fought Darkseid and Hades himself, yet here you are with the rest of us! When we should be over there, helping our friend to take that thing down once and for all!" Jinx shouted at them and BB rubbed the back of his neck while looking towards the enormous beast warily.

"I know what you mean dudette, but we're all like the size of ameba's compared to that thing… what could we do against it?" BB reminded and Jinx crossed her arms and gave the green furred teen an annoyed glare.

"Are you saying you can't change into something big enough to at the very least hurt that thing? Like, oh I don't know, a T-Rex and bite its tail, or have Starfire drop you on it while you turn into a Brachiosaurus?" Jinx demanded and BB blinked before slowly shaking his head, as he knew of a few animals that might be able to at least damage it slightly. "Right, then what about the rest of us! What're our excuses for sitting back here and letting our leader and friend get pounded on by that thing?" Jinx questioned of the rest of Tartarus and Gizmo muttered something before glaring at the girl.

"Oi, we get it already. And if I'm going to die I guess I'd prefer to do it helping Temp out against a giant monster… well at least its better than dying in what will most likely be a slow painful death after he's gone, or even being eaten by some random monster that thing conjures up to take over the world." Gizmo mused with a shrug of his shoulders and Dani snickered before giving a thumb up to the pinkette.

"No way am I about to let Sensei die before he can finish teaching me, so you can count me in as well!" Dani said and the rest of Tartarus reluctantly agreed, Nightwing looking to his own team as they did.

"Well what do you say guys, we going to let them take all the glory for themselves or what?" Nightwing asked the other Titans with a smirk and Cyborg scoffed while crossing his arms over his chest.

"Fat chance of that happening." He declared while Starfire looked to her sister and quickly grabbed the girl into a bone-breaking hug.

"Please sister, if you will go into battle with the enormous monster of badness, then I shall do so also!" Starfire said while hugging her dark haired older-sister, Blackfire merely rolling her eyes before pushing her off.

"I thought we had a talk about all the hugging!" Blackfire reminded the girl and Starfire grinned nervously, before Dr. Fate shook his head with a chuckle.

"Well, I believe I speak for us all when I say that if you all shall face that thing, then so shall we also face it." Dr. Fate agreed while Etrigan snorted and looked at them all with a deep frown across his face.

"**This mission is naught but a fools errand I fear, take heart in the moment, for our end surely draws near."** Etrigan grumbled in verse, Shayera rolling her eyes before deciding to translate for the demon.

"What I think Etrigan is trying to say is not to think of this as our last stand, live in the moment, and remember that no matter what happens, we've done our best to save this world." Shayera explained and Batman silently nodded his head, Nightwing, Jinx, and Dr. Fate looking to one another before Jinx grabbed Naruto's Shakujo and yanked it out of the ground.

"I hope you all know that it is highly likely that none of us will be walking away from this fight…" Ravager chose to remind the group, only for Jinx and Nightwing to look to one another.

"That's a distinct possibility, but the same could be said if we stay here. Standing around we're assured death, at least we'll have a chance if we help X take that thing down." Nightwing replied while crossing his arms over his chest, Ravager shaking her head before pulling her Katana from her back.

"Well then, if you're all going to walk head first into battle and almost certain doom, I might as well tag along for the ride." The white haired girl decided while the Young-Raven looked at them all as if they were insane.

"How can you all talk so casually about this? You… none of you will be coming back if you fight him. He's stronger than my father was, and he was already invincible!" The Young-Raven reminded and the group looked amongst themselves for a moment before Batman walked over to the girl and knelt down.

"Your right, we probably are going to walk to our deaths. But its not because we're underestimating the threat he poses to us… no. It's because we can't just sit here and do nothing while other's fight on. Hero… Villain… Mercenary… or even Thief… I've found that they all have one thing in common. It isn't that they have powers, it isn't that they have gadgets, and it isn't that they have partners or friends…" Batman started to explain and a confused look crossed over the girl's face.

"Then… what's the same?" She asked and Batman stood up, looking down at her for only a moment before closing his eyes.

"Resolve. The resolve to constantly keep coming back after every defeat. The Resolve to keep on saving lives, even when we're hurting or have lost those close to us. The Resolve to never give up, no matter what the circumstances… The resolve to see whatever we do through even to the bitter end." Batman replied and the Young-Raven looked to the Dark-Knight with wide eyes as he then turned around and walked to the others. "That is what we have in common, that is what makes us the same." Batman told the girl flatly and then turned back to the others. "Alright, lets go, we have a story to see through to the end." Batman stated and Duela snickered into her hands before looking at the Dark-Knight with a grin.

"Oh you _really_ have no idea just how correct that statement is!" She said, mostly to herself, and then laughed loudly while Jinx shook her head in exasperation. Taking a quick breath to solidify her resolve, the pink haired girl then looked around to the large group that was to stand together against the Juubi.

"Alright then, then lets teach that over sized demon it can't mess with our friend and get away with it!" Jinx declared even as the Shakujo seemed to react to the String of Beads that Jinx was wearing, glowing with a feint white light. "Kid, lets get over there and fast!" Jinx ordered and Kid-Wykkyd nodded his head silently before pulling his cloak up and over them all, causing them to vanish into the shadows…

"**Get up Naruto!"** The Demon-Raven pleads while shaking Naruto, the black furred Okami lying on his side, unconscious and unmoving while the Juubi glared down at him and the red-skinned demoness.

"**Now we finally end this runt!"** The Juubi declared while moving its arms to the sides and dragging itself closer to the two. Naruto slowly opened his eyes slowly and then growling as he glared up at the Juubi. However, looking up, the wolf then saw the enormous beast's center eye begin to spin, recreating a familiar shape. **"Kitsunebi!"** It exclaimed with a grin, sending a hale of purple flames flowing towards them when Naruto grinned slightly to himself and managed to get to his feet.

"**Sh-Shiranui!"** The blond exclaimed loudly as he pushed his Chakra forward in a wave, the familiar white flames forming along the way. The white flames flowed forth like a torrent, quickly consuming the Juubi's "Foxfire" and leaving it to gape in shock. As the fires of Shiranui consumed the Foxfire, Yatagarasu swooped down and began to beat its wings, feeding the flames and causing them to rise up and flow onto the Juubi. Screeching in pain, the Juubi stumbled back as the flames of Shiranui burned into its arms, searing its flesh.

"**What again? What is this fire?"** The beast demanded while the flames burned into both of its arms before suddenly grunting aloud as several small explosions impacted against the side of its face. Turning its center eye to the side it then saw the group of "Heroes" standing against it and sneered. **"So all the vermin finally come out of the woodworks. Good, now I can have the pleasure of killing you all at once!"** The Juubi declared however Slade lunged from off of a building and spun The Guardian's war-ax in his hands before roaring out as he threw the weapon towards the Juubi, embedding it deeply into its center eye.

Seeing her chance, Jinx pulled her arms inward and then spread them out, sending a wave of pink hex-energy along the ground. The wave of energy then flowed under the Juubi, causing the road to give way and it to fall onto its side. Shayera then flew forward, her wings beating against the wind as she activated her Mace. Stopping in midair, she then twisted around and threw the weapon with a roaring, sending it flying into the war-ax in the Juubi's eye, and digging it even deeper into the closed orb. Shrieking out in pain, the Juubi thrashed about while clawing at its face to try and stop the pain.

As the Juubi thrashed his tails slammed into anything and everything around them, Kid-Wykkyd quickly forming out of the shadows to grab Jinx, then vanishing and grabbing Shayera out of the way as well. As it did, Starfire and Blackfire flew passed the Juubi, over the ivory flames, and landed next to a Naruto. As soon as she saw them, the Demon-Raven shook her head to clear the shock of them actually standing against the great demon and glared at Starfire and Blackfire. **"What are you human idiots doing? He told you all to stay behind the barrier and keep safe!"** She reminded the two tameranians angrily and Blackfire rolled her eyes before giving the demoness a smirk.

"Yeah, but we're his friends." Blackfire reminded as she got beside of Naruto, Starfire doing the same, both sisters lifting up the enormous wolf.

"And as his friends, we cannot allow him to stand against this most evil being of Ten-Tails without us by his side as well." Starfire said with a nod of her head then flew with Blackfire over the flames of Shiranui still flowing along the ground. _**'Why are they doing this? What are they getting out of putting their lives on the line like this? Why not just stay back and stay where it's safe… I… I don't understand why they'd do this…'**_ The Demon-Raven thought to herself wondering why this didn't make any sense to her, since she had done something similar to prevent the titans from being harmed before…

Meanwhile, Kid-Flash was running along the ground under the Juubi easily moving around its thrashing tails. Growling lowly, the Juubi lifted an arm in an attempt to right itself, grabbing hold of a building and using it as leverage. Seeing this, Kid-Flash lunged forward and quickly ran in a circle under the arm and around the building. Soon enough the speedster created a miniature tornado that lifted the limb up into the air. Soon running out from under the Juubi and releasing the Tornado that lifted it up, thus causing the beast's limb to fall off of the building, the Juubi falling to the ground face-forward when he did so.

Shaking his head and growling darkly, the Juubi opened its four remaining eyes and reached out to grasp Kid-Flash with a deep scowl. However before he could do so, Kid-Wykkyd suddenly appeared and pulled the speedster into the shadows, the Juubi gritting its teeth as they escaped. However it then grunted as a torrent of flames and magical energy then hit the side of its face. Opening an eye, the Juubi than narrowed it as it saw its attackers, Dr. Fate using his magic, Gizmo using a Laser from his Pack, Seemore using his Eyebeam, and Etrigan using his Demonic-Fire. Roaring out in fury, the Juubi sent one of its tails towards the group, only for Kid-Wykkyd to pop up and rescue them yet again.

'_**I am going to kill that annoying mortal…'**_ The beast thought to itself with a dark frown across its features. Moving both of its arms up the Juubi placed them onto two of the still standing buildings and lifted himself up off of the ground. Shaking his head for a moment, the enormous demonic-beast then started looking around for its attackers, primarily Kid-Wykkyd so he could crush the annoying mortal and so they would stop escaping from him.

As it did BB flew as a Pterodactyle into the sky and towards the semi blinded Juubi as it claws at its own face, trying in vane to pull the tiny Ax out of its enormous eye and only serving to slice through its own face. On the opposite side of BB, Dani is flying intangibly towards the Juubi as well, a grin clearly on her face under her mask. Roaring out in pain the beast's tails thrashed about, the group below making sure to stay out of its flailing tails way while Slade jumped down to the ground, landing next to a surprised Ravager. "Father?" She questioned in surprise and Slade looked to his daughter with his single, slate grey eye for a moment.

"For the record, I'm nobodies servant." He replied before looking back to where BB was flying around the numerous tails that were thrashing about, causing whirlwinds and earthquakes with each swing they made. Dani was merely remaining intangible while approaching the other side of the Juubi's head. Soon both saw their target; BB quickly changed into an armadillo and fell towards the Juubi, while Dani dive-bombed it. Flowing through the Juubi's skull, Dani entered into its left ear while BB changed into a Raven at the last second and flying into the creature's ear as it continued to thrash about.

Flying around in its skull for a short while within the enormous beasts ear, BB soon came to the deepest portion of its ear and changed into a whale. Dani soon reached the same spot in the Juubi's other ear and took a deep breath of air. Landing within its head as a whale, BB then let out a loud groaning sound within the Juubi's inner ear. While on the other side, Dani let loose with a "Banshee's Scream" into the Juubi's opposite ear, ringing both eardrums violently.

As the two sounds echoed within the Juubi's head the enormous beast shrieked in pain once more, rearing back and falling down, back first into the ground. The Juubi slammed into the ground with a mighty slam, shaking the earth beneath it while BB and Dani both flew out of the Juubi's ear and into the sky once more. As the Juubi heard a loud ringing in its ears from the two sounds, it started to get up, only for eight enormous snakes to rip their way out of the ground, then wrap around the beast. **"What is this?"** The Juubi demanded while gritting its teeth and shrieking when the familiar snakes started to bite into its body.

"_**Wait a minute… is that, Orochimary?"**_ Naruto wondered to himself while watching the false Yamata-no-Orochi wrap its body around the Juubi. The first of its head then quickly bit into the side of its neck, the next four each twisted around and sunk their poisoned fangs into the Juubi's legs, two more of the snakes wrapping around its ten tails before biting into one another. The tails of the snake then coiled their way around the Juubi, holding it down while its final head spit out Orochimaru. The Serpentine man then shot up and grabbed hold of the Guardian's war ax and ripped it out of the Juubi's eye, causing it to shriek in pain and trash about in the grasp over the false Yamata-no-Orochi that was wrapped over its form.

Twisting in the air, Orochimaru fell towards the ground with Ax in hand and an amused smirk across his face. Seeing the ground approaching, Orochimaru merely twirled the War-Ax in hand before digging it into the building at his side. Hanging on as he slowed down, Orochimaru soon found himself on the ground and chuckled lightly while looking up towards the pained Juubi. "Alright, I'll leave the rest up to you and your little friends, Naruto-Kun… For the time being this should make for an excellent replacement for the Kusanagi…" Orochimaru mused while focusing his Chakra into the weapon, then smirked as its blade burst into flames…

Within the city, watching on with wide eyes as the Juubi thrashed against the bonds of the false Orochi, a sense of hope slowly started to well within her chest. "I don't believe it. They… they're actually doing it… they're hurting it." She whispered and then watched as a furious Juubi roared loudly, the sheer force of its roar destroying the "Skin" of the Yamata-no-Orochi that Orochimaru had left to hold it down. Grunting lightly, the Juubi then got back to its feet, widening its eyes when it saw that it was bleeding heavily.

"**Yes, they're hurting it… it's just so amazing isn't it…"** The Demon-Raven noted dryly while walking over to her human-half with a frown on her face. Turning to her other self, the young Raven looked away before hearing a loud caw in the distance. Both girls then looked up and saw a white raven flying overhead before dive-bombing. Blinking for a moment, the young-Raven yelped even as the bird impacted with her, creating a blinding light, her demonic-half hissing while backing away. Soon the light faded away and in place of the young Raven, was a full grown Raven, albeit in white rather than blue and black clothing.

Blinking for a moment, the now older Raven looked to her hands for a moment, then up towards the injured, and panting Juubi. "If their resolve can help them overcome something like that… then shouldn't we fight with them?" Raven asked her other self and the demoness scowled deeply.

"**Give me one good reason I should work with a goody goody like you?"** The red-skinned demoness demanded and Raven crossed her arms over her chest.

"Because if we don't work together, you have to go back to hell when everything is said and done… while I get to stay out here…" Raven reminded the demoness flatly and she suddenly twitched at that tidbit before grumbling under her breath with a scowl. Sighing softly, the demoness then formed a ring of obsidian energy around her body while glaring at the "White-Witch".

"**Fine… but I'm only doing this for the fact I'll still be with Naruto in some way. If I had things my way, I'd gladly head back to hell **_**with**_** him, rather than be a part of you."** The demoness declared angrily and Raven managed a light smile while forming white energy into a ring around her own body.

"I think that's a good enough reason." She decided and walked into the Demoness, a spiral of black and white energy suddenly shooting into the sky as the two became one complete being again…

"**This… this isn't possible! Not even the Rikudo-Sennin himself could truly stop me! You worthless Ningen shouldn't even be able to harm me like this!"** The Juubi snarled and Naruto smirked as Starfire and Blackfire landed, Cyborg and Mammoth grinning as they reared their arms back with the girls holding on to Naruto.

"_**Yeah well your not the old Juubi. Your just a cheap knockoff so shut up about how great you are already."**_ Naruto grumbled out and sent towards the Juubi, a snarl forming on the beast's lips while Cyborg and Mammoth grinned.

"Alright! Let 'em go Mammoth!" Cyborg cried out as he and Mammoth launched Starfire, Blackfire, and Naruto into the air, sending them flying faster than normal. Gritting its teeth, the Juubi sent its tails towards the two girls only for them to dodge and weave around them and then rear Naruto back and quickly throw him straight towards the Juubi. Falling towards the Juubi, Naruto then smirked as the Juubi opened its mouth and lunged up at him. Grinning slightly, Naruto formed his ten-tails around his body into a ball as the Juubi snapped its jaws over him.

However a mere second later, the Juubi shrieked in pain and threw its head back, a ball of white fire flying into the sky. Twisting around, Naruto released the flames of Shiranui and looked down to the beaten and battered Juubi before moving all ten of his tails forward. **"Juubi Imari! (Ten-Tailed Menacing-Ball!)"** Naruto exclaimed as the energy formed at his mouth, only to be unleashed in a powerful wave, which then slammed into the Juubi, sending it careening into the ground and burning more of its flesh from its body as well. Grinning to himself, Naruto "Flapped" his tails once more, giving himself a burst of speed and flying down towards the Juubi.

"**I… won't lose… to the likes of you pathetic little Ningen!"** The Juubi snarled, half the flesh burned away from its face as it looked up and opened its mouth to form an Imari of its own. Not giving Naruto the time to put up a defense against it, the Juubi unleashed its Imari directly towards the falling Okami. However, a second before it would've impacted with the Okami, five obsidian black spheres quickly formed around him, each one inside the other, protecting him from the blast. Widening his eyes in shock, the Juubi then watched as the attack passed, blowing a hole clear out of the sky above.

However, the spheres of dark-energy then seemed to melt away, revealing a long haired version of Raven, her body looked like it was back to normal with the blue cloak and black clothing / armor restored, however her hair was onyx black and gave off a violet sheen, her skin was tanned, neither gray nor crimson, instead appearing to be lightly tanned, her two eyes were a blazing crimson red, and upon each hand she had sharp black claws. _**"Kara-Chan?"**_ Naruto questioned and a smirk crossed the girl's lips, turning around to face the wolf for only a moment.

"Maybe you were expecting someone else?" She quipped dryly and then yelped as Naruto pounced on her, then started to lick her face. "Okay, okay! I'm happy to see you as well! Down boy, heel!" Raven ordered playfully while pushing the happy Okami off of herself, then looked towards the Juubi with a slight frown across her face. "I think you've still got something to take care of. You've got a time limit remember." Raven reminded the Okami and it nodded its head, Raven forming a sphere of dark-energy around him and twisting around, then roaring out while throwing the blond down towards the Juubi with all her might.

Smiling slightly as he moved towards the climax of their "story" Raven then flew down towards the rest of her friends, landing on the ground and then raising a brow as they all looked at her in shock. "Raven…" BB started to ask as he approached the girl with wide eyes. "Is that… is that really you?" The green furred Titan questioned and the girl frowned while crossing her arms and bringing her hood up to shadow her features.

"Does this answer your question?" She asked in her usual stoic monotone, BB grinning widely when he heard her familiar voice.

"RAVEN!" He exclaimed happily while latching onto the girl in a hug, soon followed by a jubilant Starfire.

"Oh friend it is most joyous to have you returned to us!" Starfire exclaimed while picking Raven and BB up off the ground and twirling with them in her arms. Phasing out of their grasp, the dark titan then pulled her hood back and shook her head.

"It's nice to see you both as well, but lets not forget we've still got to see the end of this…" Raven reminded while looking to where Naruto was still falling towards the Juubi however the beast roared out, lunging at the Okami and snapping its jaws over him.

"**Die Runt!"** Juubi growled out angrily only to shriek out in pain and throw its head back, opening its mouth while Naruto flew out spinning into the air. However oddly enough, his entire body was coated with the white flames of Shiranui, briefly making him look like a pure white-wolf. Twisting around for a moment, Naruto soon righted himself and looked down to where Juubi was spitting out blood, the white flames burning his mouth. Inwardly chuckling at the sight, Naruto then spun around while the Shiranui flames over his body quickly went out.

Narrowing his eyes, Naruto propelled himself down towards the Juubi, only for Yatagarasu to fly over him and land on his back when he got close to the beast. Raising a brow for a moment, Naruto then felt a strange yet warm presence suddenly appear in his body. _**"Chakura-Kusari! (Chakra-Chains!)"**_ The Okami exclaimed as dozens of spiked chains ripped their way out of his back, then wrapped around the Juubi, causing it to snarl and thrash against them as they dug their way into the ground and pulled the enormous ten-tailed beast down to the ground. Landing on the ground with a soft plop, the Okami then looked to the struggling Juubi in shock.

'_Wait a minute, those are… mom's Chakra-Chains…_' The black-furred Okami thought to himself while gazing at the Chains that had formed out of his back and wrapped around the enormous beast. Shaking his head afterwards, Naruto then grit his teeth as the Juubi lifted up a hand and started to pick himself up from the ground. _'Alright, I've got mom's chains, but I'm just one… wait a second._' Naruto then thought and closed his eyes while focusing on molding his Chakra. Inwardly focusing the Okami then grit his teeth, as a couple of copies seemed to form out of his back.

The Copies shook their heads for a moment, before looking from Naruto to the Juubi then ran towards it, spreading out as they did. Snarling deeply, the Juubi then reached out and tried to grab one of the copies, however it quickly moved out of the way before sliding to a halt and formed its own Chakra-Chains and they shot around the limb and it started to back up. On the other side another Copy did the same thing, a third moving in front of Naruto taking over for him while a fourth and fifth copy used their own chains to hold its legs down, trapping all but its tails, which the body of the fake Yamata-no-Orochi managed to hold onto.

Naruto then smirked as he also quickly returned to his human form taking a breath and looking to Yatagarasu on his shoulder. _'What is up with this bird?'_ The blond wondered to himself before turning back to glare at the Juubi as his "Okami-Bunshin (Wolf-Clones)" held it down for him. Crouching down for a moment, the blond then lunged forward, Yatagarasu flying from his shoulder as he did. Naruto quickly jumped up over a torrent of Kitsunebi from the Juubi as it breathed it towards him upon his approach. Breathing lightly as the flames passed, Naruto then formed the Kusanagi into his hand, before calling upon the wind to launch himself higher into the air.

Narrowing its eyes, The Juubi lifted one of its arms, barely, and reached out for the Ex-Shinobi. Narrowing his eyes, Naruto launched himself towards the hand and twisted around in mid air while extending the Kusanagi, slicing cleanly through the length of the beast's entire arm, and even one of its eyes as well. Widening its eyes the Juubi screeched in excruciating pain, thrashing about in its bindings while Naruto held out a hand towards it. **"Shinra Tensei!"** The blond exclaimed while bringing down a mass of gravity down upon the Juubi, pressing it down into the ground, helping the Okami-Bunshin to hold it. Coming down onto the Juubi's back with a smirk, Naruto then turned, swinging the Kusanagi and slashing and slicing through the Juubi's body.

Turning the sword in hand soon after, Naruto then gripped the handle with both hands and stabbed it down through the Juubi's spine, lengthening the blade and causing it to stab straight through the beast's entire form. The Juubi's eyes widened as he did and a pitiful sound escaped its lips as the blond then pulled his sword from the beast's body. Looking at the mass of cuts and lacerations he'd left on it for only a moment, Naruto then turned towards the beast's head while dismissing the Kusanagi. Jumping up to it, Naruto landed with a soft plop and smirked darkly. Widening its remaining eyes as he did, the Juubi tried to see the blond as he placed a hand onto it and frowned deeply.

"You were right about one thing, Juubi…" The blond admitted while quickly "gripping" hold of something that lay inside of the Juubi and holding onto it as tightly as he could. "This is the end!" He then declared while quickly jerking back on his arm, ripping out the familiar red Chakra of the Kyuubi from the beast. The Juubi cried out as he did so, its body turned to ash and began to flow away with the breeze, soon enough leaving only Trigon screaming in its place. Knelt down and in pain, the enormous demon then fell forward with Naruto standing on his head, his powers depleted and his body completely spent from the ordeal of changing into the Juubi.

Naruto on the other hand held out his hand and looked to the brilliant crimson like that was the Kyuubi's soul and Yin-Chakra. However as he did, he felt his eyes widen before putting a hand to his head as a memory from the beast suddenly passed before his mind's eye. Twitching as the memories assaulted his mind, Naruto then grit his teeth and shook his head of them with a deep frown. Narrowing his eyes onto Kyuubi's soul for a moment, the blond then gripped it tightly, watching it as it seemed to squirm in his grip.

'_Don't worry Kyuubi, I won't be the one to ultimately kill you…_' Naruto thought to himself and then turned on his heel and threw what remained of the Kyuubi's Chakra and its soul over to the side. The energy flew through the air before stopping in midair, creating a spiral of red energy as it did. Watching on silently, Naruto then narrowed his eyes as the beast reformed in the air and then landed in a heap and thus jumped off of Trigon's body and landed on the ground with a light plop.

Letting out a quick breath and brushing off his coat, Naruto then slowly made his way towards the downed Kyuubi. Looking around as he continued to walk towards the downed Kyuubi, the blond then watched as the Okami-Bunshin all reared their heads back and into the air before suddenly howling into the sky. _'I guess they're giving a "Victory Howl" of their own…'_ The blond haired youth thought to himself while the Okami then retracted their Chakra-Chains back into their bodies. Blinking for a moment at the strange sight, the blond then smirked as the Okami-Bunshin all dispelled themselves, leaving only a faint trail of smoke behind as they went.

Soon coming to a halt, Naruto stood before the Kyuubi and narrowed his eyes onto the beast as it opened its own bloody crimson ones. "You just had to do it, didn't you?" Naruto questioned darkly and the Kyuubi narrowed its eyes onto him while trying to reach its right hand for him.

"**W-Worthless… little… runt…"** The Kyuubi hissed out in pain while Naruto merely jumped onto its outstretched hand before it could do anything with it.

"Me worthless? Whose the one laid out and completely exhausted around here, Kyuubi?" Naruto quipped in reply while crossing his arms over his chest, the Kyuubi narrowing its eyes onto him dangerously. "Or, perhaps I should call you by your true name instead…" Naruto noted aloud and watched the Kyuubi's bloody crimson eyes widen before narrowing onto him dangerously.

"**Be silent runt… that weak little fool is long dead! I am all… all that remains of her now!"** The Kyuubi declared angrily and Naruto tilted his head to one side, a look on his face that greatly annoyed the beast.

"Yeah, I'm so sure you are…" Naruto replied and then turned his back onto the beast before jumping back to the ground and landing in a crouch with a sigh. As he did, an evil grin crossed the Kyuubi's face, its eyes showing a sort of mad glee as it did.

"**Walking away now… surely you want revenge… to take my life for the things I've done… after all… I did manage to kill your wench of a mother once… as well as your bastard father…"** The Kyuubi reminded darkly, Naruto twitching before clenching his fists at his sides as he turned to glare at the grinning beast.

However, just as he did he suddenly came to a halt, eyes widening as a gong sounded out all around him. Feeling a shiver run up and down his spine, Naruto turned around, then watched on, as fog seemed to condense out of thin air. Shivering as the gong sounded yet again, the blond haired youth then watched as the earth split open, a long crack stopping just shy of him. Following the crack, Naruto watched as numerous Hitodama spilled out of it, rising up and floating into the air before hovering around silently, followed shortly by a single hand that reached up and out of the earth itself.

Meanwhile, the Titans and Tartarus felt as if something had walked over their collective graves. A deep and what felt nearly unending feeling of fear and loss echoing out in the souls of each of them. Raven herself felt fear for what was now the second time in her life, the sheer depths of fear confirming what she believed to be coming. Etrigan was only slightly less fearful than the humans, being essentially immortal helped, however even he felt some amount towards the thing that was coming, as the entire world around them was suddenly covered in a dense unending fog.

"D-Dude… like what's going on?" BB asked while shaking in his shoes, Nightwing slowly shaking his head while watching as something slowly rose out of the earth. The being's back was to the Titans, Tartarus, and JLU however its sheer size and the black energy seeming to flow off of its body gave them all a clear indication it was not something that was to be trifled with. Looking to Naruto, the Shinigami then threw its arms to the sides, an evil grin upon its face as it looked to the blond darkly…

"_**It is time!"**_ The Death-God declared and Naruto took a quick breath of air and then stood up, grimacing slightly as his worn out body protested to the action. Making his way towards the Shinigami, Naruto then fell to his knees and bowed before the beast, panting slightly while holding out his arms.

"Shinigami-Sama…" Naruto whispered while looking up to the Death-God, the said being chuckling as it gazed from the battered form of Kyuubi to Trigon. "I present to you, the dreaded Kyuubi no Kitsune… _it_ is yours to do with, as you wish." Naruto stated while Yatagarasu landed on his shoulder, as if to protect the blond from the Shinigami it then cawed loudly. Tilting its head for a moment while looking to the spiky haired blond, the Shinigami then looked over to the Kyuubi and then watched as Naruto gave him a look. "Our deal is done… now you can take the Kyuubi, and just go." Naruto stated and the Shinigami's sneering grin seemed to widen as it floated away from the blond.

Silently, the being hovered towards the Kyuubi, the multi-tailed beast's eyes widening at its approach. Groaning, the beast tried to pull itself away, only to grit its teeth, the loss of Chakra from forming the Juubi, Summoning the Youkai, and then having his soul forcibly ripped out of Trigon disabling the majority of his motor functions. _**"At long last… the threat of the Bijuu shall finally be ended."**_ The Shinigami declared while reaching up and pulling its dagger from its mouth. The Shinigami then threw its arm forward, digging it into the Kyuibi, causing its eyes to widen in fear.

"**N… n… No!"** The Kyuubi somehow managed to get out in a horse whisper before it was quickly dragged to the mouth of the Shinigami.

"_**Your soul is **__**mine**__**!"**_ The Shinigami uttered darkly while easily pulling the body of the Kyuubi back and opening its mouth. Shrieking aloud as the Shinigami then devoured it whole, the Kyuubi struggled against the pull of the Death-God even as the Shinigami finally swallowed it and then snapped its jaws closed, sealing it away forever… And behind it, Naruto looked at the Shinigami in no small amount of fear, then watched as it turned back around and floated over to stand before him once more, slipping its dagger back within its teeth silently.

"_**You have done well young, Okami. But be forewarned, this is not the end of your story, this is only just the beginning… you shall be of further use to **__**us**__**, in the future…"**_ The Shinigami warned ominously as it slowly turned into a mist before ultimately vanishing, the mist and fog slowly flowing into the crack they'd appeared from. Soon enough even the crack itself sealed shut, leaving Naruto to shiver before looking to where the Titans and Tartarus were running over to him from.

"Dude! We did it!" BB exclaimed happily while Dani flew over to stand at her sensei's side with a grin on under her mask.

"Sensei that was so awesome! Do you think you can teach me that wicked soul ripping trick?" Dani suddenly asked and Naruto blinked before frowning towards the girl for a moment.

"Unfortunately, I really don't think I can teach something like that… and even if I could, I really don't like using it myself." Naruto replied while Dani pouted and crossed her arms as the rest of Tartarus walked over to the blond and congratulated him as well.

"Ha! That'll teach that stupid thing, and anyone else, not to mess with Tartarus!" Gizmo declared with a killer grin on his face, the rest of Tartarus agreeing with the tiny-terror while Jinx smiled towards Naruto.

"Thanks for the gift. It really did come in handy." Jinx whispered to the blond haired teen and he raised a brow before looking to the String of Beads. Seeing that the beads were giving off a feint white glow, Naruto then blinked before smiling softly to his pink haired friend.

"No problem Jinx…" He offered with a grin on his face, then looked to the side and saw that Nightwing was looking at him with a thin frown across his face.

"So X, are you finally starting to run out of steam or what?" Nightwing questioned of the blond haired teen with a smirk forming across his face and Nartuo merely grinned towards the other teen in response.

"Yeah well, I'm too tired to come up with some witty retort right now… give me a little time to at least catch my breath, kid…" Naruto mumbled while Jinx then offered the tired blond his Shakujo back. Giving a grin to the rosette, Naruto reached out and took hold of the staff, then started to lean against it heavily. Breathing out for a moment, the blond then grimaced when he saw Batman, Etrigan, Dr. Fate, and Shayera walking over to them. However when he felt Raven hug him from the side, the blond smiled and placed an arm over her shoulder, only to frown towards where the injured Trigon was.

"However, I don't think we're really all done here yet." Naruto then said while watching as Trigon was slowly turned himself onto his hands and knees while panting heavily to himself, then slowly pushed himself up to glare at them.

"I think I'll handle this one…" Raven stated while walking from the group and over towards her "Father" with a deep frown on her face. Grunting lightly, Trigon glared at the approaching form of his daughter, even as he bled from multiple wounds inflicted upon both him and Kyuubi when they were combined then separated.

"**You… you think you are a threat to me, Little Girl? Even in my weakened state… I am still more powerful than you…"** Trigon growled at Raven as he slowly grit his teeth and lifted one of his hoofed feet up and dug it into the ground. **"I am your creator! Your master! You exist only to serve me! You survive only because I allow it!"** Trigon growled at Raven as she continued to approach, frowning deeply and forming a ring a black and white energy around her waist. **"What hope can a mere child like you have of defeating her all powerful father?"** Trgion demanded and Raven narrowed her eyes onto the enormous demon dangerously.

"You may have created me… but you were never my father." Raven declared while firing twin beams of energy at Trigon, one black and one white. The beams connected with Trigon's chest, knocking him back where he was forced to brace himself against a building before watching as Raven continued to approach him.

"**Wretched insignificant…"** Trigon started to say only to cry out as Raven fired another stream of energy into his chest, knocking him back and through the building completely, crushing it under his weight.

"Fathers are Kind!" Raven stated while walking forward and firing another beam into Trigon, sending him skidding to the side where he slowly got up on one knee. "Fathers protect you!" She added while firing again, Trigon rolling back and into a building before glaring at the violet haired girl. "Fathers' Raise You!" Raven added while firing once more, black and white lightning swirling over Trigon and causing him to bow before the girl. Taking a deep breath, Raven then closed her eyes and called upon the power she'd left with her friends.

Nightwing, Cyborg, Starfire, and Beast-Boy all looked to one another as they felt a pull and held up a hand, a trail of familiar ebony energy flowing from their hands and over towards Raven. Holding up her own hand, Raven quickly absorbed the power into herself before glaring at Trigon fiercely. "I was protected by the monks of Azarath! I was raised by my friends!" Raven exclaimed while glaring at Trigon, the enormous demon managing to gaze at the girl with one eye. "They are my family, this is my home, and you are not welcome here!" Raven exclaimed while flying into the sky and throwing her arms to her sides.

Seeing this, Naruto closed his eyes and vanished in a swirl of white flames, only to reappear and wrap his arms around Raven from behind, Shakujo still in hand. Blinking in shock, Raven turned to see Naruto over her shoulder and the blond grinned towards her. "Mind if I help you out here, Kara-Chan?" The blond haired teen questioned of the girl and a small smile worked its way across her face. Moving her arms up to form an X over her torso to hold onto his arms, she then turned her eyes back to Trigon.

"Not at all…" She whispered in reply before closing her eyes, Naruto closing his own as they mixed their powers together.

"Azarath! Metrion! **Zinthos!**" Both Naruto and Raven exclaimed as their combined powers suddenly burst forth, forming a pillar of black and white energy that reached into the heavens. Spotting this, Yatagarasu cawed for a moment before flying towards the pillar and entering into it as well. Soon enough a pair of wings burst from the pillar, looking a great deal like those of Raven's soul-self. Soon enough however, a pair of familiar purple-grey eyes opened up from within the power, causing all of the energy to explode outwards across the world…

Trigon was hit by the wave first, holding up his arms only to scream as his body was simultaneously burned and ripped apart. Soon enough all that was left of Trigon was his dying scream and the power then stretched outward. Forming into a white field that spread outwards in a circle, undoing the damage done by both the Juubi and Trigon. The Titans, Tartarus, and JLU watched on in silence as the wave of energy approached and then flowed over them as well. The energy then stretched out, farther and farther, crossing over the entire planet, and righting what Trigon had done…

(?)

Meanwhile, Naruto head what sounded like wings flapping, from what he could only assume was Yatagarasu. Slowly his eyes fluttered open to an endless blue sky, the sun shining overhead brightly. Blinking for a moment, Naruto found himself spread out, arms outstretched to either side, his Shakujo in his right hand. Looking around from this position, Naruto raised a brow when he saw mountain peaks were completely encircling him on the horizon. He also noticed that, oddly enough, he seemed to be laying on nothing but a cloud, yet he wasn't falling through it, as he should've.

"What the hell?" The blond questioned and then used the Shakoju to pull himself up and gripped it with both hands. "Where am I?" The blond questioned once more and heard Yatagarasu caw, looking up, he spotted the three-legged raven was flying overhead before slowly lowering itself. Turning around to see where it was going, Naruto found a body connecting with his and a pair of arms wrapping around him. Blinking in surprise for a moment, Naruto then widened them when he saw a familiar shock of crimson hair…

"I missed you, Sochi (Son)…" A woman whispered and Naruto widened his eyes before closing them and wrapping his arms around her as well.

"I missed you too, Okasan (Mom)…" The blond replied quietly while smiling faintly as he even recognized her smell from so long ago. _'She still smells just like a warm sunny summer day…'_ The blond thought to himself absently before taking a breath and pushing back, stepping out of her arms and seeing a tearful smile on her face. "But… how are you here?" Naruto asked and Kushina looked to her left shoulder, Yatagarasu landing and rubbing the side of its head into her cheek.

"My little friend here arranged it…" Kushina admitted while petting Yatagarasu and Naruto noted how odd it was that the bird was acting that way.

"So what, is it your pet or what, and how can a bird bring us here anyways?" Naruto questioned of the woman and Kushina blinked before looking to Yatagarasu then to Naruto with a grin.

"Yeah, you could say he's my pet. And as for how we got here, he's a Summon Spirit, which allows him to bring you to his domain, and all Karasu are tied to death as Spirit-Warders, thus allowing him to bring me here as well." Kushina replied in explanation while reaching up to rub the neck of Yatagarasu once more, the raven cawing lightly as she did. "And the little known fact that I held the Karasu summoning contract when I was alive also helps…" Kushina added with a grin on her face and Naruto blinked before rolling his eyes and looked all around.

"Where are we anyways?" Naruto questioned of the woman and she made a "Hmm" sound for a moment while crossing her arms.

"On the border of life and death, in the realm where spirits dwell. Or just the Spirit-Realm if that helps." She replied with a smile on her face and Naruto blinked then sighed while leaning into the Shakujo.

"Oi… and to think I was actually trying to get here when I first escaped Konoha." Naruto said to himself and Kushina snickered into one hand before grinning towards her son for a moment.

"Your as bad at that Jutsu as I am Sochi! I remember back when I first learned it from the Karasu when I was younger, I actually ended up a couple hundred feet in the air instead of the spirit realm. Sarutobi and Minato only just managed to catch me before I went splat, and then they put it into the sacred scroll as an S-Rank Ninjutsu because of how dangerous it was, dattbane!" She stated with a wide and very familiar grin over her face and Naruto gave her a look.

"At least I managed to break into another dimension… what's your excuse!" Naruto demanded of the red haired woman and she twitched while glaring at her son for the crack, only for both to suddenly burst out into laughter. "Man I sure did miss having you around, Okasan." Naruto said with a true smile on his face and Kushina nodded her head before breathing out.

"Yeah. But you shouldn't Sochi, I do take the time to check up on you from time to time, one of the few things I enjoy where I'm at actually." Kushina stated and Naruto gave her a look, smirking slightly as he did. "Yeah yeah, I know give you some privacy when your with your girlfriend, right…" Kushina stated as she knew what that look meant, then crossed her arms and shook her head. "Teens, they all think they don't need their mother's anymore… it's so disrespectful." Kushina said half seriously, smirking the entire time, causing Naruto to roll his eyes and then shake his head.

"Well look at it this way, Okasan. At least I don't have your annoying Verbal Tic anymore…" Naruto noted with a smirk on his face and Kushina blinked for a moment before grinning widely.

"Oh yeah! Ha! Take that Sarutobi! I told you Sochi wouldn't get it from me! You and your damn seal caused it, ttbane!" Kushina stated while pointing into the sky and Naruto laughed to himself, holding his ribs while Kushina blinked and then blushed. "Er, you know… never mind." She then said while Yatagarasu made a slight chirping laugh as well, the woman pouting towards it. "You little traitor…" She said with a pout and yet Yatagarasu still didn't cease with its laughter. However, Kushina then let out a sigh and looked to the smiling Naruto with a sad look.

"Well… looks like its time for me to go, Sochi." She stated and Naruto stopped his grinning and looked to the woman silently. Sighing he then leaned into his Shakujo and closed his eyes before opening one eye with a sad smile on his face.

"Of all the things I've wanted over the years, the thing I wanted most was just to be able to see you again. And now that I have… well… I kind of wish you could stay and maybe meet Kara-Chan." Naruto replied while rubbing the back of his neck and Kushina blinked for a moment and then smiled as well.

"Oh yeah her… speaking of your girl friend, good work on finding her, Sochi. Even if you did disobey me when you did…" Kushina said with a nod and Naruto raised a brow while looking to his mother strangely. Huffing and crossing her arms, Kushina then gave the blond haired youth a look. "Don't you remember, Sochi? Back when you were little I told you to find a girl like me who wasn't weird, yet somehow you find one whose practically my exact opposite!" Kushina reminded and Naruto blinked for a moment before giving the woman an annoyed look.

"So…?" He asked with a slight growl and Kushina smirked in response.

"So what. It's your life Sochi, besides, she seems like a good match for your reckless impulsive self… sort of like Minato was for me." Kushina replied and Naruto shrugged his shoulders, not wanting to think about that. However he then yelped as his red-haired mother suddenly grabbed him around his neck with one arm and gave him an annoyed look. "But if you ever disobey me like that again, I swear that I'll pound you into the ground, ttbane!" Kushina declared with her eyes narrowed and Naruto gasped while gripping the arm around his neck.

"Alright! Alright! I get it mom! Just, please let me go!" Naruto shouted and Kushina nodded her head with a smirk while releasing the blond, causing him to breath in then exhale, before giving the woman and annoyed glare. _'Jeez, Shikamaru was right… moms really are scary…'_ Naruto thought to himself while Kushina looked around and a slight sad smile crossed her features as she looked back to him.

"Anyways Sochi, sorry to say it, but it looks like I can't stay here any longer… my time's up. I have to go back now." Kushina then stated and Naruto blinked before a sad frown crossed his face.

"To… Yomi?" Naruto asked with a noticeable trace of fear in his voice, not wishing the fate of those poor souls on his mother, and yet Kushina smirked towards the blond, as a white mist started flowing around her.

"No, no… and before you ask, lets just say I have my ways of staying out of that place. Oh, and before I forget, happy birthday Sochi…" Kushina replied softly, causing Naruto to raise a brow as he could almost swear he saw what looked like several red-orange markings appear over Kushina's face, however before he could check again, the world blacked out, a soft voice echoing in his ears…

(Jump-City)

The world has been saved, all traces of Trigon and Kyuubi's invasion / take over banished from existence. Much like it had been earlier, the sun was shining warming rays down upon the city, birds flew through the sky, chirping happily as they did, the bay shined as the light caused sparkles to dance across its surface, and the wind gently shakes the tree's of Jump-City park, causing them to lightly bend. Also like it was earlier, the people of Jump-City are once again going about their business, walking to and fro to reach their destinations, all save for a familiar group at Jump-City harbor.

"Dude, it is like such a beautiful day." BB stated with a nod of his head, breathing in a breath of fresh air as he did so, only for Starfire to grab him in a hug.

"Oh I do so agree my friend! It is indeed a most joyous day to be alive!" She exclaimed while floating off the ground and BB gasped as he started to turn blue.

"St-Starfire… Air!" He gasped out and Starfire blinked before releasing her friend while Cyborg slapped his face and Duela fell over laughing.

"Oh, oh god that is just so fucking hilarious!" Duela exclaimed before falling into yet another fit of laughter, Tartarus sighing as she did so. Meanwhile, only to the side were Jinx and Raven, both hovering over an unconscious Naruto. Oddly, Raven looked like she was back to normal, for her, having her old grey skin pigmentation, violet hair and eyes, and her nails / teeth were also back to normal… though this somehow annoyed her, mostly because in that form, at least she looked normal enough to blend in with a crowd, and therefore, she could go out with Naruto without drawing attention to herself.

"Naruto wake up!" Raven stated while shaking her blond boyfriend lightly, while Jinx hovered over the unconscious blond nearby. The city was also back to normal, confused People looking around in wonder, trying to figure out what had just happened to them and their fair city.

However, Naruto himself seemed to be unconscious, eyes closed and limbs spread out as he lay on his back. Also around the area, the other Titans were surprised that the world was completely back to normal, as if none of the damage Trigon had caused was real. The JLU were contacting the others on the watchtower to confirm that everything was indeed all right. And finally, several members of Tartarus were passed out from exhaustion, Kid-Wykkyd sleeping on the sidewalk soundly after a long day's work. Of the members still conscious, Gizmo, Dani, Duela, Blackfire, Jinx, and Billy Numerous seemed to be the only ones.

"Tempest, please don't be dead! I…" Jinx started to say to the unconscious blond when Naruto suddenly sat up and blinked his eyes open. Looking around for a moment, the blond then groaned while rubbing his head with a visible grimace on his face.

"Oi… Okasan hasn't changed one bit… she's still a little on a weird side of things." The blond haired teen grumbled with a true smile on his face, while Jinx and Raven latched onto him. "Okay… I think I could get used to this." The blond mused aloud with a smirk on his face, only to blink when he heard someone clearing his throat. Frowning as he did, Naruto then looked to both Jinx and Raven, the girls blinking then glaring at one another as they let him go. Shaking his head for a moment, the blond then used his Shakujo to lift himself up to his feet. "Need something Kid?" Naruto asked the spiky haired youth but before Night could comment, BB sprung forward with a grin.

"Dude! We did it! We saved the world!" BB exclaimed happily, his arms raised into the air with a grin on his face, and Cyborg chuckled to himself.

"Aw yeah baby! Lets say we head back to the tower, I'm making some waffles, and then we're gonna go out and party all night long!" Cy stated with a nod of his head as if that was that, Starfire giggling to herself while Blackfire rolled her eyes.

"It was most joyous to do battle by your side beloved-sister! I would very much enjoy to do so again in the future!" Starfire stated while hugging Blackfire tightly, the older girl twitching slightly as she noticed the difference in their height again.

"Koriand'r let me go…" Blackfire growled out and Starfire blinked before chuckling nervously as she released the dark-haired girl.

"Woowee! We've survived the end of the world Billy, don't that just beat all!" Billy Numerous exclaimed while grinning to one of his clones and it grinned back at him.

"Yeah Billy, I bet Mandy 'll have kittens when she hears we helped beat up an enormous Demon!" The clone added and Billy nodded his head in agreement with his clone while Duela snickered into her hand next to Dani.

"He's such an idiot…" Dani mumbled to herself while shaking her head and Duela slipped an arm over her shoulder. Nearby, Kid-Wykkyd opened one eye and rubbed his face, upon seeing the rest of the team were resting on the ground, either unconscious or asleep, Kid discretely began to slip into his cloak, grab them, and then teleport them back to base while none of the heroes were looking…

"Hey, at least he doesn't have an enormously bulbous nose anymore!" Duela offered in reply to the girls comment and Dani raised a brow while Billy grimaced to himself with his clones.

"Anymore?" The Ghostling-Girl questioned with a raised brow and a visible smirk on her lips only for Billy to quickly rush over and slap his hand over Duela's mouth to prevent her from saying anymore.

"It's a long story little miss, but lets just leave it at that for now!" Billy said quickly before dragging Duela away, the insane clown girl snickering to herself as he did so. _'Hiya folks! Nice to see y'all again, hope the wait for this chapter didn't kill ya!'_ The girl then exclaimed inwardly towards the "Audience", as per usual with the insane teenager. Shaking his head at the insanity starting to break out around him, Nightwing then pinched the bridge of his nose with a frown.

"Honestly X, how in the hell do you put up with these guys? Especially Duela…" Night questioned with a shake of his head and Naruto merely shrugged his shoulders in response, an amused look on his face.

"Honestly Kid, I'm not so sure myself…" The blond haired teen replied truthfully and Jinx snorted before snickering into her hand, Raven rolling her eyes.

As that was happening, BB was listening in on the conversation when he saw Kitten walking down the street and quickly slipped away from his friends. Sneaking up behind the girl, the green teen grinned as he prepared to surprise her, only to blink as she turned to face him with a smirk on her lips. "Dude… no fair, how come you always know its me?" BB muttered with a pout and Kitten giggled into one of her hands.

"I'm just good at that kind of thing Beasty, so what're you guys doing out here?" Kitten questioned while seeing the Titans, and then widened her eyes when she saw Batman. "Oh crap… he's here." She mumbled to herself with wide eyes, not turning away from the Dark-Knight and BB nodded his head with a sigh.

"Yeah, the Titans, JLU, and even some bad-guys just worked together to save the world." BB explained and Kitten blinked her eyes then shook her head and gave her boyfriend a look.

"Seriously? Bad guys actually helped you and the JLU this time?" She questioned with a raised brow towards her boyfriend and Beast-Boy quickly nodded his head.

"Yeah I know, right? It was so wicked dude, Raven's dad is this big bad demon named Trigon the Terrible, see, so she…" BB started to explain while Kitten listened to her boyfriend with clear interest on her face. Nearby, Cyborg was watching with a raised brow, easily able to recognize the blond girl before picturing her with pink hair, thus causing a smirk to cross his lips. Starfire however was twitching as she hovered beside of the Titanium Teen, glaring at Kitten angrily as she did.

"Please Friend-Cyborg, why is Friend-Beast-Boy speaking with… with her?" Starfire asked with a slight growl, Blackfire raising a brow with an amused smirk at the animosity in the younger Tameranian's voice.

"You mean to say you can't recognize her?" Cy asked with a grin and Starfire gave the Titanium Teen a look.

"No, I recognize the Kitten, but I mean why is she speaking with friend Beast-Boy…" Starfire replied and Cyborg snickered to himself, confusing the red haired alien-princess greatly.

"Imagine her with pink hair." Cy then stated with another snicker, Starfire doing as told and then widening her eyes. Staring at BB and Kitten for a moment she then grabbed Cyborg by the front of his armor and looked him in the eyes.

"This is unacceptable! The Kitten is a mean and cruel girl! We cannot allow this to continue, I must…" Starfire started to say only for Cyborg to grab her and place a hand over her mouth as she started to spew curses in Tameranian.

"I see that little Starfire needs to learn how to let her grudges go…" Blackfire noted with a smirk and the said red haired girl suddenly glared at her sister, clearly trying to remind her of her own grudges that she never let go. "Hey, I've changed." Blackfire stated while crossing her arms over her chest with a frown, Starfire still muttering curses while an amused Cyborg held her back.

"Well personally I'm glad BB's with someone, even if it is her, she's already done her time for that prom stunt, so it's perfectly legal… and besides that, she seems to make BB a whole lot smarter than he normally is, so I'm all for that." Cyborg stated, Blackfire rolling her eyes while an angry Starfire simmered, amusing the dark haired alien-princess greatly. _'So this "Kitten" annoys little Starfire in the same way X annoys Nightwing? This could be most amusing in the future.'_ The Dark-Haired Alien thought to herself, smirking while Kid-Flash sat next to Donna and both looked confused.

"Any idea why she seems to hate that "Kitten" girl so much?" KF asked his friend and Donna shook her head while cracking her neck, and wishing it wasn't so much trouble to fight hordes of Demon's.

Meanwhile, Naruto and Nightwing where staring at one another, a frown on the dark-haired teens face. "Oi Kid, would you stop with the staring already? It's just starting to creep me out now." Naruto grumbled aloud and Nightwing crossed his arms over his chest with a deep frown.

"Give me one good reason I shouldn't throw you in jail, throw the key into a black hole, and then never think of you again, for all the hell you've put me through?" Nightwing replied and a flat expression crossed Naruto's face as he gave the teen an annoyed look.

"It's my birthday for one thing." Naruto started and Nightwing blinked for a moment and then frowned deeply. "I just helped save the entire world, and quite possibly the entire universe, from an enormous demon bent on the utter and complete eradication of a mortals." Naruto then added and Night shrugged his shoulders as if that happened every other week, and with their world, that was a distinct possibility. "And finally, I've not only helped stop Poison Ivy and Harley, I also helped you guys with that Plant-Invasion, saved both Billy and Blackfire's lives, took down that ass hole Orochimaru…" Naruto started to list before a thought came to mind and he quickly looked around.

"Shit, where the hell is that fucking asshole Snake, Orochimaru anyways?" The Teen then demanded loudly and Nightwing cursed as he realized that Slade and Ravager were gone as well.

"Dammit, I turn my back for one second and he gets away again." Night grumbled to himself while Naruto started to mutter numerous curses in Japanese, a deep scowl across his face.

"Well this is just wonderful, now I need to go out and find that stupid Hebi-Teme before he causes more hell for this world than he did in _my_ world… and knowing him he's going to be going out experimenting on every fucking Metahuman he finds, oh and not only that but he'll probably also look for some way to become Immortal in this world as well!" The blond grumbled while rubbing his face with a deep scowl, Nightwing turning back around to glare at him for a moment.

"Unfortunately X, you still need to go to jail for…" Night started to say only to blink as Naruto smirked, Kid-Wykkyd coming out of the street and grabbing him and Jinx before vanishing into the shadows. Looking around, the Dark-Haired teen then scowled when he saw that the rest of Tartarus had also escaped thanks to the teleporting teen as well… "Never mind… we'll catch them next time." Night grumbled out once more while Cyborg snickered into one hand and Starfire continued to scowl towards Kitten and BB. Breathing out a sigh, Night then looked to Raven with a frown, the girl narrowing her eyes.

"Do not start with me right now, Nightwing. I've had a very long day…" She stated flatly while poking his chest and then pulled her cloak in on herself, vanishing in a swirl of black and making Night frown. Shaking his head for a moment, Cyborg then walked over to his friend and placed an arm over his shoulders with a smirk.

"Night just lay off it man, Nar's not such a bad guy, and he and Rae are really good together." Cy stated with a shake of his head, smirking slightly as he quoted the blond haired super thief, though it wasn't the first time.

"Cyborg, he's a villain, we're heroes, we _have_ to take him in jail. It's our job remember." Nightwing stated while giving the Titanium-Titan an annoyed look and Cyborg rolled his eyes before looking to Starfire.

"What do you say Star, should we throw Nar in jail?" Cyborg asked, drawing the red head from her glaring and making her blink in confusion. "I asked if you think we should throw Naruto in jail cause he's Red-X and all…" Cyborg repeated and a look crossed Starfire's features, the girl floating into the air, crossing her arms, and considering that question for a moment.

"Well… it is our duty to protect the city from the villains… and yet I cannot say I wish to do so with the Red-X as he has helped both myself and my sister…" Starfire admitted while looking to her shoes, Nightwing twitching while looking over to Donna and Kid-Flash for support.

"I hate to say it Rich, but besides that one day of non-stop pranks, I haven't seen him do one evil thing… I mean yeah him stealing from you is bad and all, but that's about it since no one else is trying to press charges." Kid-Flash explained and Nightwing had to give the speedster that, and since X's new suit didn't run on Xenothiam, it also meant he couldn't be taken in for possession of illegal materials… wait, he still had the damn belt and actually _could_ be taken in for that instead of Naruto… crap.

"Unfortunately, I am in agreement with Bart, Richard. It seems to me that this is more for the sake of your own personal vendetta against Red-X than it is for justice. Besides that, he has saved us all numerous times already, and I've yet to see him actually steal anything… at least not that we can prove." Donna replied grudgingly while Nightwing muttered something under his breath, and then raised a brow as a happy BB walked over with a smile.

"Yo dudes, what's up?" BB asked and Nightwing turned to the green furred member of his team with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Beast Boy, do you think we need to catch X or not?" Night asked his teammate with a flat expression and BB widened his eyes before looking to either side nervously.

"Uh well… Dude, Nar isn't such a bad guy, and I mean, its not like it's a priority to catch him and uh… villains are people too… and Raven would like, totally kill us if we did and all… er, maybe but…" BB started to say before looking around nervously for a moment, giving a quick salute and then ducked behind a smirking Cyborg for protection from Nightwing.

"Guys, X is a criminal, its our job to capture him and all other criminals in the city, we can't just let him run wild when we're supposed to be protecting the city from villains like him." Nightwing reminded the group with his arms crossed over his chest and BB frowned for a moment while looking out from behind Cy.

"Technically speaking here dude, we're vigilantes like Batman, and since that's the case we're also breaking a ton of laws just by doing what we do. Thereby, seeing as Vigilantism is also against the law, wouldn't that mean you'd have to go to jail with the rest of us going as well…" Beast-Boy retorted and Nightwing blinked for a moment, the rest of the Titans staring at the green-furred teen. "What? Back in the Doom Patrol I learned a lot, one tiny tidbit is for all intents and purposes we're all vigilantes and therefore we're also breaking the law." Beast Boy reminded with a nod of his head and the other Titans continued to stare at him.

"Uh… besides the fact that he's right, you seriously need to chill out Night." Cy stated and Nightwing gave him an annoyed look, Cyborg sighing as he looked to the others. "Alright show of hands, who wants to actively try and catch X, thus ruining Rae's relationship, and probably bringing about her unholy wrath upon us all…?" Cy asked with a smirk while Nightwing gaped at the teen as none of the team raised their hand for obvious reasons. "Looks like the votes are in Night, your on own on this one." Cyborg stated with a nod and Night twitched before muttering under his breath with a frown.

However, before Night could shout at his team about Naruto being a criminal and they were heroes, Batman walked over to them. "Batman…" Night stated darkly and the Dark-Knight merely raised a brow while Dr. Fate, Etrigan and Shayera stood behind him.

"Nightwing." Batman said while nodding to the former boy wonder and then looked to the other Titans. "Congratulations seem to be in order, we've managed to survive and ultimately stop the end of the world." Batman stated and BB grinned over to Kid-Flash, the red haired speedster doing the same.

"And as such we wish to offer you all these…" Shayera said while handing each of the Titans a tiny earphone, handing one extra to Nightwing, clearly for Raven.

"What are these things?" Cyborg questioned while looking at his and Dr. Fate chuckled slightly to himself.

"Those are JLU communicators. Welcome to a select group of honorary JLU members…" Dr. Fate explained then took a thoughtful look, seemingly ignoring the looks on the Titans faces. "However, I do believe that your old friends Speedy and Aqua-Lad are also members." Dr. Fate then admitted and Night grunted for a moment before looking at the earphone and stuck it into his utility belt.

"Dude! We have a membership with the JLU! Awesome!" BB exclaimed and Shayera shook her head before sighing.

"Your honorary members, which means that you're essentially on call, while remaining freelance." Shayera stated and BB blinked before nodding his head slowly, Etrigan mumbling something to himself.

"Anyways, if you ever need our help again, and you will, call us." Batman then stated while giving a look to the teens, Dr. Fate nodding his head in agreement. "This is Batman to Watchtower, four to bring up." The Dark-Knight then said while placing a finger to his ear, the four JLU members vanishing in a flash of light as he did…

"Dude, that is like, so cool!" BB cried out and Cyborg frowned before bopping the green-furred teen on the head…

(?)

A foot splashed against green tinted water while two figures made their way down through the sewers. Looking around with a flashlight in one hand, Slade suddenly narrowed his eye dangerously. "What is it father?" Ravager questioned and Slade turned towards her for only a moment before straightening his back as a familiar ivory skinned serpent man walked out of the shadows, a cocky smirk upon his lips as always.

"Nothing, Rose, just an old snake…" Slade replied and a chuckle escaped from Orochimaru's lips as he walked towards the two.

"So, everything is back to normal… you've gotten your body back… I believe all that remains is for you to complete your end of the bargain." Orochimaru noted while holding onto the Guardian's Ax, Slade twitching slightly as he looked at the wicked weapon for a moment, then to its new owner.

"You are correct, a deal is a deal." Slade agreed while reaching into his utility belt and pulled out a slip of paper from it. "This is the location of the research and formula you'll need to gain my enhanced regeneration ability… however I must make one last request, leave the Titans out of any of your future plans… they are mine to deal with." Slade stated while holding the paper up and Orochimaru merely reached out and took it from the masked man with a cruel smirk across his face.

"Very-Good, Slade-san, our bargain is complete. And do not worry; I have no interest in those children… Naruto-Kun is so much more interesting." Orochimaru replied with a smirk still splitting his face and Slade made an hmm sound. "And now I do believe that I still have some work to do myself." Orochimaru noted darkly while still smirking like a serpent, Slade merely narrowing his sole eye as the other man walked passed him and Ravager. "Oh… and Slade-San…" Orochimaru then said while turning slightly to see the man from the corner of his eye, Slade doing the same.

"Don't try and get in my way, it would be most hazardous to your continued health, not to mention your continued existence in this world… and I'd say you want to keep your skin attached this time." Orochimaru warned darkly, the ax in his hand suddenly setting ablaze, as if to make his point, and then made his way further down into the sewer, Slade narrowing his sole eye as the man vanished into the shadows.

"Father, was it wise to give someone like, him, access to such a high rate of regeneration?" Ravager questioned of Slade worriedly and the masked-madman scoffed while folding his arms behind his back.

"Are you questioning my decisions, apprentice?" The man asked of the girl flatly and Ravager widened her eyes before quickly shaking her head.

"N-no, of course not father." She replied while bowing her head and Slade turned and looked down at her coldly.

"Then it shouldn't matter what I do… besides that, it should be obvious to you that Orochimaru is far more valuable to us as an ally than he would be as an enemy." Slade stated while glaring at Ravager, the girl quickly straightening up before bowing her head to her father.

"Yes… forgive me for not thinking of something so obvious, father." Ravager replied and Slade hummed lightly while turning his back on the girl, eye closed and his arms crossed behind his back.

"Very well… but we must go, we have to ready some plans of our own… the Titans may have new allies, but an old enemy is soon to return." Slade stated darkly while walking further into the depths of the sewers, Ravager watching on silently for a brief moment and then slowly following behind him…

(Metropolis…)

Ayane looked to the sky with a blink of her eyes, looking back to the city around her, she frowned as everyone went about their business as if nothing had happened. _**'Then again, how do you explain everyone in the city turning to stone or hell itself suddenly coming to life?'**_ The Magenta haired girl wondered before slowly walking down the streets of Metropolis, slipping her hands into her pockets as she did. Closing her eyes, she decided to leave well enough alone and not ask too many questions when something strange happened in this already strange universe.

'_How the hell can you think like that! This place may be strange but being petrified isn't normal by any circumstances!'_ Sakura shouted in her head and Ayane grunted for a moment, muttering under her breath about annoying head voices as she made her way back to her "office". Her Office of sorts also happened to be an abandoned warehouse, she got the idea to live in it when she saw how often police neglected to check them out, and also because the docks were fairly empty at night. This allowed her to help most villains who wanted medical attention at night, while during the day they'd have to sneak in.

Smirking to herself, Ayane thought about how she'd managed to, in a week, get most of the villains in town coming to her. Helping a wounded girl by the name of "Live-Wire" had been all she needed as the electrically themed villainous spread the word about her in no time. Given her ability to change into electricity, whenever Live-Wire wanted something to be known, it'd get known at lightning faced speed. The amazing fact she'd been _able_ to heal Live Wire's wounds given her, to put it mildly, _unique_ physiology also helped out, as it meant they didn't need to be completely normal for help.

Thus far, her Healing-Ninjutsu even seemed to work well with the wounds of aliens, of course Ayane also realized this was because her techniques just temporarily enhanced their natural healing without modifying anything, however it didn't mean that they had to know that little tidbit as well. Shaking her head for a bit, Ayane then yawned as she walked to the docks and over to the final warehouse in the area. Soon coming to it she looked around for a moment before walking inside and closing the door behind her.

"Hey Bubblegum, where you been?" A familiar nasally and very annoying voice questioned and Ayane twitched before looking to a chair at the side of the room. Sitting within the chair is a woman with bright blue hair standing straight up in numerous spikes, electric blue eyes, pale blue skin, black lips, and has a very slight physique, she wears a black leotard with a lightning bolt cut down the center, thigh length black boots, and blue gloves over her hands.

This was the Super-Villain known as Live Wire, who had unfortunately latched herself onto Ayane after the Magenta haired girl healed her. Why, she didn't know, maybe it was because Ayane was fun to annoy so she stuck around to get a rise out of her, maybe she wanted to stay on her good side so Ayane would heal her for free, or maybe she actually liked her… in any case Ayane had the constant annoyance of Live-Wire being around her. "I told you to stop calling me that! My hair is Magenta, not pink!" Ayane shouted at Live Wire and the blue haired woman merely smirked at her for a moment before rubbing her chin.

"Not pink? Well it sure does look pink to me, Bubblegum." Live Wire retorted and Ayane twitched visibly while crossing her arms over her chest with a scowl.

"Shut it you stupid Blueberry Bitch!" Ayane shouted while removing her coat and tossing it onto a coat-rack at her side, Live Wire looking from her hair, to her skin before rolling her eyes with a smirk.

"C'mon Bubblegum, don't be like that." Live Wire mocked playfully and Ayane flipped her the bird with a scowl across her face. Snickering into her hand, Live Wire then watched the Magenta haired girl make her way over to glare down at her darkly.

"What do you want, Blueberry?" Ayane demanded and Live Wire adopted a mock hurt look while looking at the younger girl.

"I'm insulted, I'm shocked you could ever think I would only come here to…" She started to say indignantly, then smirked when Ayane raised a brow and crossed her arms over her chest. "Eh, alright. I wanted to know if maybe you and that weird "Chakra-Scalpel" thing of yours wouldn't want to help me with ol' blue-boy." Live Wire replied before changing into a bolt of lightning, and then reforming at Ayane's side, one arm slipped over the younger girl's shoulders.

"Cause the way I see it, your scalpel thing goes through the skin right, so if that's the case maybe you can like cut a few of his muscles for me and we could rob a couple hundred banks, I could absorb a lot of energy, and then I could even take over the world and help with that one boy problem of yours." Live Wire offered while leaning over her cheek against Ayane's own, the magenta haired girl reaching up to pinch the bridge of her nose as she does.

"And are Superman's muscles any less durable than his skin?" Ayane demanded while giving the blue haired woman a look, Live Wire merely shrugging her shoulders in response.

"Hell if I know, but the guy runs on Solar Power right, so since his muscles don't get any direct sunlight they got to be a little less durable… right?" Live Wire mused then questioned and Ayane muttered something under her breath before blowing into her bangs tiredly.

"No not right. It's his body that absorbs the rays and his powers are more like some kind of a genetic quirk that makes him as tough as he is since he's an alien who's species developed on another planet. And since that's the case then it's also possible that his muscles are also as hard as steel." Ayane explained to the blue haired woman and Live Wire pouted before shrugging her shoulders. "Besides that, I have to stay out of jail to heal morons like you when you all get hurt." Ayane reminded the older woman and Live Wire nodded her head, knowing well how many villains had started coming to the magenta haired girl recently.

"Yeah yeah Bubblegum, whatever…" Live Wire said flippantly while turning into a bolt of lightning that zipped around the room before landing on the desk in the warehouse. Turning with a sigh, Ayane glared upon seeing Live Wire lying on her side with one arm propping up her head with a smirk.

"What the hell do you think your doing?" Ayane growled out in questioned and Live Wire grinned towards her.

"Just going to make the place a little more welcoming is all…" She replied and Ayane palmed her face, muttering something under her breath in Japanese before walking passed the desk and into a series of walls she'd set up as a room. "Hey, where are _you_ going?" Live Wire questioned while languidly turning from her position on the desk and Ayane pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Back here and away from you, if someone comes by tell them I'll be out in a minute or something." Ayane replied while walking over to a medical bed she'd managed to pilfer a couple weeks before and then laid on it and leaned back. Deciding to get comfortable and take a nap, the girl then crossed her arms behind her head and closed one eye, leaving the other half open.

"When the hell did I become your damn receptionist, Bubblegum!" Live Wire demanded while sitting up and a smirk crossed over Ayane's features.

"You're the one sitting at the reception desk, Blueberry." She replied and Live Wire rolled her eyes before laying back down with one eye closed, Ayane sighing as she turned slightly, closed both her eyes, and fell into a silent slumber…

(Tartarus HQ…)

The HQ is literally rocking with music playing at a volume that should be, and probably is, illegal. Inside however, the majority of Tartarus is in Ops, a party going in full swing with Billy handing beer out to all his clones… "Alright boys and gals, we just took down one seriously nasty demon, and proved once and for all that we're a group that isn't to be taken lightly, so lets party!" Mammoth exclaimed with a grin before he and Private slammed their heads together. Shaking her head while sitting in midair with her legs crossed, Dani looked over to Blackfire with a sigh.

"You know, that really explains their lack of intelligence…" The Ghostling Girl noted with a sigh and the alien princess nodded her head in full agreement with her. Nearby, Kid-Wykkyd is somehow sleeping threw the noise, while Seemore was with Gizmo as they manned the music, Duela dancing to the side and laughing as she fell on her face. Absent from the fun are Jinx and Naruto, both seemingly missing while Blackfire got up and strolled over to the boys.

"That's enough of that from you Duela." Blackfire stated while pushing the clown girl down and stretched out her arms into the air. "Now then, move over earthlings, cause the queen of the galaxy is about to show you her stuff!" The Dark-Haired Tameranian declared arrogantly, shaking her hips as she moves to the beat of the music, the boys wolf whistling as she does so. Sighing once more, Dani leaned forward, placing her chin on her hands with her elbows on her knees for support.

"It's official, they're all insane…" The girl said mostly to herself while Duela jumped onto her back with a snicker and a grin.

"Nice one!" The clown girl exclaimed and Dani palmed her face as the more idiotic members of the team, AKA Billy Numerous, Mammoth, and Private, started chugging beer over to the side. Meanwhile, deep in the base, Jinx is sitting in her room with a sad frown across her face, idly looking at a picture of her, Mammoth, Gizmo, and Naruto back when they were in the H.I.V.E. academy.

"Thing's were so much more simple back then…" She mumbled to herself while fiddling with the String of Beads on her right forearm for a moment. Lifting her arm up, she then stared at the single ivory bead, gazing at the crimson red swirl inside of it. "This one is different than the others… those are all made of lacquered wood… but this one isn't…" She muttered to herself while wondering what it was about the bead that seemed to stand out, besides its obvious difference in color, it also seemed larger, smoother, and colder in some way…

"Like a stone…" She mumbled before hearing someone clear his or her throat from behind her. Turning around, the pink haired girl then frowned when she saw Raven standing in her doorway with her arms crossed over her chest. "What do _you_ want?" Jinx demanded while giving the violet-eyed girl an annoyed look and Raven reached up and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"For once, I just want to talk." Raven replied and a "Are you serious" look crossed Jinx's face. "Yes, I know that I usually don't want to talk to you, but this is about something important…" Raven offered in explanation to the girl before walking over and sitting down on Jinx's bed, the pink haired girl turning around, arms crossed and an expectant look on her face.

"Alright then talk, but make it quick." Jinx ordered and Raven twitched slightly before taking a breath and closing her eyes.

"Look, first of all I wanted to know why you risked your life to help us fight the Juubi." Raven replied while looking at Jinx strangely, the pink-haired girl twitching as she drummed her fingers on her arm.

"Isn't that obvious? I've fought you multiple times, gone up against Poison Ivy's evil psychotic plants, a hellish and demonified version of you, a bunch of Ninja, and now I've even fought against an army of Japanese Youkai for Temp, how the hell can't you tell?" Jinx demanded of Raven angrily and the half-demon sorceress merely narrowed her violet eyes onto the pink haired girl dangerously.

"I just want to hear you actually say it for once. I want to be sure this isn't like when you had that crush on Cyborg. I want to know that it's something that won't just fade away after a month or two." Raven replied and Jinx's eyes flared dangerously before she grabbed the girl by the front of her cloak and glared into her in the eyes.

"Fine! I love him! I love all the stupid things he does, hell, I even love how loyal to you he is even when it keeps us apart!" Jinx shouted at Raven and the Violet Haired girl merely weathered it as Jinx released her and threw her arms into the air. "I love that he's a slacker and a bit of a goof at times, but also a great leader! I love how he's able to connect with all of us even given our vastly different backgrounds! I love how he's willing to help each of us with any of our problems no matter what it might be!" Jinx continued while placing her hands over her face and taking several deep breaths.

"I even love him when he purposely pisses me off to get a rise outta me! Hell I can't even stay mad at him when we argue, a few minutes of it and I'm agreeing to whatever he wants!" Jinx stated while glaring at Raven heatedly, the half-demoness merely watching on silently as she did. "I've loved him for… hell I don't even remember when it started anymore! I just know I love him all right! Are you happy now?" Jinx demanded of the sorceress and Raven actually blinked, before slowly nodding her head. Taking a breath, Jinx then sat back and leaned back in her seat, staring at her ceiling intently while Raven continued to gaze at her.

"I told you what you wanted to hear right? Can't you leave me alone now?" Jinx asked the girl miserably and Raven sighed before crossing her arms over her chest.

"Listen Jinx, I'll be honest and say that I really don't like you…" Raven started to say and Jinx looked up with a frown.

"The feeling is completely mutual." She stated and Raven gave her a flat look for a moment before taking a quick breath.

"However, the thing is that I don't know why we don't get along." Raven continued and Jinx raised a brow while tilting her head to one side. "Look, we both love Naruto, so why can't either of us put up with the other for his sake without breaking into a fight? Moreover, why is it that we each like similar things yet we seem to hate each other with a blind bloody passion that borders on the psychotic?" Raven asked and Jinx shrugged her shoulders, she never really thought about it, only thing she could guess being jealousy… "I don't know your reason but as for me… I think it might have something to do with me feeling threatened by your relationship with him." Raven admitted and Jinx blinked repeatedly before giving the girl a look.

"Raven you have got to be kidding me. Your Temp's girlfriend, and I'm just his teammate, like you and Nightwing are just teammates. Besides he thinks the world of you, he'd sooner cut off his own hand than leave you, believe me, he's just that loyal. Not only that but in looks, I hate to admit it but… you have more curves, your more full bodied than me, you have nicer legs than I do, a bigger…" Jinx started to list aloud and Raven quickly stopped her, a slight blush on her face from the indirect compliments.

"Be that as it may. Jinx, he's known you longer, your both criminals, he trains with you all the time, you live together, you know how he thinks and acts better than even I do, and if he hadn't met me when he did, I can honestly say he'd probably be with you right now instead of me…" Raven explained and Jinx tilted her head to one side, her brow still raised and the dark-Titan let out a soft sigh.

"What I'm trying to say is that I attack, argue, and fight with you because… I'm actually scared of the thought of losing him to you, or anyone else for that matter. I love Naruto as well, and I don't want to lose him." Raven admitted and Jinx continued to stare at the dark-titan as she shifted uncomfortably and wrapped her arms over her torso. "Jinx, I know we've had our differences… but for his sake, I want to bury the hatchet for real this time." Raven stated and Jinx gave the girl a look before sighing and leaning back in her seat, eyes closed and arms crossed behind her head.

"We both know that's not likely to happen, Raven. How in the hell can we bury the hatchet when I still resent you for having him?" Jinx demanded of the violet haired girl and Raven looked at her calmly, crossing her legs and sighing.

"Well… umm… that's kind of the thing." Raven mumbled while rubbing one of her arms nervously and Jinx sighed.

"Just spit it out already." She growled out at the violet haired girl and Raven leaned over to Jinx and whispered into her ear. As she heard what the violet haired girl was suggesting, her eyes popped open and she stared at her. "You have got to be joking, I mean how in the hell would that even work?" She demanded of the other girl while giving her a strange look, Raven merely sighing as she reached up and rubbed her face.

"I'm not joking, and as for how it would work, well… its Naruto's birthday so its sort of a gift to him, and don't think you'll just instantly get all the perks. You'll be on probation for a while till I get used to you…" Raven started to explain to the pink haired girl but Jinx stopped her by placing her hand over her mouth and frowned.

"Why am _I_ the one who's on Probation?" She questioned flatly and Raven narrowed her eyes onto the pink haired girl dangerously. Reaching up she then pulled Jinx's hand from her mouth and frowned deeply towards her.

"Because in case you're forgetting, I'm the one who's doing all the compromising here… not you." Raven replied angrily and Jinx looked at Raven with another look. "Unless you'd rather I just forget I even suggested the idea in the first place and we go back to our usual routine of spontaneously trying to kill one another…" Raven then added flatly, Jinx quickly shaking her head before clearing her throat.

"No! I mean… Okay… so then what's this probation thing all about anyways?" Jinx asked quickly while looking away from the girl, Raven silently crossing her arms before sighing softly.

"First of all, you can kiss and hug him as much as you want. That much is a given with this arrangement and I won't need to know how much or even _want_ to know when your off doing that stuff with him. However, I do reserve the right to come on any and all dates with him to make sure you don't get up to any funny business. Also, no feeling him up or "Nighttime activities" with him until further notice." Raven explained to the pink haired girl simply and Jinx blinked at the last bit before looking at her strangely.

"Umm… okay…" Jinx replied with a slight blush on her cheeks as she could easily guess what Raven had meant. Nodding her head, Raven then sighed while getting up and straightened out her cloak for a moment.

"Alright, now that that's settled, lets go tell him about his birthday gift." Raven mused aloud and Jinx slowly got out of her seat while staring at the violet-haired girl when a thought suddenly came to her.

"But… he hates his birthday…" Jinx reminded quietly and Raven nodded her head before grabbing her left wrist, taking special care not to grab the one with the String of Beads on it, and pulled her out of her room and into the halls of the HQ.

"Right, so lets go and give him a reason not to hate it anymore." She replied and Jinx blinked before slowly nodding her head in agreement with Raven. Walking down the halls of the HQ, Raven led Jinx down the halls of Tartarus HQ, and to a familiar door with a crimson X on the front of it. "Nervous?" Raven asked Jinx with a raised brow, the said pink haired girl blinking before shaking her head.

"Honestly, more surprised than nervous. Especially since this was your idea." Jinx admitted truthfully and Raven nodded her head for a moment.

"In my defense, it's a birthday gift for him, and a reward for the fact your willing to fight a giant demon for Naruto… if that doesn't deserve at least a little compromising on my part, then nothing would. Besides, I need someone to help me keep him in line…" Raven replied quietly and then turned to the door and exhaled a quick breath. Reaching forward she then knocked on the door and heard Naruto mumble something inside. A few seconds later, the blond came to the door and opened it up with a yawn, clearly warn out from his battle with the Juubi. Blinking his eyes open, the blond haired teen then looked from Raven to Jinx and raised a brow.

"Uh… what's going on?" He questioned with a raised brow and Raven let out another breath before pushing Jinx into his arms. Blushing heavily, Jinx looked up to see a confused Naruto, who looked from Jinx to Raven with a raised brow. "Kara-Chan?" Naruto questioned and Raven silently turned on her heel and crossed her arms over her chest while closing her eyes.

"I've made a decision." Raven stated and Naruto looked to the blushing form of Jinx in his arms for a moment before looking back to his girlfriend.

"And how exactly does it involve, Jinx?" He questioned and Raven motioned for him to follow her, the blond absently doing so with one arm over Jinx's shoulders.

"I wanted to reward her for helping to fight against the Juubi, even when it was clear she could've died. From my memories, it was actually her who inspired the others to help us fight against it so its her who deserves a reward." Raven replied with a nod of her head and Naruto reached up with his free hand to rub the back of his neck.

"Okay… then what kind of reward is she getting." Naruto asked with his head tilted to one side and didn't see a bright blush appear on Jinx's face.

"You." Raven replied bluntly, causing Naruto to stop and gape at the girl.

"Wait, what?" He demanded and Raven sighed while stopping and turning around to face the blond haired youth.

"I mean we're going to share you." Raven replied and saw the look on Naruto's face. "Look, she really does deserve some kind of a reward, and its your birthday, which you hate. So, I figured I'll kill several birds with one stone. Namely, you get a gift too good to mope about, she gets a reward for helping us, and I get someone to help me keep you in line. Besides, it's also the only way I could think to actually end the fighting between her and me. If we share, I won't feel as threatened about her taking you since we both will have you, in a way at least, and she won't resent me for having you." Raven explained with a finger raised and Naruto blinked for a moment before looking to the brightly blushing Jinx.

"It was all her idea…" Jinx mumbled quietly and looked away from the blond haired teens eyes, Naruto turning back to Raven with a slight smirk forming on his lips.

"Kara-Chan, don't I get a say in this little arrangement of yours?" Naruto questioned of his girlfriend with a raised brow, though the smirk on his face did little to hide his amusement with what was happening. _'Yep, Ero-Sennin is definitely helping me from the great beyond…'_ The blond thought to himself and could swear that he heard a "Your welcome!" from the deceased Sannin. Sighing, Raven shook her head, walked over to Naruto and pulled his free arm over her shoulders, then wrapped an arm around his waist and gave him a look.

"Okay then. If you're sure this is a good idea, then I'm all for it." Naruto replied and walked down the hall with the two girls. Smirking inwardly the blond then looked from one girl to the other and sighed. "However, I have to admit, that something tells me this is going to be a _very_ interesting relationship from now on." Naruto admitted and both Jinx and Raven rolled their eyes before ribbing in his sides the blond for the crack.

"Not funny." Raven stated flatly before a thought came to mind and she looked from Jinx to Naruto. "And before I forget, Jinx is on temporary probation. No fooling around with her until I say so, and I can come on any dates you take her on." Raven stated and Naruto raised a brow with a smirk before snickering to himself.

"Keeping her on a short leash, huh Kara-Chan?" Naruto asked his violet-haired girlfriend with a grin on his face and the girl huffed while turning slightly to the side, her eyes closed and a frown across her face. Looking from Raven to Naruto for a moment, Jinx then cleared her throat to get their attention, both of them looking over to her.

"So… what do we do now?" Jinx questioned nervously, truly having no clue how this odd relationship was ever going to work out, Naruto merely frowning in thought for a short moment.

"Let's go on vacation." He replied and caused both girls to stop, blink, and then give him a strange look. Sighing softly, Naruto closed his eyes and leaned his head back while explaining his reasoning. "The Kid knows who I am now, the city will probably find out soon enough, the JLU will probably either hunt me down or try to get me to join them, and you guys know how much I hate hero work… so I'd just really rather not stick around for all that." Naruto explained and both Raven and Jinx nodded their heads in agreement with him.

"So where do we go for a vacation? I mean face it, a threesome like us isn't exactly inconspicuous." Jinx asked with a raised brow as she slipped her arm around his waist with Raven and smiled slightly to herself. In response Naruto smirked slightly before replying to the girl's question with a grin.

"To some out of the way deserted island out in the middle of nowhere… well at least we would if I knew where one was." Naruto replied and Raven blinked for a moment before clearing her throat to draw their attention to her.

"Actually, I do know where to find one…" She admitted softly and Naruto grinned before looking between both girls and nodding his head.

"Alright. Then how about we all go pack up and head out then. I'll even leave a scroll for Dani and the other's explaining where we are." Naruto offered and Raven gave the blond haired teen a look.

"I've still got my team remember." She chose to remind and Naruto nodded his head, though the smirk never left his face.

"Yeah, but you've also just fought not only your father, but the Juubi, and had the worst month in your entire life… just give them a message saying your going on vacation to center yourself or something." Naruto replied and Raven blinked before frowning in thought for a moment. That could honestly work, and she was a little tired of always saving the city, day in and day out, she could at least have one vacation… beside she really did need to center herself after the month she'd had…

"Alright, I'll do that. Let me go get some things and I'll be right back." Raven replied while vanishing into the shadows, leaving Jinx and Naruto alone. Blinking for a moment before suddenly realizing she was alone with Naruto, a blush suddenly crawled onto the girl's cheeks.

"I'll go get my stuff and meet you at your room okay?" Naruto offered and Jinx blinked before nodding her head as he turned around and ran back to his room. Shaking her head, Jinx then rocketed over to her own room and quickly looked through her closet and dressers, grabbing several clothes and laid them out. Looking around, she found an old duffle bag and then quickly started folding her clothes before stowing them into it. Grabbing a few extra when she realized she didn't know how long they'd be gone she heard Naruto clear his throat and turned around to see him at her door. Frowning for a moment, Jinx then saw a scroll poking out of the blond's pocket and narrowed her eyes.

"You used your sealing thing didn't you…?" Jinx stated flatly and Naruto nodded his head with a smirk. "Care to help then?" She asked and Naruto raised a brow, causing her to pout and look at him with her hands clasped together. "Please?" She asked sweetly and the blond snickered before walking into her room to stand beside of her with a shake of his head.

"Jeez Jinx, chill out already you know I'll help you out whenever you really need it." Naruto replied with a smile on his face then pulled a scroll from his waist when Jinx breathed out a sigh and took hold of his left arm.

"Jill." She stated suddenly and Naruto looked down to her with a raised brow. "My real name isn't Jinx, Temp, it's Jill Manx, so since we're apparently in a triad relationship of some kind… please call me Jill." Jinx explained quietly and Naruto blinked before smiling to the girl and placing an arm over her shoulders.

"No problem, Jill. But my name isn't Tempest, call me Naruto." He replied and a small smile crossed Jinx's lips as she looked up at the blond.

"Alright then, Naruto." Jinx replied and quickly slipped her arms around his neck and stood up to place a kiss on his lips. Blink in surprise for a moment, the blond slowly placed his hands onto the girl's hips and returned the kiss. Soon releasing the kiss for air, the blond smirked when he saw the blushing, goofy look on Jinx's face.

"Oi, between you and Kara-Chan, I swear I'm gonna die." Naruto noted aloud and a cheeky look crossed over Jinx's features.

"But what a way to go." She noted aloud and Naruto nodded his head, and then heard Raven clear her throat as she stood at the door with her arms crossed. Raising a hand before Naruto could try to explain, the violet-haired girl let out a sigh and walked over to them.

"Don't bother, if this Triad-Relationship is going to work, I'm going to need to get used to this kind of thing." She reminded and Jinx quickly extricated herself from Naruto as the blond sealed up her clothes into his scroll and slipped it into the back of his coat pocket. "Now then, I left a message for Night and the others, and packed up some clothes… but when do you think we'll be back?" Raven asked and Naruto shrugged his shoulders before pulling both grey-skinned girls too his sides.

"Probably until you two can learn to play nice with each other… so… eh well we'll see how long that takes before we decide anything definite." He replied with a shrug and Raven rolled her eyes before pulling her power over herself, Jinx, and Naruto, all three vanishing in a swirl of black energy…

THE END…?

(?)

Kakashi sighed as he, Ino, Hinata, and Neji walked across a familiar stretch of country, Sasuke's limp body slung over his shoulders. _'It's strange, he's barely even moved since we got back… he's acting so… defeated.'_ Kakashi thought to himself while looking to the currently unconscious Uchiha for a moment, then sighed and gave an annoyed look to Neji and Ino. "You do realize we've failed our mission…" Kakashi stated while giving them both a look and Ino huffed while placing her hands onto her hips and glaring at the silver haired Jounin.

"It's not like we could've gotten him back alive, Kakashi. If we tried to take him by force, those JLU guys would've hunted us down. Not only that not even Naruto knew how to get us back here, returning with help from those JLU people was the only way for any of us to return, but it also meant we couldn't attempt to take Naruto…" Ino reminded the man while crossing her arms, even as the massive hole that had once been the gates of Konoha suddenly came into view.

"A-Ano… sh-shouldn't that have b-been r-repaired by n-now?" Hinata questioned while looking to the gate and Ino slowed down and looked to Neji, the white-eyed teen frowning to himself.

"It's been almost two entire years since we left, the village gates should've been repaired by now… unless something happened while we were away." Neji replied while Ino looked to Kakashi and saw the silver haired Jounin narrow his eye on the village.

"Ino… Neji… is it possible that time in that world… moves at a different pace than it does in ours?" Kakashi questioned while looking over to the blond and dark-haired teen, Ino frowning for a moment before sighing.

"Sorry Kakashi, I didn't study any physics while I was in that high-school so I really don't know." Ino replied while they passed the gates, Ino stopping and looking around with wide eyes as people were running around, people with wood and other materials for the gate heading too and fro. "Uh… does this answer your question?" Ino questioned while turning to Kakashi and the man narrowed his eye once more.

"Unfortunately… it does." Kakashi replied quietly, then shook his head and marched forward with Sasuke over his shoulder, the others following him.

"T-this is s-so strange… h-how can t-time move f-faster there, than it d-does here?" Hinata questioned while looking around and Neji closed his eyes before frowning deeply to himself.

"Our two worlds exist in completely separate universes, I highly doubt that time passes at the same pace between them." Neji noted quietly as they soon came to the Hokage tower and made their way up, staying out of the way as Shinobi ran too and fro.

"So whiles its been years for us, clearly only a relatively short amount of time has passed here in the village." Ino summarized and Neji nodded his head, Kakashi frowning as they came to the desk in front of the Hokage's office, Shizune groaning as she sat at the desk, rubbing her head with a headache.

"Shizune-San…" Kakashi stated and drew the woman's attention, her eyes widening for a moment before lunging forward and grabbing him by his vest.

"Kakashi! Did you get Naruto-Kun back?" She demanded and Kakashi grimaced visibly before taking a breath and giving her a look.

"I'm afraid that we need to report in to the Hokage before anything else." Kakashi stated while pushing the woman back with one arm and Shizune blinked for a moment before slowly nodding her head to the man.

"Go on in then…" She mumbled before looking to Ino, Hinata, and Neji, all of whom appeared visibly older to the woman. "Hey… what happened to you guys? You look older somehow…" Shizune noted while looking at the three, Ino muttering to herself as they walked into the Hokage's office. Inside, the group saw Tsunade sitting with her hands on her face while an opened bottle of Sake nestled beside of her.

"Your drinking Sake on the job again, Tsunade-Sama?" Kakashi questioned with a raised brow and Tsunade's head snapped open before she lunged over the desk and grabbed the man by his vest, her left eye twitching as she snarled at him.

"Where the hell have you been?" Tsunade demanded and Kakashi coward before the woman, hey, she could break boulders with her bare hands… he really didn't want to know what she could do to him. "Why haven't you kept in contact with me Kakashi, and for that matter, where the hell is Naruto? And for that matter, where the hell is Sakura?" Tsunade demanded of the silver haired Jounin and he turned to look for aide from Neji, Ino, and Hinata…

"A-Ano, Tsunade-Sama, b-but we were unable t-to retrieve, N-Naruto-Kun." Hinata stated and Tsunade snapped her head over and glared at the girl, Hinata slipping behind Neji as he sighed.

"As for Sakura, we lost track of her around the same time we were forced to abandon our mission… I believe she may still be trying to retrieve him, however that is only an assumption." Neji explained to the woman curtly and Tsunade twitched before suddenly noticing how much older Neji, Ino, and even Hinata appeared to be.

"What… what happened to you three?" She questioned then looked at Kakashi and frowned deeply when she spotted the unconscious Sasuke on his shoulder. "And for that matter, what happened to him?" Tsunade questioned as she slowly released Kakashi, the man breathing out in relief while dumping Sasuke into a chair and tiredly palmed his face for a moment.

"Tsunade-Sama… exactly how long have we been gone?" Kakashi questioned while Tsunade stared at the bandages over Sasuke's eyes.

"Two-Months…" She mumbled in reply and Kakashi visibly winced before looking to Ino and the others.

"Well, where we've been, it's been nearly two years." Neji replied for Kakashi and Tsunade stared at the Hyuuga as if her were crazy.

"No seriously Tsunade-Sama, for us it's been nearly two years. After we were deployed to capture Naruto, we followed him into some kind of silver portal and ended up in another world." Ino explained and Tsunade shook her head for a moment before palming her face with a frown.

"Silver portal… oh great it's his mother's stupid teleportation technique." Tsunade grumbled out and then moved back behind her desk and sat down tiredly.

"You know of this technique, Tsunade-Sama?" Neji questioned of the woman and Tsunade grunted before leaning back and rubbing her temples with her index fingers.

"Yeah… Uzumaki Kushina learned the technique from the Karasu Summons, of whom she was the owner. The technique, when used properly, is supposed to transport its user to the spirit realm. According to Kushina, the Technique was originally used to create the first few contracts, however, due to the dangers for humans in the Spirit-Realm, the summons moved to our world with a reverse version of the teleportation technique. From what Kushina told me, only the Karasu (Crow / Raven), Ryuu (Dragon), and Okami (Wolf) summons remained behind in the spirit realm." Tsunade explained and Kakashi frowned in thought for a moment before an idea came to mind.

"Perhaps with your help we could use this technique and possibly even attempt to recreate whatever mistake Naruto made to re-enter the world he's in." Kakashi noted aloud only for Neji to grunt and Ino to slap her face with a grimace.

"Unfortunately we're on thin ice in that other world, if we attempt to return there is a very real possibility for retaliation. Sasuke did manage to kill several innocent people when he looked for Naruto in that world." Neji stated and Tsunade raised a brow for a moment before letting out a sigh, crossing her fingers and closing her eyes as she did.

"Unfortunately, we really need Naruto back in the village." Tsunade stated and got looks from the team in response. "Do you know that Spring-Country, Wave-Country, Bird-Country, and both the Hidden-Waterfall village and Sunagakure are all still allied to us because of Naruto…" Tsunade questioned and the group was silent, Tsunade closing her eyes with a sigh. "What that means is our village's alliance with those nations and villages hinges solely on, Naruto. Not only that but as the last Jinchuuriki, he poses as a form of deterrent for other villages which may attack us." Tsunade continued and a frown crossed Ino's features as she listened to the Hokage.

"So you mean to say that you want him back because of what his presence will do for Konoha politically?" Ino demanded and Tsunade scoffed while crossing her arms over her chest with a scowl on her face.

"Hell no, I left Konoha for years before Naruto brought me back remember. Hell, if the kid had just asked me for traveling papers to leave I would've even given them to him." Tsunade replied and Ino blinked while raising a brow, wondering what the woman was trying to get at. "However, the new Fire-Daimyo is concerned that since the war with Akatsuki, Fire-Nation has grown weak. As such he also believes that we need Naruto as a way to insure our nation's continued protection from the other Shinobi Nations." Tsunade explained and then muttered something about "Paranoid Teme's" under her breath.

"Wait just a minute… what do you mean by a "New-Fire-Daimyo"?" Ino questioned of the blond haired woman and Tsunade turned her chair around and looked out the window behind her with a deep frown.

"You all might want to get comfortable, it's a long story…" Tsunade replied and Kakashi looked to the others and they all slowly moved to different seats around the room, then waited for Tsunade to explain what ha happened in the time they had been away from Konoha…

To Be Continued…

AN: And it is finally done! I decided to end the story with a bang, so this is the longest chapter in the story for that reason. Now before anyone asks why I'm leaving this as the final chapter, this is because if I continued on, I'd have nearly one hundred chapters in this one story. Now, I know this isn't always the case, but when some people see a story with that many chapters that see it as kind of intimidating to try and read them all. Besides that, I thought this was the perfect place to leave this story off, so I can get back to work on my other stories.

Now then, I will be writing other stories in the Universe I've created here. Among them will be the many ideas I've been given via reviews, so yes I may do them, among the ideas I was given were these.

There have been a couple of requests for a "Different Pairing" from certain reviewers. The Pairing story ideas are "Naruto X Ravager" and "Naruto X Duela". The other ideas people have given me have been like this. The final season of Teen Titans and Trouble In Tokyo, Naruto will go through both, but in a different story, it will basically show how Naruto, Raven, and Jinx try to get along in their new "relationship". Naruto going to Arkham Asylum a second time, during the game, is another. Naruto meeting Danny Phantom, this will be a story to increase character development for Dani basically.

Those are only a few ideas I have for the time being; anyone with other ideas for more short stories / one shots would be appreciated. But, until then I just want to say thank you for reading, and hope that you've all enjoyed reading Red-X Rising as much as I've enjoyed writing it. Anyways until I work on the next part of the RXR series, Ciao!


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